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International Security Assistance Force - ISAF 11

While NATO assumed control of the ISAF mission in August 2003, it was only in October 2003 that the UN Security Council authorized the expansion of the NATO mission beyond Kabul. In October 2004, Stage 1 of the expansion to the North was completed with Stage 2 in the West following in September 2005. Stage 3 of the expansion to include the South was completed on 31 July 2006 and Stage 4 to include the East occurred on 5 October 2006, at which stage the geographic expansion phase was completed. At this time NATO-ISAF had expanded into all regions of afghanistan, establishing four regional commands, plus a centralized command in Kabul. These commands were named Regional Command North, East, South, West, and Capital. The Commands were headquartered at Mazar-e-Sharif, Bagram, Kandahar, and Herat respectively, with dispersed forward support bases and facilities in each region. A centralized ISAF Air Task Force controlled all ISAF air operations from Kabul Afghan International Airport (KAIA), and dispersed units to regional airfields. NATO-ISAF also assumed responsibility for the military components of the Provincial Reconstruction Teams deployed throughout the country, as well as a number of a seperate cooperative initiatives with the Afghan National Army and other Afghan authorities. In certain regions joint ISAF-ANA reaction elements were established to improve coordination between the two groups.

ISAF's mission as of April 2007 contained four basic stated objectives for operations in Afghanistan:

• To reinforce the people of Afghanistan's belief in long-term peace and growing economic prosperity.
• To focus on action that actively assists the Government of Afghanistan in further developing the consent of the people to the government.
• Helping ensure the security of mineral resources, border crossing points, and the transport network, water and power supplies.
• Supporting and helping to train the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF).

In this expanded mission ISAF became more engaged in tackling insurgent and terrorist forces in Afghanistan and supporting Afghan authorities in the same, as well as its previous reconstruction and basic security missions that had existed initially. ISAF's primary role was still to support and assist the Government of Afghanistan in providing and maintaining a secure environment in order to facilitate the rebuilding of Afghanistan, the establishment of democratic structures and deepen the influence of the central government.

As of June 2008, Regional Command North was operated by the German ISAF contigent alone. Regional Command East was controlled by forces from the United States. Regional Command South was commanded by a rotating command between Dutch, Canadian, and British forces. Control of Regional Command West was controlled by the Italians. The capital region included the composite ISAF HQ, made up of members of all 40 contributing nations, as well as Regional Command Capital, responsible for ISAF operations in and around Kabul, which rotated between Italian, French, and Turkish forces. Forces in Regional Command North and West were primarily tasked with missions such as training the Afghan National Police and Army, and other reconstruction operations. Few forces in either region were engaged in direct or active combat with insurgent or terrorist forces, which between 2007 and 2008 had led to numerous calls from nations with forces engaged in Afghanistan's southern and eastern regions, for restructing of these deployments. Germany, Italy, and Spain, the primary nations engaged in the northern and western provinces had strict restrictions on the deployment of their forces on combat missions.

The bulk of ISAF's forces were deployed to Regional Command South and Regional Command East, where US, British, Dutch, and Canadian forces engaged in the majority of combat operations in the country, mainly along Afghanistan's southern border with Pakistan. US forces were deployed primarily in Regional Command East, with some forces in Regional Command South, both as part of ISAF, and part of the US Opeation Enduring Freedom. A large component of the US forces in Regional Command South were part of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, initially deployed to Kabul in April 2008, but detailed to ISAF as "Theatre Tactical Force," to be used by the ISAF commander wherever it was needed to conduct full-spectrum operations from humanitarian assistance missions to combat operations. 24th MEU was subsequently deployed to Helmand Province to assist British and other ISAF forces. They joined the British Task Force Helmand, consisting of the bulk of British ISAF forces, which were, as of June 2008, second in size to US forces in Afghanistan. Also in Regional Command South was the Dutch Task Force Uruzgan (TFU), headquartered at Tarin Kowt, and the Canadian Joint Task Force Afghanistan (JTF-AFG), headquartered at the Kandahar Airfield.

NOTES

* - Total ISAF and other force numbers potentially include overlapping rotations and other operational fluctuation.

** - Replaced with 9th Regiment in July 2008.

*** - The MEU would be employed as a "Theater Tactical Force," a position which allowed the commander of ISAF to deploy rapidly the MEU wherever it was needed to conduct full-spectrum operations from humanitarian assistance missions to combat operations. In April 2008 this unit was deployed from Kabul to Helmand Province in RC(S).

**** - The Air Task Force is headquartered at KAIA, but provides aircraft to dispresed locations throughtout the five Regional Commands.