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Coalition forces

by Richard Tanter — last modified 25-Feb-2010 18:52

Information on United States-led Operation Enduring Freedom and NATO-led forces in the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). The relationship between the two forces and command structures has changed over time, and many elements remain unclear.

Introduction

Government sources

United States

Central Command, United States

U.S. Commitment to Afghanistan, The White House

The U.S. Mission in Afghanistan, Afghanistan Reconstruction Group, U.S. Embassy, Kabul

News Transcripts, Department of Defense, U.S.

Occasional detailed briefings by field officers and commanders.

ISAF/NATO

Peace culture weakens NATO, ABC News, 26 February 2010

NATO'S recent deployment of 20,000 extra troops to Afghanistan was vital to the allied war effort. Despite the increase, US Defence Secretary Robert Gates has identified a serious problem when he refers to a "crisis" in the NATO alliance. He is concerned about the wave of pacifism sweeping Europe's political leadership, which, he says, makes it difficult for the US to operate and fight with its continental partners.

Under-spending on defence is a part of the problem, with equipment shortages hampering the war effort in Afghanistan. Fewer than a fifth of NATO's 28 member nations are meeting their commitment to spend 2 per cent of gross domestic product on defence. Nor are foreign and strategic issues afforded sufficient priority by the European Union, which last year appointed a relatively obscure and inexperienced British politician, Baroness Catherine Ashton, to the new position of EU foreign affairs chief.

30 days through Afghanistan Day 1: The Afghan people will decide who wins, by Air Force Tech. Sgt. Nathan Gallahan, ISAF Joint Command Public Affairs, Jennifer Cragg, DoD Live, 9 February 2010

One of the resources I’ll be using during this journey is a student handbook I received while taking this course, and there’s a sentence in an article titled “ISAF Commander’s Counterinsurgency Guidance”, which I would like to share.

“ISAF’s mission is to help the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (GIRoA) defeat the insurgency threatening their country. Protecting the Afghan people is the mission. The Afghan people will decide who wins this fight, and we (GIRoA and the International Security Assistance Force) are in a struggle for their support. The effort to gain and maintain that support must inform every action we take. Essentially, we and the insurgents are presenting an argument for the future to the people of Afghanistan: they will decide which argument is the most attractive, most convincing, and has the greatest chance for success.”

One part really intrigues me, “the Afghan people will decide who wins this fight …” I’ve heard this a lot while on missions in Eastern and Western Afghanistan, and there are a lot of Afghans “on the fence.”

Gates quietly draws more allied troops for Afghanistan effort, Julian E. Barnes, Los Angeles Times, 8 February 2010

Gates, during a weeklong tour, did not plead with his European counterparts to send more troops. Rather than twisting arms for more forces, Gates' mission has become more subtle, aimed at fine-tuning the mix of allied troops and emphasizing the need for trainers to upgrade Afghanistan's security forces. With the troop deployment approved in December by President Obama, the number of U.S. troops will rise to nearly 100,000 this year. In addition, there are nearly 40,000 allied troops.

U.S. officials said allies have committed nearly 10,000 additional forces since the Obama administration's strategy review last year. Gates said Sunday in Italy that it's important to include as many trainers and mentors as possible. France's announcement last week that it would provide approximately 80 more trainers was seen by some as a snub to the U.S. The Italians, by contrast, had announced earlier that they would boost their force by 1,000. But French Defense Minister Herve Morin defended his country's contributions Monday in a joint appearance with Gates. "We've added 1,300 soldiers in less than two years," Morin said.

Obama set to boost troops, Sheldon Alberts, The Ottawa Citizen, 1 December 2009

President Barack Obama will tell the American public tonight he is sending an additional 30,000 to 35,000 troops to Afghanistan. The bulk of U.S. reinforcements are slated to be deployed to Helmand and Kandahar provinces, where the Taliban insurgency has been strongest. Several thousand new U.S. troops are expected to join the Canadian command in Kandahar.

Meanwhile, Brown announced Monday Britain would send 500 more soldiers to Afghanistan -- bringing that country's total force level to 9,500 -- while Poland signaled it may add troops to its 2,000-strong contingent. Australia announced last April it was adding 450 troops to its 1,100-soldier commitment.

Key Facts:

New approximates of total US troops in Afghanistan - 64,800.

Interactive graphic: Afghanistan - Behind the front line, Matthew Green, Helen Warrell, Serena Tarling, Steve Bernard and Marine Formentini, Financial Times, 13 October 2009

In this graphic, the FT looks at the work of the provincial reconstruction teams (the groups of soldiers and civilians working on development missions) run by the nine leading nations in the International Security Assistance Force, to assess their activities and establish indicators of success.

Within the nation-building, security and counter-narcotics sections on the graphic below, click on each ISAF country to see details of its activities and where its PRTs are located.

Key facts on ISAF Troop Sizes:
US            - 26,215
Britain       - 8,300
Germany     -   3,465
Canada     -   2,830
France        -   2,780
Italy           -   2,350
Netherlands - 1,590
Poland         - 1,770
Australia      - 1,090

Total           50,390

Leaders agree to boost coalition forces in Afghanistan, AFP, France24, 4 April 2009

The leaders of the 28 NATO allies agreed on Saturday to deploy up to 5,000 additional troops in Afghanistan to help secure elections in August and to provide training for Afghan forces. European nations offered more than 3,500 troops to help stem a tenacious Taliban-led insurgency. At least 10 teams of trainers and mentors for the Afghan security forces -- both the army and police -- were stumped up, totalling around an additional 500 personnel in all.

Lithuania came forward with more special forces for southern Afghanistan, where the Taliban and its backers in Al-Qaeda and among criminal gangs are most active, using rear bases across the border in Pakistan. At least half a dozen helicopters were pledged, plus funds to help run them often at high altitude in Afghanistan's harsh, dry environment, but also three transport aircraft, medical teams and a field hospital. Belgium offered two F-16 fighter jets.

In terms of aid, more than 450 million euros (607 million dollars) were pledged, sources said, Britain with 200 million euros, Spain almost 130 million euros up to 2012, Germany 50 million euros and Norway over 40 million. The funds are earmarked for the elections, development aid, a trust fund to build up the Afghan army from 80,000 troops to around 134,000 by 2012, and to boost the rule of law.

Afghanistan seeks control over NATO deployments, Jason Straziuso and Amir Sha, AP, 21 January 2009

The Afghan government has sent NATO headquarters a draft agreement that would give Afghanistan more control over future NATO deployments in the country — including the deployment of some U.S. troops. The agreement would put into place rules of conduct for NATO-led troops in Afghanistan and the number of additional NATO troops and their location would have to be approved by the Afghan government.

ISAF Fact Sheet, International Security Assistance Force, NATO, 7 February 2007

Useful concise but detailed summary, updated.

"Mission: Conduct military operations in the assigned area of operations to assist the Government of Afghanistan in the establishment and maintenance of a safe and secure environment with full engagement of Afghan National Security Forces, in order to extend government authority and influence, thereby facilitating Afghanistan’s reconstruction and contributing to regional stability."

"Key Facts:

Commander: General (US) Dan K. McNeill

Current HQ: HQ ISAF X (US lead) from 4 FEB 2007

37 Troop Contributing Nations

ISAF Total Strength: Approx 35,460 (Includes National Contingent Commands)

Remaining US Contingent: Approx 8000 (Operation Enduring Freedom)

ISAF AOR (Afghanistan land mass) 650,000 km (sq)

25 Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRT)

International Security Assistance Force, NATO

Comprehensive official site.

NATO in Afghanistan, NATO Topics, NATO.

Analysis and commentary

Order of Battle Coalition Combat Forces in Afghanistan - February 2009, Wesley Morgan, Institute for the Study of War.

Afghanistan War order of battle, Wikipedia

Comprehensive listing and analysis of US-led coalition and ISAF commands and participating countries. "Units from both the U.S. Army and Marines have deployed to Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom. NATO-led forces also are playing a larger role in fighting resurgent Taliban in the south of the country. Below is a list of deployed major units, known as the Order of Battle (ORBAT). NATO-led forces also form the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and the Provincial Reconstruction Teams to facilitate security and reconstruction in Afghanistan."

Operation Enduring Freedom - Afghanistan [OEF-A 5], US Forces Order of Battle, 15 January 2005, GlobalSecurity.org

"This is a "best available" order-of-battle of forces deployed in CENTCOM's part of Central Asia. The amount of publicly available information concerning aircraft types and specific units has diminished to the point that it is no longer possible to provide a high fidelity profile of current deployments. There are evidently significant gaps in unit identifications, as well as non-trivial uncertainties as to numbers of specific types of aircraft. The presence of significant numbers of civilian contractor personnel at various facilities in the region further complicates accounting for total personnel numbers."

Military Operations: Afghanistan, european-defence.co.uk

Comprehensive listing of partcipating countries' contributions. Not about military operations.

International Security Assistance Force, Wikipedia

Comprehensive and regularly updated, covering jurisdiction,structure, command and control participating nations, and timeline of the ISAF development, and with extensive links.

International Security Assistance Force - ISAF 6, GlobalSecurity.0rg

Useful but not frequently updated.

Map of Operation Enduring Freedom Facilities (June 2005), GlobalSecurity.org

Assessing ISAF: A Baseline Study of NATO’s Role in Afghanistan, Cameron Scott, British American Security Information Council, March 2007

Recommendations include:

"Address remaining shortfall in troops and equipment. Those allies who do not contribute these resources should help support the deployment of reinforcements financially.
Abolish caveats that fracture the unity of command and hinder deployment of troops in areas or operations where ISAF command deems their presence necessary. ISAF forces must be available where they are required.
Reduce force-protection measures that place Afghan civilians in danger. Consider establishment of HRW recommended victims-compensationfund or similar scheme to ensure that those who have been victims of violence do not become alienated from the government.
Deploy additional ISAF and ANF units to areas of southern and eastern Afghanistan where the Taliban have challenged government authority.
Emphasize protecting civilians and developing local intelligence networks."

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