Operation Freedom's Sentinel (OFS) was the official name used by the
U.S. government for the mission succeeding
Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) in continuation of the
War in Afghanistan
War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to:
*Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC), the conquest of Afghanistan by the Macedonian Empire
* Muslim conquests of Afghanistan, a series of campaigns in ...
as part of the larger
Global War on Terrorism. Operation Freedom's Sentinel was part of the
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...
-led
Resolute Support Mission, which began on January 1, 2015. OFS had two components: counterterrorism and working with allies as part of Resolute Support.
There were 16,551 NATO and non-NATO troops in Afghanistan around February 2020. Around June 2020, that number dropped to 15,937. In February 2021, there were 9,592 NATO and non-NATO troops in Afghanistan.
The self-reported strength of the
Afghan National Security Forces
The Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF), also known as the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF), were the military and internal security forces of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.
As of 30 June 2020, the ANSF was composed of ...
consisted of more than 300,000 personnel during 2020. These forces surrendered or fled to neighbouring countries during the August phase of the
2021 Taliban offensive
The 2021 Taliban offensive was a Offensive (military), military offensive by the Taliban insurgent group and allied militants that led to the fall of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the end of the nearly 20-year War in Afghanistan (200 ...
, leaving nearly all of the country under Taliban control.
Operation Freedom Sentinel was
expected to formally end on August 31, 2021, but was de-facto completed one day earlier on August 30, as the last remaining troops withdrew and was officially terminated by the DoD on October 1, 2021 as it officially initiated its successor,
Operation Enduring Sentinel.
Objectives
After thirteen years of Operation Enduring Freedom, the U.S. military and NATO allies shifted focus from major military operations to a smaller role of NATO-led training and assistance.
While the bulk of the new mission was under the NATO-led Resolute Support Mission (RS), "a separate 'non-NATO' contingent of U.S. forces will participate in force protection, logistical support and counterterrorism activities."
An October 1, 2015, statement by Gen.
John F. Campbell, commander, Resolute Support Mission, U.S. Forces-Afghanistan/ISAF, defined the U.S. military's objectives. "U.S. forces are now carrying out two well-defined missions: a Counter-Terrorism (CT) mission against the remnants of Al-Qaeda and the Resolute Support TAA mission in support of Afghan security forces. Our CT and TAA efforts are concurrent and complementary. While we continue to attack the remnants of Al-Qaeda, we are also building the ANDSF so that they can secure the Afghan people, win the peace, and contribute to stability throughout the region."
When OFS started U.S. troop levels in Afghanistan were at 9,800 troops. General Campbell requested an additional 1,000 troops while NATO troop levels were built up to a force of about 13,500. His request was granted. In 2019, U.S. troop levels were at 14,000 troops in combined support of NATO RS missions and OFS. By January 2021, the U.S. had reduced its force level to 2,500 troops.
However, it was later revealed that U.S. has 1000 more troops, which include Special Operations forces, than it disclosed in Afghanistan.
Moreover, as of January 2021, there were still approximately 18,000 military contractors, of which a third were U.S. citizens, in Afghanistan President Biden stated on July 8, 2021, that the war in Afghanistan would officially conclude on August 31, 2021.
American airstrikes on Taliban members were projected to continue, but ended with the
fall of the Islamic Republic.
Congressional reports
The Lead Inspector General for Overseas Contingency Operations (Lead IG) is responsible for submitting a quarterly report on OFS to Congress. The quarterly report describes activities in support of OFS, as well as the work of the
Department of Defense, the
Department of State, and the
United States Agency for International Development
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an agency of the United States government that has been responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance.
Established in 1961 and reorganized in 1998 ...
to promote the U.S. Government's policy goals in Afghanistan,
Excerpts from the January 1, 2018 – March 30, 2018 report:
See also
Operation Allies Refuge – part of
the evacuation from
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...
References
* Reviewed a
{{War on Terrorism
Military operations of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) involving the United States
Foreign relations of Afghanistan