Press Release
NATO Starts Deploying First Troops to Kabul
NATO SHAPE
4 July 2003
The first troops of the NATO force that will take on the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) mission in Kabul next month leave from Germany tomorrow. NATO will take command of the ISAF mission on August 11, but the first advance party from the Joint Command Centre in Heidelberg, Germany will set off on July 5 to prepare the handover from the current Dutch/German force that is running ISAF. The NATO mission was authorised by NATO's decision-making body, the North Atlantic Council, in April.
Lieutenant General Götz Gliemeroth (German Army), Commander JCC and the appointed Commander of ISAF, will lead a multi-national force composed of about twenty NATO- and Partner nations. Force contributing nations will deploy their troops in due course to ensure a smooth hand-over of the ISAF operation to NATO. The change of command is planned for 11 August 2003 in Kabul.
The ISAF mission remains firmly anchored in the UN Security Council Resolutions and the Bonn Agreement that set the course for Afghanistan, and the mandate for the NATO force will remain the same. NATO’s increased involvement demonstrates its continuing long-term commitment to stability and security in Afghanistan through assistance to the Afghanistan Transitional Authority (ATA). This support, consisting of strategic command, control, and coordination of ISAF will provide continuity in the operation.
NATO’s Regional Commander-in-Chief Allied Forces North Europe, General Sir Jack Deverell, will have operational command for ISAF from his Headquarters in Brunssum, The Netherlands.
Note to editors:
For more information, please contact:
Public Information Office Headquarters Allied Force North Europe, Brunssum/NL
Tel.: +31-(0)-45-526-3625 or 2687 or 2409, Fax: +31-(0)-45-526-3095
E-mail: pio@afnorth.nato.int
Additional information:
- NATO
Update - 25 June 2003
Commanders for Afghanistan mission appointed
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