Resolute Support Mission

The operation plan for the Resolute Support Mission (RSM) was approved by foreign ministers of the NATO members in late June 2014 and the corresponding status of forces agreement was signed by President of Afghanistan Ashraf Ghani and NATO Senior Civilian Representative in Afghanistan Maurits Jochems in Kabul on 30 September 2014.[4] The United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted United Nations Security Council Resolution 2189 in support of the new international mission in Afghanistan.[5]

The objective of the mission is to provide training, advice and assistance for Afghan security forces and institutions in their conflict with extremist groups such as the Taliban, the Haqqani network, and ISIS-K.[7][8][9]

The Resolute Support Mission consists of approximately 17,000 personnel from NATO and partner nations in Afghanistan with the central hub at Kabul and Bagram Airfield supporting four spokes.[4] The spokes are formed by Train Advise Assist Commands (TAACs), which directly support four of the six Afghan National Army Corps. Train Advise Assist Command - Capital replaces the former Regional Command Capital. TAAC East assists the 201st Corps from FOB Gamberi in Laghman, TAAC South assists the 205th Corps from Kandahar International Airport, TAAC West assists the 207th Corps in Herat and TAAC North covers the 209th Corps from Mazar-i-Sharif.[10]

The 203rd Corps located in the south-eastern part of the country sees advisers from time to time from TAAC East (one source describes this as "fly to advise").[11] The 215th Corps in the south-west is supported by TAAC South.

U.S. President Barack Obama, in an update given from the White House on Wednesday, July 6, 2016, stated that, following General John W. Nicholson's, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Joseph Dunford's, and U.S. Defense Department Secretary Ashton Carter's mutual recommendations, the U.S. would have about 8,400 troops remaining in Afghanistan through the end of his administration in December 2016.[7]

The residual force of 9,800 troops were withdrawn on December 31, 2016, leaving behind 8,400 troops stationed at four garrisons (Kabul, Kandahar, Bagram, and Jalalabad).

The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) is Congressionally appointed to oversee the $117.26 billion that Congress has provided to implement reconstruction programs in Afghanistan. The SIGAR's "April 30, 2018 Quarterly Report to Congress" says, "[As of January 31, 2018,] 14.5% of the country’s total districts [were] under insurgent control or influence [& an additional 29.2% were] contested[.]"[12]

As of 2019, among the forces contributing to the mission are 8,475 Americans training and helping Afghan forces, approximately 5,500 Americans engaged in counter-terrorism missions, 8,673 allied soldiers and 27,000 military contractors.[13]

A new type of U.S. unit, the Security Force Assistance Brigades, began deploying to Afghanistan in February 2018 to support the mission.[14]

The United Kingdom announced in July 2018 that it was to send 440 more British personnel to Afghanistan. Around half of the additional personnel deployed in August 2018 and the other half followed by February 2019. This increased the total number of British personnel in the country from 650 to 1,090 by early 2019.[15]

The following nations had personnel stationed in Afghanistan as part of the mission in June 2020:[1]

Country	Number of personnel
United States	2,500
Germany	1,300
United Kingdom	1,100
Italy	895
Iraq	871
Georgia	860
Romania	738
Turkey	600
Poland	360
Mongolia	233
Australia	200
Portugal	188
Bulgaria	160
Netherlands	160
Armenia	121
Azerbaijan	120
Denmark	108
Albania	99
Belgium	92
Czech Republic	91
Hungary	89
Croatia	76
Bosnia-Herzegovina	66
Finland	65
Norway	61
Estonia	45
North Macedonia	42
Latvia	40
Spain	36
Montenegro	32
Lithuania	25
Slovakia	20
Sweden	13
Ukraine	13
Austria	11
Greece	11
New Zealand	9
Slovenia	6
Luxembourg	2
Total	15,937

• GEN John F. Campbell, USA, December 28, 2014
• GEN John W. Nicholson Jr., USA, March 30, 2016
• GEN Austin S. Miller, USA, September 2, 2018

• Operation Freedom's Sentinel – American mission in Afghanistan

• Official Resolute Support Mission website