Is there a US military base in Afghanistan?
Bagram Airfield
Bagram Airfield or BAF also known as Bagram Air Base is the largest U.S. military base in Afghanistan. It is located next to the ancient city of Bagram, southeast of Charikar in the Parwan Province of Afghanistan. It has a dual runway capable of handling any size military aircraft, including Lockheed Martin C-5 Galaxy and Antonov An-225. Bagram Air Base is occupied by the Afghan Armed Forces and the US-led Resolute Support Mission.
List of military operations in the war in Afghanistan (2001–present)
The war in Afghanistan (2001–present) began on October 7, 2001, as Operation Enduring Freedom, a response to the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States of America (U.S.). This marked the beginning of the U.S. War on Terrorism. The stated purpose of the invasion was to capture Osama bin Laden, destroy al-Qaeda, and remove the Taliban regime which had provided support and safe harbour to al-Qaeda.In January 2006, NATO’s focus in southern Afghanistan was to form Provincial Reconstruction Teams with the British leading in Helmand Province and the Netherlands and Canada would lead similar deployments in Orūzgān Province and Kandahar Province respectively. The Americans with 2,200 troops stayed in control of Zabul Province. Local Taliban figures voiced opposition to the incoming force and pledged to resist it.US and NATO ISAF operations, alongside Afghan National Army forces, continued against the Taliban through 2007. Significant military operations in 2007 included the ongoing operations around Sangin, Operation Achilles, the Battle of Chora, Operation Harekate Yolo and the Battle of Musa Qala, amongst others.
US and NATO ISAF operations, alongside Afghan National Army forces, continued against the Taliban through 2008. Significant military operations in 2008 included the ongoing Helmand province campaign, Operation Karez, and Operation Eagle's Summit, amongst others.This is a list of military operations of the war in Afghanistan (2001–present). You can sort by any column by clicking on the hourglass in the column title.
War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
On 9 February 2017, General John W. Nicholson Jr. told Congress that NATO and allied forces in Afghanistan are facing a "stalemate" and that he needed a few thousand additional troops to more effectively train and advise Afghan soldiers. He also asserted that Russia was trying to "legitimize" the Taliban by creating the "false narrative" that the militant organization has been fighting the Islamic State and that Afghan forces have not, he asserted Russia's goal, was "to undermine the United States and NATO" in Afghanistan. However, he said that the area in which Islamic State fighters operate in Afghanistan had been greatly reduced. A U.S. Special Forces soldier was severely wounded that day when the base he was at was attacked in Helmand province, raising the number of U.S. troops injured in combat nationwide so far this year to at least 6, Nicholson indicated the soldier was wounded in Sangin.
Withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan
In the middle of June 2017 newly elected U.S. President Donald Trump gave the U.S. military decision making authority over troop numbers for U.S. military operations in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.
The new authority includes increasing the current troop level cap beyond the 8,400 U.S. troops authorized as of July 2017. U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis said in June 2017 about the authority to make decisions about how many US troops are deployed to Afghanistan without first having to get formal agreement from the White House: "This assures the department can facilitate our missions and nimbly align our commitment to the situation on the ground. Our overall mission in Afghanistan remains the same, to train, advise and assist the Afghan forces so they can safeguard the Afghan people and terrorists can find no haven in Afghanistan for attacking us or others." The broad outlines of the Afghanistan strategy have been in place since April 2017 and were described as "an increase in special operations forces to train, advise and assist Afghan forces; a more robust plan to go after elements in Pakistan that aid the Taliban; the deployment of more air power and artillery; and a political commitment to the survival of the current government in Kabul".
Operation Enduring Freedom
The war continued in the south of the country, where the Taliban retreated to Kandahar. After Kandahar fell in December, remnants of the Taliban and al-Qaeda continued to mount resistance. Meanwhile, in November 2001 the U.S. military and its allied forces established their first ground base in Afghanistan to the south west of Kandahar, known as FOB Rhino.
Political positions of Gary Johnson
Johnson initially supported the war in Afghanistan as a response to the September 11 attacks, reasoning "We were attacked, and we attacked back." However, he opposes continued military involvement in Afghanistan, stating that "after being in Afghanistan for six months I think we effectively wiped out al Qaeda." He also believes the United States "should not be borrowing money to build roads, bridges, schools and other infrastructure in foreign countries, especially when such help is currently needed at home. Non-military foreign aid around the world is something we cannot currently afford." On April 9, 2012, Johnson told "The Daily Caller" that while he would withdraw military forces, he would not rule out putting U.S. military bases in Afghanistan.
201st Corps (Afghanistan)
The corps' 1st Brigade is at the Presidential Palace. 3rd Brigade, at Pol-e-Charkhi, is to be a mechanised formation including M113s and Soviet-built main battle tanks. Later information from LongWarJournal.com places most of the 3rd Brigade at Jalalabad, 2nd Brigade at Pol-e-Charkhi, and only a single battalion of 1st Brigade at the Presidential Palace. Its battlespace includes the Afghan capital of Kabul as well as vital routes running north and south, and valleys leading from the Pakistani border into Afghanistan. As of 2009, the 3rd Brigade of the 201st Corps is the only unit that has control of an area of responsibility in Afghanistan without the aid or assistance of U.S. or coalition forces.
United States invasion of Afghanistan
In May 2002 Combined Joint Task Force 180 became the senior U.S. military headquarters in the country, under Lieutenant General Dan K. McNeill.
Parwan Detention Facility
The Parwan Detention Facility (also called Detention Facility in Parwan) is Afghanistan's main military prison. Situated next to the Bagram Air Base in the Parwan Province of Afghanistan, the prison was built by the United States during the Bush Administration. The Parwan Detention Facility, which houses foreign and local combatants (terrorists), is maintained by the Afghan National Army.
War in Afghanistan (1978–present)
The UN Security Council established the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in December 2001 to provide basic security for the people of Afghanistan and assist the Karzai administration. Since 2002, the total number of ISAF and U.S. forces have climbed from 15,000 to 150,000. The majority of them belong to various branches of the United States Armed Forces, who are not only fighting the Taliban insurgency but also training the Afghan Armed Forces and Afghan National Police. They are scheduled to withdraw slowly until the end of 2014 but Vice President Joe Biden has proposed to retain an unknown number of U.S. military personnel after the 2014 deadline if the security situation required and the Afghan government and people desired. Germany has announced that they will continue training Afghan police recruits after the 2014 withdrawal date for military troops.
NATO and Afghan troops led many offensives against the Taliban in this period. By 2009, a Taliban-led shadow government began to form, complete with their own version of mediation court. In 2010, U.S. President Barack Obama deployed an additional 30,000 soldiers over a period of six months and proposed that he would begin troop withdrawals by 2012. At the 2010 International Conference on Afghanistan in London, Afghan President Hamid Karzai said he intended to reach out to the Taliban leadership (including Mullah Omar, Sirajuddin Haqqani and Gulbuddin Hekmatyar). Supported by senior U.S. officials Karzai called on the group's leadership to take part in a loya jirga meeting to initiate peace talks. According to the "Wall Street Journal", these steps were initially reciprocated with an intensification of bombings, assassinations and ambushes.
Seth Jones (political scientist)
On March 21, 2017, Seth G. Jones outlines an Afghanistan foreign policy strategy for the new Trump administration, in the article, “How Trump Should Manage Afghanistan: A Realistic Set of Goals for the New Administration.” (Jones) Jones describes that the current administration faces major issues in Afghanistan. The country is still a vital state in combating the war on terror. Jones discusses that the United States should have a realistic set of goals for Afghanistan. He states, “The United States should thus not expect the Afghan government to defeat the Taliban on the battlefield over the next four years of the administration. Instead, Washington should set a more realistic goal: to ensure that the Taliban doesn’t win. In order to do this, Washington could take several steps.” (Jones) Jones lays out two main areas the United States should focus on. First, the United States should continue to encourage for governance reform in the country. Past elections have been riddled with corruption. The United States has to push to make sure this does not happen. He also determined that the United States should encourage a “diplomatic reconciliation” with the Taliban. The next point Jones makes has to do with the amount of U.S. troops in Afghanistan. General Nicholson has requested, “several thousand additional troops.” (Jones) Jones concludes that this is a reasonable request.
U.S.–Afghanistan Strategic Partnership Agreement
In a preamble, the draft specifies that "the United States does not seek permanent military facilities in Afghanistan, or a presence that is a threat to Afghanistan's neighbors, and has pledged not to use Afghan territory or facilities as a launching point for attacks on other countries." It says that "unless otherwise mutually agreed, United States forces shall not conduct combat operations in Afghanistan" and makes no promise of U.S. military support in the event of an attack or other security threat to Afghanistan. If there is such a threat, it says, the United States will regard it with "grave concern," consult and "shall urgently determine support it is prepared to provide." But the United States stated the U.S. will regard any external aggression with "grave concern" and will "strongly oppose" military threats or force against Afghanistan after 2014.
Camp Qargha
Camp Qargha, formerly Camp Phoenix, is a NATO military installation in Afghanistan, maintained by the United States Army and British Army. It is located in Kabul, about six miles from the Kabul International Airport (KBL).
Withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan
The text of the BSA was approved by the delegates at the Loya Jirga on 24 November 2013 and must now be signed by the Afghanistan president, who rejected the final recommendation of the Loya Jirga promptly to sign the BSA with the United States, and sent to the parliament for final ratification. If approved, the agreement would allow the U.S. to deploy military advisors to train and equip Afghan security forces, along with U.S. special-operations troops for anti-terrorism missions against Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups. Obama will determine the size of the force. The jirga set a few conditions before expressing approval for the agreement among them a 10-year time limit on the post-2014 troop presence and reparations for damages caused by U.S. troops deployed in Afghanistan. It also voted attach a letter by Obama; pledging that U.S. troops would enter Afghan homes only in "extraordinary" circumstances and only if American lives were at direct risk, to the BSA. The elder assembly also demanded the release of 19 Afghans from the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay and a stronger U.S. pledge to defend Afghanistan from any incursion from it neighbors, particularly Pakistan. The loya jirga also voted to request that the U.S. military add a base to the nine bases that would be occupied by U.S. troops under the proposed security pact after combat forces depart Afghanistan by the end of 2014. The base is in Bamian Province in central Afghanistan, where the NATO-led military coalition has maintained a presence. Bamian is a population center for Hazaras, a Shiite minority whose members were massacred by the Taliban prior to the U.S.-led invasion that toppled the militant group. Afghan analysts said Hazara delegates proposed the additional base. At least five of the 50 jirga committees raised objections to the article addressing "status of personnel" which "authorises the United States to hold [civil and criminal] trial ... or take other disciplinary action, as appropriate, in the territory of Afghanistan" when a US soldier is accused of criminal activity. Spokespeople from at least two committees directly stated that Afghanistan should have jurisdiction over any US soldiers accused of crimes on Afghan soil. Several committees also stated that if trials are held in the United States, families of victims should have access to and presence in US-held trials at the expense of Washington.
Withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan
Afghanistan and the United States signed the bilateral security agreement through U.S. Ambassador James B. Cunningham and Afghan national security adviser Mohammad Hanif the bilateral security agreement on 30 September 2014 in a cordial ceremony at the presidential palace in Kabul, Afghanistan. On that day the NATO Status of Forces Agreement was also signed, giving forces from Allied and partner countries the legal protections necessary to carry out the NATO Resolute Support Mission when International Security Assistance Force comes to an end in 2014. Under both agreements 9,800 American and at least 2,000 NATO troops are allowed to remain in Afghanistan after the international combat mission formally ends on 31 December 2014 while also enabling the continued training and advising of Afghan security forces, as well as counterterrorism operations against remnants of al-Qaeda. Most of the troops will help train and assist the struggling Afghan security forces, although some American Special Operations forces will remain to conduct counterterrorism missions. The Nato-led ISAF mission will transition to a training mission headquartered in Kabul with six bases around the country. Under the BSA the United States are allowed to have bases at nine separate locations across Afghanistan. A base in Jalalabad, in eastern Afghanistan, could also remain a launching point for armed drone missions in Afghanistan and across the border in Pakistan. The agreement also prevents U.S. military personnel from being prosecuted under Afghan laws for any crimes they may commit; instead, the United States has jurisdiction over any criminal proceedings or disciplinary action involving its troops inside the country. The provision does not apply to civilian contractors. The troop number of 9.800 Americans is to be cut in half by 2016, with American forces thereafter based only in Kabul and at Bagram air base. By the end of 2017, the U.S. force is to be further reduced in size to what U.S. officials have called a "normal" military advisory component at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, most likely numbering several hundred. The BSA goes into force on 1 January 2015 and remains in force "until the end of 2024 and beyond" unless it is terminated by either side with two years' notice.
Al Minhad Air Base
Several foreign countries allied to the United Arab Emirates are believed to have made use of Al Minhad Air Base since the early 2000s to support the logistics supply chain for their army operations in Afghanistan. Use of the Al Minhad Air Base is a sensitive matter for the Government of the United Arab Emirates, which imposes a diplomatic agreement stating that the militaries of foreign governments not advertise the host nation nor location of their operations in the United Arab Emirates due to "local sensitivities" about allowing a foreign military presence within its borders.
United States Africa Command
President Bush denied that the United States was contemplating the construction of new bases on the African continent. U.S. plans include no large installations such as Camp Bondsteel in Kosovo, but rather a network of "cooperative security locations" at which temporary activities will be conducted. There is one U.S. base on the continent, Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti, with approximately 2,300 troops stationed there having been inherited from USCENTCOM upon standup of the command.
Forward Operating Base Shank
FOB Shank (, also known as Firebase Shank) is a "forward operating base" of the U.S. military, located in the Logar province of Eastern Afghanistan, about 12 km south-east of the city of Baraki Barak.
Withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan
By May 2014 no agreement on the bilateral security agreement had been reached. Obama on a trip to Afghanistan in late May 2014 said he was about to make decisions on the transition and was in the country to meet with Afghanistan's leaders prior to making those decisions final. On 27 May 2014, Obama announced that U.S. combat operations in Afghanistan would end in December 2014. A residual force of 9,800 troops would remain in the country which includes a group of troops to train and advise Afghan security forces and a separate group of Special Operations forces to continue counterterrorism missions against remnants of al-Qaeda. These forces would be halved by the end of 2015, and consolidated at Bagram Air Base and in Kabul. Obama also announced that all U.S. forces, with the exception of a "normal embassy presence," would be removed from Afghanistan by the end of 2016. These remaining forces would be a regular armed forces assistance group, largely to handle military sales under the authority of the U.S. ambassador, but also guard the US embassy, train Afghan forces and support counter-terrorism operations. These troop will not exceed 1,000 troops, akin to the security presence that is currently as of May 2014 in Iraq. The president's plans were subject to the approval of the incoming Afghan government and its willingness to sign the bilateral security agreement providing immunity for U.S. troops serving in the country, which outgoing president Karzai had refused to sign. The U.S. post 2014 presence plans were welcomed by outgoing Afghanistan president Hamid Karzai saying that Afghanistan was ready to take responsibility for its own security and the move could pave the way for Taliban peace talks. While Afghanistan military forces reacted to Obama's plans with skepticism arguing among other things that Afghan military's lack of air support and heavy artillery couldn't be overcome by 2016 or 2017 and NATO welcomed the announcement, U.S. politicians split along party lines to Obama's drawdown and post 2014 presence plans, Afghanistan lawmakers considered those plans a blow to Afghan morale and American think tanks questioned the post presence limitation to the end of 2016 pointing out to experience in Germany, Britain, Korea and Japan, where U.S. forces remain long after wars have ended but the need to support strong allies remains.
Afghan Armed Forces
The NATO-trained Afghan National Army is organized into 31 Kandaks, or Battalions, 28 of which are considered combat ready. Seven regional corps headquarters exist. The National Military Academy of Afghanistan was built to provide future officers, it is modeled after the United States Military Academy and United States Air Force Academy. The Afghan Defense University (ADU) is located in Kabul province and consists of a headquarters building, classrooms, dining facility, library, and medical clinic. In addition to this, an $80 million central command center was built next to the Hamid Karzai International Airport. In 2012, Afghanistan became a Major non-NATO ally of the United States.
War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
In May 2002 Combined Joint Task Force 180 became the senior U.S. military headquarters in the country, under Lieutenant General Dan K. McNeill.
Black site
A report by the human rights organization Human Rights Watch, entitled "Enduring Freedom - Abuses by US Forces in Afghanistan", states that the CIA has operated in Afghanistan since September 2001; maintaining a large facility in the Ariana Chowk neighborhood of Kabul and a detention and interrogation facility at the Bagram airbase.
War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
On 19 March, it was reported by Reuters that the U.S. military bases in Kandahar and Jalalabad were likely to remain open beyond the end of 2015, a senior U.S. official said, as the Federal Government of the United States considered slowing its military withdrawal to help the new government fight the Taliban. The anticipated policy reversal reflected U.S. support of Afghanistan's new and more cooperative president, Ashraf Ghani, and a desire to avoid the collapse of local security forces that occurred in Iraq after the U.S. withdrawal there.
Mule
During the Soviet–Afghan War, the United States used large numbers of mules to carry weapons and supplies over Afghanistan's rugged terrain to the mujahideen. Use of mules by U.S. forces has continued during the War in Afghanistan, and the United States Marine Corps has conducted an 11-day Animal Packers Course since the 1960s at its Mountain Warfare Training Center located in the Sierra Nevada near Bridgeport, California.
Firebase Fiddler's Green
Fiddler's Green is an expeditionary fire base in Afghanistan built by the United States Marine Corps. It is located off Route 605 in Nawa-I-Barakzayi District of Helmand Province. It was originally built by the 3d Battalion, 11th Marines in 2009 for Operation Strike of the Sword.
United States invasion of Afghanistan
Following the Loya jirga, tribal leaders and former exiles established an interim government in Kabul under Hamid Karzai. U.S. forces established their main base at Bagram airbase just north of Kabul. Kandahar airport also became an important U.S. base. Outposts were established in eastern provinces to hunt for Taliban and al-Qaeda fugitives.
Termez
During the war in Afghanistan (1979–1989) over 100,000 Soviet troops were based in Termez. The airbase is currently the main support base for German and Dutch forces operating with the ISAF in Afghanistan.
2012 Afghanistan Quran burning protests
Bagram Airfield is one of the largest American military bases in Afghanistan, about northeast of the Afghan capital Kabul. The Parwan Detention Facility, located at the base, houses hundreds of Taliban, al Qaeda and other captured militants.
Sniperhill
As of February 2012, the company's base-wide operations on US and NATO Bases throughout Afghanistan and Iraq were located in: Baghdad, Kirkuk, and Um Qasr in Iraq and Bagram Airfield, Jalalabad, Kabul, Kandahar, Mazar e-Sharif, Camp Dwyer and Shindand Air Base in Afghanistan.
Dugway Proving Ground
Dugway's mission is to test United States and Allied biological and chemical weapon defense systems in a secure and isolated environment. DPG also serves as a facility for US Army Reserve and US National Guard maneuver training, and US Air Force flight tests—mostly from nearby Hill Air Force Base in Clearfield. DPG is controlled by the United States Army Test and Evaluation Command (ATEC). The area has also been used by Army special forces for training in preparation for deployments to the War in Afghanistan.
2005 in Afghanistan
The following lists events that happened during 2005 in Afghanistan.In February 2005, U.S. Senator John McCain called for the establishment of permanent U.S. military bases in Afghanistan, saying such bases would be "for the good of the American people, because of the long-term security interests we have in the region".
Shindand Air Base
"Construction of a perimeter fence at Shindand Air Base tripled the size of the base and included 52 guard towers. Force protection was a major component of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) military construction program in Afghanistan." Shindand also hosts the 3rd Wing of the Afghan Air Force (AAF).
2016 Bagram Airfield bombing
The 2016 Bagram bombing took place on November 12, 2016, when a suicide bomber managed to penetrate the security layer of Bagram Airfield, the largest U.S. military base in Afghanistan located about 45 km north of Kabul, detonating his vest near a group of Soldiers who were en route to Modern Army Combatives Training. Four U.S. citizens were killed (2 soldiers and 2 contractors, while at least 17 others were injured, including 16 Americans and 1 Polish citizen. One injured Soldier died a month later from complications due to injuries sustained in the blast raising the total killed to 5.
United States Central Command
The U.S. armed forces use a variable number of base locations depending on its level of operations. With ongoing warfare in Iraq and Afghanistan in 2003, the United States Air Force used 35 bases, while in 2006 it used 14, including four in Iraq. The United States Navy maintains one major base and one smaller installation, with extensive deployments afloat and ashore by U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Coast Guard ships, aviation units and ground units.
Armed Forces of the Republic of Uzbekistan
After the September 11, 2001 attacks, the United States leased the Karshi-Khanabad airbase in southern Uzbekistan, which borders Afghanistan. The American base there was called "Camp Stronghold Freedom," yet was more often referred to as "K2 Airbase" by the personnel in theater.
Durand Line
In July 2003, Pakistani and Afghan forces clashed over border posts. The Afghan government claimed that Pakistani military established bases up to 600 meters inside Afghanistan in the Yaqubi area near bordering Mohmand Agency. The Yaqubi and Yaqubi Kandao (Pass) area were later found to fall within Afghanistan. In 2007, Pakistan erected fences and posts a few hundred meters inside Afghanistan, near the border-straddling bazaar of Angoor Ada in South Waziristan, but the Afghan National Army quickly removed them and began shelling Pakistani positions. Leaders in Pakistan said the fencing was a way to prevent Taliban militants from crossing over between the two nations but Afghan President Hamid Karzai believed that it is Islamabad's plan to permanently separate the Pashtun tribes. Special Forces from the United States Army have been based at Shkin, Afghanistan, seven kilometers west of Angoor Ada, since 2002. In 2009, the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and American CIA have begun using unmanned aerial vehicles from the Afghan side to hit terrorist targets on the Pakistani side of the Durand Line.
American University of Afghanistan
The campus of the American University of Afghanistan is located on Darulaman Road in Kabul, Afghanistan. The current campus operates on the site of the former American International School of Kabul. A large tract of land immediately across the road from the current campus, and running south to the Dar-ul-Amman Palace is currently being developed for campus expansion.
History of the United States Army Special Forces
On October 4, 2016, a US soldier from B Company, 2nd Battalion, 10th SFG was killed by a roadside bomb blast in Achin, Nangarhar province. He was on a patrol with Afghan forces during an operation against ISIL-KP militants. This marked the first time a U.S. serviceman was killed in combat against IS militants in the country. On October 17, DEA agents, supported by a US Army Green Beret A-team and Afghan counter-narcotic units conducted a warranted search in a remote village in Farah province. After a brief gunfight with insurgents near the compound outside the remote village, they discovered a "superlab" belonging to the Hadimama drug trafficking network that was led by two suspected Taliban commanders and facilitators. The team seized of drugs (12.5 tons of morphine base, 6.4 tons of heroin base, 134 kilograms of opium, 129 kilograms of crystal heroin and 12 kilograms of hashish). They also seized nine motorcycles and five AK-47 rifles. It was reported that the superlab was apparently a first of its kind seen by DEA agents in Afghanistan. Officials said it was the "largest known seizure of heroin in Afghanistan, if not the world."
History of the United States Air Force
In 2001, the USAF was deployed against the Taliban forces in Afghanistan. Operating from Diego Garcia, B-52 Stratofortress and B-1 Lancer bombers attacked Taliban positions. The USAF deployed daisy cutter bombs, dropped from C-130 Hercules cargo planes, for the first time since the Vietnam War. During this conflict, the USAF opened up bases in Central Asia for the first time.
PAF Base Samungli
The base has been used by the United States for military logistical operations in support of the 2001 war in Afghanistan. According to an anonymous source, the Pentagon is able to make use of the base "as and when".
455th Air Expeditionary Wing
The 455th Air Expeditionary Wing is a provisional United States Air Force USAFCENT unit located to Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan. It is one of two expeditionary wings in Afghanistan. Most of the wing personnel are located at the Air Force Village known as Camp Cunningham.
Tajikistan
Russian border troops were stationed along the Tajik–Afghan border until summer 2005. Since the September 11, 2001 attacks, French troops have been stationed at the Dushanbe Airport in support of air operations of NATO's International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan. United States Army and Marine Corps personnel periodically visit Tajikistan to conduct joint training missions of up to several weeks duration. The Government of India rebuilt the Ayni Air Base, a military airport located 15 km southwest of Dushanbe, at a cost of $70 million, completing the repairs in September 2010. It is now the main base of the Tajikistan air force. There have been talks with Russia concerning use of the Ayni facility, and Russia continues to maintain a large base on the outskirts of Dushanbe.
Military base
Bases used by the United States Air Force Reserve tend to be active USAF bases. However, there are a few Air Reserve Bases, such as Dobbins ARB, Georgia, and Grissom ARB, Indiana, both of which are former active-duty USAF bases. Facilities of the Air National Guard are often located on civil airports in a secure cantonment area not accessible to the general public, though some units are based on USAF bases, and a few ANG-operated bases, such as Selfridge ANGB, Michigan. Support facilities on Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve installations tend to not be as extensive as active bases; i.e., they usually do not have on-base lodging (though Kingsley Field ANGB, Oregon, is an exception), clinics (except for drill days), or retail stores (although some have small convenience stores)
Camp Leatherneck
Camp Leatherneck is a 1,600 acre Afghan Armed Forces base in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. The site is mostly in Washir District and is conjoined with Camp Bastion, the main British military base in Afghanistan.
Opposition to the war in Afghanistan (2001–2014)
In March 2011, U.S. Congressman Bruce Braley reported that American military commanders in Afghanistan very clearly expect – under the best-case scenario – a "significant U.S. presence" to continue in that country for approximately another decade. His report of the expectations of a continued U.S. military presence through 2020 came after a fact-finding trip to Afghanistan where he met with U.S. General David Petraeus, U.S. Ambassador and former general Karl Eikenberry, as well as other military officials.
Kiligai
Kiligai (Kilagai, Kilagay, Kila Gai, Qalagai, Dasht-e Kiligai) is a location in Baghlan Province, Afghanistan, which during the Soviet-Afghan War held one of the three major Soviet bases in Afghanistan (the other two being Shindand and Bagram). It was described in 1987 by the BBC Monitoring Service as the "largest military supply and armoury centre of the Soviet troops in Afghanistan."
Camp Leatherneck
Camp Leatherneck was master-planned by the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Europe District FEST-A Team from Wiesbaden, Germany in October/November 2008. Upon arrival to Kandahar, the team was tasked by the Theater Engineer of U.S. Forces Afghanistan (USFOR-A) to find a suitable location in Helmand Province for 2K-15K troops. The primary purpose for the base was to house troops for a majority of an estimated 26,000 additional U.S. troops being deployed to Afghanistan. Throughout all of southern Afghanistan, bases were all at or above capacity leading to the paramount need for a large centrally located base for the surge. The site was chosen primarily to take advantage of the adjacent British Airfield on Camp Bastion and to provide much needed protection to the primary east-west corridor of Highway 1 in Helmand Province.
Battle of Tora Bora
U.S. forces established their main base at Bagram Air Base just north of Kabul. They used Kandahar International Airport as an important base for accepting and distributing supplies and personnel. Several outposts were established in eastern provinces to hunt for Taliban and Al-Qaeda fugitives. The number of U.S. troops operating in the country would eventually grow to more than 10,000 as efforts against the Taliban and al-Qaeda were increased.
Afghan Air Force
The Afghan Air Force (AAF; ; ) is the aerial warfare branch of the Afghan Armed Forces. It is divided into four wings, with the 1st Wing at Kabul, the 2nd Wing at Kandahar, the 3rd Wing at Shindand, and the 4th Wing at Mazar-i-Sharif in northern Afghanistan. Lt. Gen. Mohammad Dawran serves as Chief of Staff of the Afghan Air Force and Major General Abdul Wahab Wardak is the Afghan Air Force Commander. The command center of the Afghan Air Force is located at Kabul International Airport and the Shindand Air Base in Herat Province serves as the main training area.
Ghazni
After the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan, the United States armed forces built a base in Ghazni. They have been involved in rebuilding projects and protecting the local population against Taliban insurgents. In the meantime, they are also training the Afghan Local Police (ALP) Afghan National Police (ANP) and Afghan National Army (ANA). In 2010, the United States established the Lincoln Learning Center in Ghazni. The Lincoln learning centers in Afghanistan serve as programming platforms offering English language classes, library facilities, programming venues, Internet connectivity, educational and other counseling services. A goal of the program is to reach at least 4,000 Afghan citizens per month per location.
Withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan
U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis confirmed on September 18, 2017 that the United States will send over 3,000 additional troops to Afghanistan. The extra troops brought the total number of U.S. forces in Afghanistan to more than 14,000 and bolstered the Afghan military in its fight against the Taliban, al Qaeda and the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.
List of military operations in the war in Afghanistan (2001–present)
From May 1996, Osama bin Laden had been living in Afghanistan along with other members of al-Qaeda, operating terrorist training camps in a loose alliance with the Taliban. Following the 1998 US embassy bombings in Africa, the US military launched cruise missiles at these camps with limited effect on their overall operations. A follow-on plan, called Operation Infinite Resolve, was planned but not implemented.
Pakistan–United States military relations
The following military bases in Pakistan have been accessible to the United States, mainly for logistics, relief efforts or as launching bases for drone operations. Pakistan comes under the United States Central Command (USCENTCOM) theatre of operations. The Afghanistan-Pakistan Center of Excellence is a division of USCENTCOM, focusing on analysis of operations in Pakistan and Afghanistan (formerly known as the AfPak theatre). Currently, there are no U.S. bases in Pakistan.
Joint Task Force Guantanamo
Joint Task Force Guantanamo (JTF-GTMO) is a U.S. military joint task force based at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Guantánamo Bay, Cuba on the southeastern end of the base. JTF-GTMO falls under US Southern Command. Since January 2002 the command has operated the Guantanamo Bay detention camps Camp X-Ray and its successors Camp Delta, Camp V, and Camp Echo, where detained prisoners are held who have been captured in the war in Afghanistan and elsewhere since the September 11, 2001 attacks. From the command's founding in 2002 to early 2017, the detainee population has been reduced from 779 to 41. As of 2018, the unit is under the command of Rear Admiral John C. Ring.
Withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan
On August 21, 2017 U.S. President Trump unveiled his strategy for Afghanistan and the broader South Asia, but he didn't specify either the number of troops that would be committed, or the conditions by which he would judge the success of their mission there. Instead conditions on the ground would determine troop levels and strategy. This was confirmed on August 24, 2017 by the military commander for United States and NATO forces in Afghanistan, General John W. Nicholson, who described the new strategy in Afghanistan as defining success by conditions on the ground and not "arbitrary timelines." U.S. President Trump said in his August 21, 2017 speech that "victory will have a clear definition: attacking our enemies, obliterating ISIS, crushing al-Qaeda, preventing the Taliban from taking over the country, and stopping mass terror attacks against Americans before they emerge." For this purpose about 4,000 more than the 8,500 U.S. service members currently in the region will be deployed according to the Washington Post citing congressional officials who were told this number by the Trump Administration.
1st Cavalry Division (United States)
In September 2016, the 1st Cavalry Division Headquarters deployed again to Afghanistan, this time with the 1st Cavalry Division Sustainment Brigade alongside it. The headquarters serves as the United States Forces - Afghanistan National Support Element, and is also responsible for Bagram Airfield, the largest US military base in Afghanistan. It supports forces serving in the United States' Operation Freedom's Sentinel and NATO's Resolute Support Mission, enabling both the international effort to train, advise, and assist the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces and the counterterrorism fight. The 1st Cavalry Division Sustainment Brigade also supports both Operation Freedom's Sentinel and Resolute Support, and is the Army's only currently-deployed active duty Sustainment Brigade.
U.S.–Afghanistan Strategic Partnership Agreement
On May 1, 2012 Afghan President Hamid Karzai and U.S. President Barack Obama signed the "Enduring Strategic Partnership Agreement between the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the United States of America", after Obama arrived in Afghanistan as part of unannounced trip on the first anniversary of Osama bin Laden's death to sign the agreement, to visit American troops and to address the American nation from Bagram Air Base about his plans to responsibly end the war. The White House released a fact sheet to the agreement which stated that the agreement is a legally binding executive agreement the purpose of which is "to cement an enduring partnership with Afghanistan that strengthens Afghan sovereignty, stability and prosperity, and that contributes to our shared goal of defeating Al Qaeda and its extremist affiliates". The agreement shall help to promote NATO training of Afghan forces, a reconciliation and reintegration process for Taliban fighters who leave the battlefield, and regional stability with a focus on improving relations with Pakistan. The duration of the agreement is 10 years and requires from both parties to replace the current status of forces agreement with a bilateral security arrangement to be negotiated within a year. Covered areas under the agreement are military and security issues as well as assistance in building Afghanistan's economy and its democracy. One of the provisions of the agreement is the designation of Afghanistan as a major non-NATO ally of the United States to provide a long-term framework for security and defense cooperation. Other provisions of the agreement are:President Karzai said that the agreement "will close the season of the past 10 years and is going to open an equal relationship season. With the signing of this agreement, we are starting a phase between two sovereign and independent countries that will be based on mutual respect, mutual commitments and mutual friendship". During a background briefing on the strategic partnership agreement by senior administration officials aboard Air Force One en route to Afghanistan, an unnamed U.S. official said: "This agreement will make clear to the Taliban, to al Qaeda, and to other international terrorist groups that they cannot wait us out. The agreement is not only a signal of long-term commitment by the United States, but a document that enshrines commitments by both countries to each other with a common purpose. Our commitments to support Afghanistan's social and economic development, security, institutions and regional cooperation is matched by Afghan commitments to strengthen accountability, transparency, oversight, and to protect the human rights of all Afghans, men and women." Another U.S. official told "The New York Times" the agreement is necessary to give the United States the capacity to carry out counter-terrorism operations in order to prevent Al Qaeda's resettlement in Afghanistan and ensures "a regional equilibrium that serves our national security interest. And that's ultimately why we went in there in the first place."
Central Asia
Afghanistan, which had served as a haven and source of support for Al-Qaeda under the protection of Mullah Omar and the Taliban, was the target of a U.S. invasion in 2001 and ongoing reconstruction and drug-eradication efforts. U.S. military bases have also been established in Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, causing both Russia and the People's Republic of China to voice their concern over a permanent U.S. military presence in the region.
2011 Afghanistan Boeing Chinook shootdown
In March 2009, U.S. forces (10th Mountain Division) established a base in Tangi Valley after Taliban fighters were observed exploiting the coalition forces' small presence in the area. U.S., French and Afghan National Police forces carried out a three-day sweep of the area after which the area was deemed secure. In April 2011, U.S. forces abandoned the base (Combat Outpost Tangi) and turned over control of the base to Afghan forces. However, Afghan forces never assumed control of the base, which was seized by the Taliban shortly after the departure of U.S. forces.
2003 in Afghanistan
April 11: On a one-day visit from Doha, Qatar, Head of the U.S. Central Command General Tommy Franks visited the U.S. military headquarters at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan. Franks then traveled to Kabul to meet President Karzai and the U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan.
NATO logistics in the Afghan War
Azerbaijan, which has sent its peacekeeping forces to be a part of ISAF, also provided its airspace and airports for transportation of vital supplies for the U.S. Army in Afghanistan. Apart from usage of Azerbaijani airspace by U.S. Air Force, over one-third of all of the nonlethal equipment including fuel, clothing, and food used by the U.S. military in Afghanistan travels through Baku.
Forward Operating Base Lightning
Advising Platform Lightning or more simply AP Lightning is an installation used by Task Force Southeast to train 203rd Corps of the Afghan National Army and the 303rd Afghanistan National Police Zone Headquarters. It was formerly named Forward Operating Base (FOB) Lightning, an American military base in Paktia Province, Afghanistan.
Withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan
Plans for the follow-on military presence are being formulated in the Pentagon, where the largest of several preliminary options calls for about 10,000 troops, with several other NATO governments penciled in for several hundred each. According to these preliminary plans, ISAF's successor would be based in Kabul, with most U.S. training and counterterrorism troops probably stationed in Kandahar and at the air base at Bagram. Both locations are to be converted to Afghan ownership. Smaller counterterrorism units of the Joint Special Operations Command would be positioned primarily in the eastern part of the country, where most of their activities take place. Italy, in charge of the ISAF mission in Herat in western Afghanistan, would remain there to train Afghans. Germany would do the same in Mazar-e Sharif in the north. It is unclear what would happen at Camp Bastion, the British headquarters in Helmand province.
U.S.–Afghanistan Strategic Partnership Agreement
According to Afghan Foreign Minister, Zalmai Rassoul, there will be no permanent US bases in Afghanistan. He told the Afghan Senate that the United States is "not interested in having military bases in Afghanistan which might be seen as a threat to our neighbors", but Afghan National Security Advisor Rangin Dadfar Spanta said before the Afghan parliament "After signing the strategic pact, a separate security agreement which will allow or not allow the existence of US permanent bases in Afghanistan will be signed after one year if agreed." The strategic partnership draft text contains broad provisions for matters (such as economic development and security) which are of common concern for both countries, however, an unnamed U.S. official told "Time" magazine "specifics that go beyond the scope of the framework will need to be discussed and addressed in future memorandum of understanding, agreements or other arrangements as appropriate." Obstacles on the way to the agreement of the draft text were the issues of night raids conducted by U.S. troops and the operation of detention facilities by the United States. "The New York Times" reported in this context in April 2012: "In March the two sides signed a memorandum of understanding shifting responsibility for all detention facilities in the country to the Afghans, and earlier this month they handed final authority for night raids to Afghan security forces, who are now carrying out all raids unless American assistance is requested. With those two issues resolved, the strategic partnership was quickly completed."
Forward Operating Base Gardez
The Gardez Fire Base is an American outpost in Afghanistan, near the city of Gardez, in the Province of Paktia, near the border with Pakistan.
The base is approximately 100 kilometers south of Kabul, and was the subject of regular attack in 2003. In mid-August 2011, a truck packed with explosives detonated at the entrance, killing two Afghan guards but otherwise doing minimal damage to the base. The Taliban, however, made spurious claims of massive casualties and destroyed helicopters.
U.S.–Afghanistan Strategic Partnership Agreement
Neither Kerry nor Karzai provided details of what exactly had been agreed to, and it was not clear how they had forged a compromise on an Afghan demand that the United States guarantee Afghanistan's security as it would if the country were a NATO ally. That could compel the United States to send troops on raids into America's nuclear-armed power ally Pakistan. Afghan officials had said that demand was crucial to the country's sovereignty and must be met. The Obama administration had said it would not consider making any such guarantee. According to the BBC's David Loyn said President Karzai failed to win security guarantees so that Afghanistan would be protected by US troops from external attack. Loyn added the US will not grant that as it could mire them in a war with Pakistan. On the other main sticking point, the outlines of a compromise seemed clearer. Karzai had refused to allow American forces to hunt for operatives of Al Qaeda here on their own. Instead, he wanted any intelligence gathered by the United States handed over to Afghan forces, who could then conduct the raids. Karzai said on October 12, 2013 he had been assured that American forces would not conduct any unilateral operations in Afghanistan after 2014, leaving open the possibility that raids against Al Qaeda would be conducted jointly with Afghan forces.
Withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan
A major challenge was that Afghanistan would not have an effective air force before 2017, if then. As a consequence American officials said that NATO airpower would remain in Afghanistan after 2014 but will likely only be used on behalf of NATO and American troops and perhaps Afghan units that are accompanied by NATO advisers. NATO forces relied heavily on airpower for airstrikes, supply and medical evacuation since Afghanistan's roads are in poor condition and often seeded with bombs. To compensate for Afghanistan's limited airpower, the United States was working on a number of fixes, including providing Afghan forces with armored vehicles that would be equipped with mortars and assault guns. The United States was looking into expanding the purchase of turboprop planes for the Afghans. In addition the U.S. was also trying to help Afghan pilots learn to fly at night. Equally troubling was according to the New York Times the problem of medical evacuations. Because after 2014 the Afghans would almost certainly need to rely on a system that depended more on ground transportation than helicopters the United States wanted to help Afghanistan forces develop more field hospitals.
War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
Polls of Afghans displayed strong opposition to the Taliban and significant support of the U.S. military presence. However, the idea of permanent U.S. military bases was not popular in 2005.
According to a May 2009 BBC poll, 69% of Afghans surveyed thought it was at least mostly good that the U.S. military came in to remove the Taliban—a decrease from 87% of Afghans surveyed in 2005. Twenty-four percent thought it was mostly or very bad—up from 9% in 2005. The poll indicated that 63% of Afghans were at least somewhat supportive of a U.S. military presence in the country—down from 78% in 2005. Just 18% supported increasing the U.S. military's presence, while 44% favored reducing it. Ninety percent of Afghans surveyed opposed the Taliban, including 70% who were strongly opposed. By an 82%–4% margin, people said they preferred the current government to Taliban rule.
Geostrategy in Central Asia
In the context of the United States' War on Terror, Central Asia has once again become the center of geostrategic calculations. Pakistan's status has been upgraded to a "major non-NATO ally" because of its central role in serving as a staging point for the war in Afghanistan and for providing intelligence on Al-Qaeda operations in the region. Afghanistan, which had served as a haven and source of support for Al-Qaeda, under the protection of Mullah Omar and the Taliban, was the target of a U.S. invasion in 2001, and ongoing reconstruction and drug-eradication efforts. U.S. military bases were also established in Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan (the Uzbek presence was later withdrawn), causing both Russia and China to voice their concern over a permanent U.S. military presence in the region.
15th Marine Expeditionary Unit
On 25 November 2001, the Marines and Sailors of the 15th MEU (SOC) conducted an Amphibious assault over into the land-locked country of Afghanistan. The Marines and Sailors set new standards for Marine Corps amphibious doctrine. Landing at a remote airbase, southwest of Kandahar, the Marines occupied Camp Rhino that had been secured by the U.S. Army special forces, America's first Forward Operating Base while maintaining the first significant conventional ground presence in Afghanistan. The Marines and coalition forces later moved north to Kandahar International Airport securing a new forward operating base. With the move, the Marines and coalition forces were able to continue with new missions and build a prison camp that housed numerous Taliban and Al-Qaeda fighters.
Coalition combat operations in Afghanistan in 2009
MEB-Afghanistan absorbed the former Special Purpose Marine Air Ground Task Force-Afghanistan in southern Afghanistan on May 29, 2009, reflecting the Marine Corps portion of the increased U.S. troop commitment to Afghanistan. Headquartered by the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, MEB-Afghanistan includes the following units:The headquarters of the 82nd Airborne Division relieved the 101st Airborne Division's headquarters on June 3, 2009. Consisting of roughly 1,000 soldiers the 101st's headquarters officially became Combined Joint Task Force 82 and now commands NATO’s Regional Command East sector in Afghanistan.
United States invasion of Afghanistan
Meanwhile, nearly 1,000 U.S. Marines, ferried in by CH-53E Super Stallion helicopters and C-130s, set up a Forward Operating Base known as Camp Rhino in the desert south of Kandahar on 25 November. This was the coalition's first base, and enabled other operating bases to form. The first significant combat involving U.S. ground forces occurred a day after Rhino was captured, when 15 Taliban armored vehicles approached the base and were attacked by helicopter gunships, destroying many of them. Meanwhile, airstrikes continued to pound Taliban positions inside the city, where Mullah Omar remained. Omar remained defiant although his movement controlled only four out of 30 Afghan provinces by the end of November. He called on his forces to fight to the death.
Afghanistan–United States relations
The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan has an embassy in Washington DC, as well as a consulate in New York City and another in Los Angeles. The current Afghan Ambassador to the United States is Hamdullah Mohib, replacing Eklil Ahmad Hakimi in early 2015.
The United States Armed Forces have been gradually rising its troop level in Afghanistan since 2002, reaching about 100,000 in 2010. They are to begin leaving slowly between mid-2011 to the end of 2014. However, Vice President Joe Biden has proposed to station an unknown number of the U.S. military forces after 2014. South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham also suggested that the United States should stay in Afghanistan permanently. He claims that this would benefit both nations, as the U.S. would have a clear idea about what was happening in the region on a daily basis, and Afghan security forces would have an edge militarily to ensure that the country never went back into the hands of the Taliban. He further claimed that Afghan leaders accept this long-term U.S. military presence since it benefits them, but neighboring Iran and some of its allies are opposed to it, though this claim is disputable.
In January 2017, the U.S. decided to send 300 Marines to Afghanistan's Helmand province to assist Afghan security forces to battle Taliban insurgents in intelligence and logistics matters.
Withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan
During his last trip to Afghanistan U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel announced on 6 December 2014 the end of the U.S. original plan to withdraw its troops form Afghanistan. Under a plan announced in May 2014 the number of American troops was supposed to fall to 9,800 by 1 January 2015. Instead the U.S. will keep up to 10,800 troops for the first few months of 2015 and then restart the drawdown, which is scheduled to reach 5,500 troops by the end of 2015. Besides partaking in NATO's Resolute Support Mission consisting of 12,500 soldiers some U.S. troops will take part in a separate counterterrorism mission focused on al-Qaeda. By the time U.S. President Obama leaves office in 2017 only a small force attached to the U.S. Embassy in Kabul is to remain in Afghanistan. The reason for the United States to keep additional forces in the country temporarily was that planned troop commitments by US allies for the Nato train-and-assist mission starting in January 2015 have been slow to materialize. President Barack Obama "has provided US military commanders the flexibility to manage any temporary force shortfall that we might experience for a few months as we allow for coalition troops to arrive in theater," Hagel said in a news conference with President Ashraf Ghani in Kabul. "But the president's authorization will not change our troops' missions, or the long-term timeline for our drawdown," he added.
War on Terror
The U.S. government set up the Guantanamo Bay detention camp in 2002, a United States military prison located in Guantanamo Bay Naval Base. President Bush declared that the Geneva Convention, a treaty ratified by the U.S. and therefore among the highest law of the land, which protects prisoners of war, would not apply to Taliban and al Qaida detainees captured in Afghanistan. Since inmates were detained indefinitely without trial and several detainees have allegedly been tortured, this camp is considered to be a major breach of human rights by Amnesty International. The detention camp was set up by the U.S. government on Guantanamo Bay since the military base is arguably not legally domestic US territory and thus was a "legal black hole." Most prisoners of Guantanamo were eventually freed without ever being charged with any crime, and were transferred to other countries.
Withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan
In November 2014 U.S. President Obama expanded the original role of U.S. Armed Forces in Afghanistan for 2015. Originally they were supposed to advise, train and assist the Afghan Forces and to hunt the remnants of Al Qaeda. Under the president's order U.S. forces can carry out missions against the Taliban and other militant groups threatening American troops or the Afghan government while American jets, bombers and drones can support Afghan troops on combat missions. By the end of 2015, half of the 9,800 American troops would leave Afghanistan. The rest would be consolidated in Kabul and Bagram, and then leave by the end of 2016, allowing Obama to say he ended the Afghan war before leaving office. The United States could still have military advisers in Kabul after 2016 who would work out of an office of security cooperation at the United States Embassy. But the Obama administration has not said how large that contingent might be and what its exact mission would be.
Withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan
In a preamble, the draft specifies that "the United States does not seek permanent military facilities in Afghanistan, or a presence that is a threat to Afghanistan's neighbors, and has pledged not to use Afghan territory or facilities as a launching point for attacks on other countries." It says that "unless otherwise mutually agreed, United States forces shall not conduct combat operations in Afghanistan" and makes no promise of U.S. military support in the event of an attack or other security threat to Afghanistan. If there is such a threat, it says, the United States will regard it with "grave concern," consult and "shall urgently determine support it is prepared to provide." But the United States stated the U.S. will regard any external aggression with "grave concern" and will "strongly oppose" military threats or force against Afghanistan after 2014.
Timeline of the War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
October 19: Airborne invasion into Afghanistan by Rangers of the Third Ranger Battalion Seventy Fifth Ranger Regiment and others seizing a Qandahar airfield named Objective Rhino.The army of the United States continues to conduct missions throughout Afghanistan, began closing forward operating bases (FOB).
General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon operational history
F-16s have been used by the United States in Afghanistan since 2001. 
One USAF F-16 fighter was lost during the operations in Afghanistan: on 3 April 2013 a USAF F-16 crashed near Bagram Airfield in eastern Afghanistan's Parwan province killing its pilot.
In 2002, a tri-national detachment known as the European Participating Air Forces (Danish, Dutch and Norwegian) of 18 F-16s in the ground attack role deployed to Manas Air Base in Kyrgyzstan to support Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. Manas Air Base was returned to Kyrgyzstan control in 2014.
PAF Base Nur Khan
During the Pakistan earthquake of 2005, 300 troops of the United States as well as U.S. aircraft were deployed to Chaklala to aid in relief efforts. According to an anonymous source, the U.S. has a permanent military presence at Chaklala since late 2001 for handling logistics efforts and other movements in relation to the war in Afghanistan.
Withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan
On 2 May 2012, Afghan president Hamid Karzai and U.S. president Barack Obama signed a strategic partnership agreement between the two countries, after the U.S. president had arrived in Kabul as part of unannounced trip to Afghanistan on the first anniversary of Osama bin Laden's death. The U.S.-Afghanistan Strategic Partnership Agreement, officially titled the "Enduring Strategic Partnership Agreement between the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the United States of America", provides the long-term framework for the relationship between Afghanistan and the United States of America after the drawdown of U.S. forces in the Afghanistan war. The agreement went into effect on 4 July 2012.
U.S.–Afghanistan Strategic Partnership Agreement
The agreement does not spell out the number of U.S. forces who will remain, but Afghan President Karzai said on November 21, 2013 that he envisions up to 15,000 NATO troops being based in the country. According to several estimates, the United States plans to maintain a force of no more than 10,000 troops in Afghanistan after 2014. The draft agreement allows an indefinite U.S. presence, but Karzai said on November 21, 2013 it would be in place for 10 years. The agreement also includes language on the U.S. government's continued funding for Afghan security forces, funneling such contributions through the Kabul-based government.
Bagram Airfield
During the US-led invasion of Afghanistan, the base was secured by a team from the British Special Boat Service. By early December 2001 troops from the 10th Mountain Division shared the base with Special Operations Command officers from MacDill Air Force Base in Florida, Paratroopers of the 82nd Airborne Division from Fort Bragg, and a small communications team consisting of personnel from the 269th Signal Company, 11th Signal Brigade out of Fort Huachuca. The British force consisted of B and C Companies from 40 Commando, Royal Marines. As of mid-December 2001 more than 300 US troops, mainly with the 10th Mountain Division, were providing force protection at Bagram. The troops patrolled the base perimeter, guarded the front gate, and cleared the runway of explosive ordnance. As of early January 2002 the number of 10th Mountain Division troops had grown to about 400 soldiers.
There are numerous dining facilities at Bagram Airfield. Troops and civilians have various dining options that include Pizza Hut, Subway, an Afghan restaurant, as well as Green Beans coffee shops.
2003 in Afghanistan
May 8: Two Afghan factions fought a gunbattle in Helmand Province, injuring two Afghan soldiers. The clash prompted U.S.-led coalition forces to call in two A-10s from Bagram air base as air support. The two wounded soldiers were evacuated to the U.S. air base at Kandahar.
2007 Bagram Airfield bombing
In 2007, Bagram was the main US airbase in Afghanistan.
As Sayliyah Army Base
As Sayliyah Army Base (Arabic:قاعدة السيلية العسكرية) is a United States Army base located in Al Sailiya, a suburb outside Doha, Qatar. U.S. Central Command uses the base to preposition material bound for use in Iraq and Afghanistan. It stores enough equipment for a U.S. Army armored brigade. The base was established in the year 2000.
Shindand Air Base
Shindand Air Base is located in the western part of Afghanistan in the Shindand District of Herat Province, 7 miles northeast of the city of Shindand. The runway has a concrete surface. An all weather asphalt road connects it with the Kandahar–Herat Highway, part of Highway 1 (the national ring road). The base is of great strategic importance being just 75 miles from the border of Iran. It is capable of housing over one hundred military aircraft.
General Atomics Avenger
With the drawdown of the War in Afghanistan, the U.S. may lose airbases inside the country that are necessary for striking targets in neighboring Pakistan. Plans are being made to relocate drone bases to other countries in Central Asia to avoid needing U.S. military personnel to protect their bases in Afghanistan. Due to the longer distances from potential targets, General Atomics has pitched the Avenger to the Central Intelligence Agency as a better drone for the mission. The jet-powered Avenger can fly from its operating base and stay airborne for 18 hours.
War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
In June 2016, President Obama approved a policy to give the U.S. military greater ability to accompany and enable Afghan forces fighting the Taliban; the decision also allows greater use of US air power, particularly in CAS missions. The US commander in Afghanistan, General John Nicholson, will now be able to decide when it is appropriate for American troops to accompany conventional Afghan forces into the field; something they have so far only been allowed to do with Afghan special forces. A senior US defence official said that the expanded powers are only meant to be employed "in those select instances in which their engagement can enable strategic effects on the battlefield". Previous US rules of engagement in Afghanistan impose limits on US forces ability to strike at insurgents; being allowed to take action against the Taliban in moments when their assistance was needed to prevent a significant Afghan military setback. The Taliban are refocusing their attention mostly on Helmand, Kandahar and Uruzgan province, according to U.S. and Afghan military officials, although the insurgents also have struck elsewhere. The Taliban still have a large presence in the region with as many as 25,000 fighters with more than 30,000 Afghan security forces fighting to quell the group's resurgence. On 24 June, it was reported that in the previous week, the U.S. military had launched its first airstrikes against the Taliban since the change in US policy; carrying out a "couple" of airstrikes on targets in southern Afghanistan. In July 2016, President Obama announced that he plans to leave 8,400 US troops in Afghanistan when he finishes his term – instead of reducing the number of personnel to 5,500 troops by the end of this year, reflecting the difficulty of drawing down the US presence in the country. Whilst the UK sent up to 50 additional military personnel to Afghanistan: 21 will join the counter-terrorism mission, 15 will be involved in a leadership development at the Afghan army's officer training academy, and 13 will join the Resolute Support Mission, joining the 450 British troops already in the country. UK troops had been due to leave Afghanistan this year but will now have their mission extended into 2017. On 30 June 2016, two suicide bombers attacked an Afghan police convoy carrying recently graduated cadets on the western outskirts of the capital Kabul, killing up to 40 cadets, while injuring 40 more. The incident comes 10 days after an attack on a bus carrying Nepali security guards working for the Canadian embassy in Kabul that killed 14 people.
Transit Center at Manas
Several local political observers believe that despite the changes in the new agreement, activities at the base will continue unaltered, and in fact, as of March 2010, operations continue. In March 2010 the United States transported 50,000 NATO soldiers to Afghanistan via Kyrgyzstan as it represents the quickest and most efficient route. The new agreement does not appear to restrict the kind of materials U.S. forces can move into and out of the base. There have, however, been some concerns as to whether Russia and China will lobby the Kyrgyz government not to renew the lease when the current agreement comes to an end in June 2010.
Nuristan Province
A map from the Afghan Ministry of the Interior produced in 2009 showed the western region of Nuristan to be under "enemy control". There have been numerous conflicts between anti-Afghanistan militants and U.S.-led Afghan security forces. In April 2008 members of the 3rd Special Forces Group led Afghan soldiers from the Commando Brigade into the Shok valley in an unsuccessful attempt to capture warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar. In July 2008 approximately 200 Taliban guerrillas attacked a NATO position just south of Nuristan, near the village of Wanat in the Waygal District, killing 9 U.S. soldiers. In the following year, in early October, more than 350 anti-Afghanistan militants backed by members of the Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin and other militia groups fought U.S.-led Afghan security forces in the Battle of Kamdesh at Camp Keating in Nuristan. The base was nearly overrun; more than 100 Taliban fighters, eight U.S. soldiers, and seven members of the Afghan security forces were killed during the fighting. Four days after the battle, in early October 2009, U.S. forces withdrew from their four main bases in Nuristan, as part of a plan by General Stanley McChrystal to pull troops out of small outposts and relocate them closer to major towns. The U.S. has pulled out from some areas in the past, but never from all four main bases. A month after the U.S. pullout the Taliban was governing openly in Nuristan. According to "The Economist", Nuristan is "a place so tough that NATO abandoned it in 2010 after failing to subdue it."
2002 in Afghanistan
Thursday, February 7: U.S. President George W. Bush decided that the 1949 Geneva Conventions would apply to captured Taliban fighters taken from Afghanistan to a US military base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, but not to al-Qaeda members there.
Forward Operating Base Ghazni
Forward Operating Base (FOB) Ghazni was an American military base located in Ghazni Province, Afghanistan.
Foreign policy of the United States
As of 2016, the United States is actively conducting military operations against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and Al-Qaeda under the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Terrorists, including in areas of fighting in the Syrian Civil War and Yemeni Civil War. The Guantanamo Bay Naval Base holds what the federal government considers unlawful combatants from these ongoing activities, and has been a controversial issue in foreign relations, domestic politics, and Cuba–United States relations. Other major U.S. military concerns include stability in Afghanistan and Iraq after the recent invasions of those countries, and Russian military activity in Ukraine.
List of ISAF installations in Afghanistan
This is a list of International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) installations in Afghanistan used during the NATO led War in Afghanistan from 2001–present. Included are airbases, forward operating bases, main operating bases, combat outposts, firebases, and patrol bases used by NATO forces across the six ISAF regional commands: Regional Command Capital, Regional Command East, Regional Command North, Regional Command South, Regional Command Southwest, and Regional Command West.
Parwan Detention Facility
With the agreement signed on March 9, Afghanistan and the United States began a six-month transition from American to Afghan control of the Parwan Detention Facility north of Kabul and just outside Bagram, the largest US military base in the country. The US military handed control of the prison housing more than 3,000 Taliban fighters and terrorism suspects to the Afghan authorities in small ceremony on September 10, 2012, at which 16 prisoners, all wearing matching gray sweaters, were released. Army Col. Robert M. Taradash, who has overseen the prison, represented coalition forces. "We transferred more than 3,000 Afghan detainees into your custody ... and ensured that those who would threaten the partnership of Afghanistan and coalition forces will not return to the battlefield," said Col Robert Taradash, the only US official at the ceremony. "Our Afghan security forces are well trained and we are happy that today they are exercising their capability in taking the responsibility of prisoners independently and guarding the prisoners," said acting Defence Minister Enayatullah Nazari. "We are taking the responsibility from foreign forces." "Now, the Bagram prison is converted to one of Afghanistan's regular prisons where the innocents will be freed and the rest of the prisoners will be sentenced according to the laws of Afghanistan," a statement by Afghan President Hamid Karzai said, who didn't attend the ceremony. No one from the American Embassy or the State Department was present. Also top American commanders were absent on the ceremony. American officials say the transfer agreement calls for the Afghan government to continue to hold some detainees even if there is not a formal legal case against them, reviewing their cases administratively rather than judicially. The Americans say it is impossible to build legal cases against all prisoners arrested in battlefield conditions. Afghan news media reported that a dispute over this practice led to a falling-out between Karzai and General John R. Allen, the American military commander in Afghanistan, over the weekend and apparently prompted the downgraded American presence at the ceremony.
Withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan
On August 30, 2017 the Pentagon disclosed that there were more troops in Afghanistan than previously acknowledged. The Pentagon said previously that there were 8,400 troops in Afghanistan, but in reality the actual "total force" number was closer to 11,000. The lower number was based on misleading accounting measures and red tape. The new count used by the United States Department of Defense includes covert as well as temporary units. The Washington Post reported on August 30, 2017 that the additional U.S. forces for Afghanistan will likely include paratroopers as well as small Marine artillery detachments, composed of about 100 or so troops per unit, which will be spread around the country to fill in gaps in air support. The report by the Washington Post also reported that more air support — in the form of more F-16 fighters, A-10 ground attack aircraft and additional B-52 bomber support, or a combination of all three - will likely be used in Afghanistan. The newspaper also stated: "The additional U.S. forces will allow Americans to advise Afghan troops in more locations and closer to the fighting, U.S. officials in Kabul said [ ... ]. With more units farther away from the country's biggest bases, additional air support and artillery will be needed to cover those forces." And the New York Times added that: "the American military will be able to advise select Afghan brigades in the field instead of trying to mentor them from more distant headquarters. They can step up the effort to train special operations forces and, thus, substantially increase the number of Afghan commandos. This will allow American war commanders and service members to call in air and artillery strikes on behalf of more Afghan units."
War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
In April 2017, the "Washington Post" reported that Captain Bill Salvin, a spokesman for NATO's mission to Afghanistan, said that Afghan and international forces had reduced ISIS-K controlled territory in Afghanistan by two-thirds and had killed around half their fighters in the previous two years. Since the beginning of 2017, 460 airstrikes against terrorists (with drone strikes alone killing more than 200 IS militants); he added that the affiliate has an estimated 600-800 fighters in two eastern Afghan provinces.
On 13 April 2017, the United States dropped the largest non-nuclear bomb, known as the GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast (MOAB) Mother of All Bombs, at 34.073336, 70.631215 (latitude and longitude coordinates) near Momand village upon a Nangahar's Achin District village in eastern Afghanistan to destroy tunnel complexes used by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant – Khorasan Province (ISIL-KP or ISIS-K). The "Guardian" reported that following the strike, US and Afghan forces conducted clearing operations and airstrikes in the area and assessed the damage.
Bagram Airfield
As of late January 2002, there were somewhere around 4,000 US troops in Afghanistan, of which about 3,000 were at Kandahar International Airport, and about 500 were stationed at Bagram. The runway began to be repaired by US, Italian and Polish military personnel. By mid-June 2002, Bagram Airfield was serving as home to more than 7,000 US and other armed services. Numerous tent areas house the troops based there, including one named Viper City. It was reported that "Bagram came under daily rocket attack" in 2002 even though most of these attacks went unreported by the press. Landmines have also been a serious concern in and around Bagram Airfield.
Shindand
The Shindand Air Base is located about 15 miles to the northeast of the town, which currently occupied by Afghan and NATO's International Security Assistance Force. It is a former Soviet airfield, repaired by U.S. forces. The area is flat and arid, with foothills to the north and west. The Kandahar–Herat Highway, which is part of Afghanistan's Highway 1, passes next to the Shindand Air Base. A free medical clinic supported by the Afghan National Army (ANA) provides free medical care for the population of the town.
Israel–United States relations
The United States maintains six war reserve stocks inside Israel, at Airwing 7 air base and maintains some $300 million in military equipment at these sites. The equipment is owned by the United States and is for use by American forces in the Middle East, but can also be transferred to Israeli use during a time of crisis. The United States is also alleged to keep fighter and bomber aircraft at these sites, and one of the bases is thought to contain a 500-bed hospital for US Marines and Special Forces. According to the American military journalist and commentator William Arkin in his book "Code Names", the US has prepositioned in at least six sites in Israel, munitions, vehicles, and military equipment, and even a 500-bed hospital, for use by US Marines, Special Forces, and Air Force fighter and bomber aircraft in a wartime contingency in the Middle East. Arkin in his book writes that some of the sites are located at Ben Gurion Airport, Nevatim, Ovda air base, and in Herzliya Pituah. The sites are numbered as "site 51," "site 53," "site 54," "site 55" and "site 56." Some of the depots are underground, others were built as open hangars. According to Arkin, site 51 holds ammunition and equipment in underground depots. Site 53 is munitions storage and war reserve vehicles at Israeli Air Force bases, site 54 is an emergency military hospital near Tel Aviv with 500 beds, and sites 55 and 56 are ammunition depots. However, Israel is not the only country in the Middle East to host US military bases; there are American facilities in Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia (mostly withdrawn from in 2003), Oman, and the Persian Gulf states of Kuwait, Bahrain (headquarters of the United States Fifth Fleet), Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. The Bahrain headquarters of the United States Fifth Fleet is meant to act as a watchdog and deterrent to potential Iranian aggression in the Persian Gulf region.