Order Code RS22633
Updated March 30, 2007
U.S. Forces in Afghanistan
JoAnne O’Bryant and Michael Waterhouse
Information Research Specialists
Knowledge Services Group
Summary
As interest in troop level deployments continues, President Bush announced in a
February 15, 2007, speech the administration’s plans for an increase in U.S. forces in
Afghanistan, including a planned gradual increase of 3,200 U.S. troops on the ground
in the coming several months. This report provides official Department of Defense
(DOD) statistical information on U.S. forces now serving in Afghanistan with
comparisons to earlier force levels. It also provides brief official information on the
military units extended or scheduled for the next rotation of duty into Afghanistan. As
of March 1, 2007, according to DOD, the United States had 24,845 troops stationed in
Afghanistan — 21,581 active component and 3,264 National Guard or Reserves. They
are serving in two missions — a NATO-led peacekeeping mission and a separate U.S.-
led combat effort still called Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF). For security reasons,
DOD does not routinely report the composition, size, or specific destination of military
forces deployed to the Persian Gulf. This report will be updated upon receipt of new
DOD data. For additional information on U.S. forces, see CRS Report RL30588,
Afghanistan: Post-War Governance, Security and U.S. Policy by Kenneth Katzman, and
CRS Report RL33503, U.S. and Coalition Military Operations in Afghanistan: Issues
for Congress, by Andrew Feickert.
Force Levels
As of March 1, 2007, according to Department of Defense (DOD), the United States
had 24,845 military personnel deployed in Afghanistan. Of these, 21,581 were active
component personnel and 3,264 were National Guard and Reserves. Figures 1 and 2
provide the distribution by armed service of active component personnel. These totals do
not include 12,000 military support personnel in Kuwait, nor naval personnel aboard ships
patrolling through the Persian Gulf.1
1 DOD Fact Sheet, Global Commitments, Jan. 9, 2007.

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CRS-2
Amid concerns about U.S. troop levels in Iraq, in a February 15, 2007, speech,
President Bush announced an extension of deployment for more than 3,200 U.S. troops
in Afghanistan over the next several months as part of a new initiative in ongoing efforts
to stabilize the security situation and to confront a resurgent Taliban. These forces are to
be added to the personnel stationed in Afghanistan as reported by DOD on March 1, 2007.
Additional deployment information is available from DOD’s Directorate for Information
Operations, which posts quarterly reports on casualties and worldwide active duty military
personnel deployments by region and country online at [http://siadapp.dior.whs.mil/
personnel/MILITARY/Miltop.htm].
Figure 1. Active Component Personnel In Afghanistan
(as of March 1, 2007)
Source: Department of Defense, Office of Joints Chiefs of Staff, “Boots on Ground” data.
Figure 2. Reserve Component Personnel in Afghanistan (as of
March 1, 2007)
Source: Department of Defense, Office of Joints Chiefs of Staff, “Boots on Ground” data.

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CRS-3
Comparative U.S. Force Levels. Overall U.S. force levels in Afghanistan have
been increasing since 2006, in both active duty and the reserve component. Based on
DOD statistics, Figures 3, 4, and 5 provide comparative data on both active and reserve
component force levels. DOD officials have declined to project the timing or size of
future force reductions, noting these will depend upon the security situation within
Afghanistan. Of the forces shown, about 60% serve in the NATO-led peacekeeping force
called the “International Security Assistance Force (ISAF),” and the remainder continue
to serve under direct U.S. command in counter-terrorism combat missions and Afghan
security forces training. This mission is still called Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF).
The U.S. forces under NATO command have served in that capacity since October 2006,
when NATO/ISAF took over peacekeeping responsibility for all of Afghanistan.
Figure 3. Comparative OEF Active Component Force
Levels (Feb 2006/Mar 2007)
Source: Department of Defense, Office of Joints Chiefs of Staff, “Boots on Ground” data.
Figure 4. Comparative OEF Reserve Component Force
Levels (Feb 2006/Mar 2007)
Source: Department of Defense, Office of Joints Chiefs of Staff, “Boots on Ground” data.

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CRS-4
Figure 5. Comparative U.S. Force Levels in Afghanistan
(Feb 2006-Dec 2006)
Source: Department of Defense, Office of Joints Chiefs of Staff, “Boots on Ground” data, November 1, 2005 through
January 1, 2007.
Figure 6. Comparative U.S. Force Levels in
Afghanistan (Years 2006 and 2007)
Source: Department of Defense, Office of Joints Chiefs of Staff, “Boots on Ground” data.
U.S. Troop Rotations for Afghanistan. On January 25 and February 14, 2007,
DOD announced its latest scheduled troop deployment adjustments and schedule for
rotations to Afghanistan in conjunction with the two missions they serve under. The initial
2007 schedule for the affected Army units is summarized in Table 1 below. Rotations
for Army units normally last for one year; however, there is currently a 120 day
deployment extension for one unit as listed in the table below.

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CRS-5
Table 1. Operation Enduring Freedom Rotational Units
Military Unit
Home Military Base
2007 Transitions
Army
4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd
Fort Bragg, North
March, 2007 to
Airborne Division
Carolina
Afghanistan
3rd Brigade, 10th Mountain Division
Fort Drum, New York
120-day extension of
deployment in
Afghanistan
173rd Airborne Brigade
Vicenza, Italy
Spring, 2007 to
Afghanistan
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