Order Code RS22633
Updated May 9, 2008
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, there remains an increase of U.S.
forces in Afghanistan. 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. 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 April 1, 2008, according to DOD, the United States had 33,000
troops stationed in Afghanistan — 25,200 active component and 7,800 National Guard
or Reserves. They are serving in two missions — a NATO-led peacekeeping mission
and a separate U.S.-led combat effort 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 April 1, 2008, according to the Department of Defense (DOD), the United
States had 33,000 military personnel deployed in Afghanistan. Of these, 25,200 were
active component personnel and 7,800 were National Guard and Reserves. Figures 1 and
2 provide the distribution by armed service of active component personnel. These totals
do not include 23,000 military support personnel in Kuwait, or naval personnel aboard
ships patrolling through the Persian Gulf.1
1 DOD Fact Sheet, Global Commitments, December 14, 2007.

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Amid concerns about U.S. troop levels, in a February 15, 2007 speech, President
Bush announced an extension of deployment for more than 3,200 U.S. troops in
Afghanistan as part of a new initiative in ongoing efforts to stabilize the security situation
and to confront a resurgent Taliban. Since the speech on troop deployments by President
Bush, the number of troops to Afghanistan fluctuated between February through
November 2007. However, there has been a steady increase in troop deployments to
Afghanistan since December 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.dmdc.osd.mil/personnel/MILITARY/Miltop.htm].
Figure 1. Active Component Personnel in Afghanistan
(as of April 1, 2008)
17,700
18,000
16,000
14,000
12,000
10,000
8,000
6,000
3,200
2,800
4,000
1,500
2,000
0
Army
Air Force
Navy
Marine Corps
Source: Department of Defense, Office of the Joint Chief Staff, “Boots on Ground” data.

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Figure 2. Reserve Component Personnel in Afghanistan (as of
April 1, 2008)
Army NG
5,400
400
Air NG
1,300
Army Rv
300
Air Rv
400
Navy Rv
0
Marine Rv
0
1,000
2,000
3,000
4,000
5,000
6,000
Source: Department of Defense, Office of the Joint Chief Staff, "Boots on Ground" data.
Figure 3. Comparative OEF Reserve Component Force Levels (April
2007/April 2008)
5,400
6,000
Apr-07
Apr-08
5,000
4,000
3,000
2,007
1,300
2,000
519
1,000
400
509
400
231
300
33
4
0
0
Army NG
Air NG
Army Rv
Air Rv
Navy Rv
Marine Rv
Comparative U.S. Force Levels. Overall U.S. force levels in Afghanistan have
been increasing since 2006, in both active duty and the reserve components. Based on
DOD statistics, Figures 3 through 6 provide comparative data on both active and reserve
component force levels. Data in the figures below include month-to-month and year-to-
year comparisons of U.S. troops in Afghanistan. Senior Bush Administration officials
reportedly stated that DOD is considering sending up to 7,000 additional U.S. troops to
Afghanistan in 2009 in response to a projected shortfall of NATO forces from other

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countries.2 Of the current forces shown, about 60% of U.S. personnel 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 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 4. Comparative OEF Active Component Force Levels
(April 2007/April 2008)
17,700
16,296
18,000
Apr-07
Apr-08
16,000
14,000
12,000
10,000
8,000
3,508
6,000
3,200
2,800
4,000
1,500
860
343
2,000
0
Army
Navy
AF
MC
Source: Department of Defense, Office of the Joint Chief Staff, “Boots on Ground” data.
Figure 5. Comparative U.S. Force Levels in Afghanistan
(January 2007 - December 2007)
30,000
25,000
20,000
24,845
24,060
24,056
23,881
24,474
20,947
15,000
24,310
26,480
24,615
24,780
10,000
25,876
24,008
5,000
0
Ja
Fe
Ma
A
Ma
Ju
Ju
A
S
O
No
D
n
p
u
ep
ct
e
-
b
r-
n
l-0
g-
v
c-
0
-
r-0
y-
-
-0
-
-
7
07
7
07
0
0
7
0
0
0
0
7
7
7
7
7
7
7
Source: Department of Defense, Office of the Joint Chief Staff, “Boots on Ground” data,
January 1, 2007, through December 1, 2007.
2 “Pentagon Considers Adding Forces in Afghanistan to Make Up for NATO Shortfall,” New
York Times, May 3, 2008, p.A5.

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Figure 6. Comparative U.S. Force Levels in Afghanistan
(Years 2007 and 2008)
33,000
24,310
30,000
25,000
20,000
15,000
10,000
5,000
0
April 2007
April 2008
Source: Department of Defense, Office of the Joint Chief Staff, “Boots on Ground” data.
U.S. Troop Rotations for Afghanistan. On October 19, 2007, January 15, and
March 14, 2008, DOD announced its latest scheduled troop deployment adjustments and
schedule for rotations to Afghanistan in conjunction with the two missions under which
they serve. This 2008 schedule for the affected regular Army, National Guard, and Marine
Corps units is summarized in Table 1 below. Rotations to Afghanistan for Army and
National Guard units currently last for 15 months, but are to be reduced to 12 months
beginning August 1, 2008. Rotations for Marine Corps units last seven months.
Table 1. Operation Enduring Freedom Rotational Units
Military Unit
Home Military Base
2008 Transitions
Army and Army National Guard
27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team,
Syracuse, NY
Early to Mid 2008
Army National Guard
33rd Brigade Combat Team, Illinois
Urbana, IL
Late 2008
Army National Guard
3rd Brigade, 1st Infantry Division
Fort Hood, TX
Late Summer, 2008
Marines
24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU)
Camp Lejeune, NC
Spring 2008
Source: Department of Defense News Releases October 19, 2007, January 15, and March 14, 2008.

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