U.S. Forces in Afghanistan

U.S. Forces in Afghanistan

Order Code RS22633
Updated July 15, 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. Since the President’s
announcement, there were higher troop deployment levels reported in Afghanistan in
2007 and 2008. 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 June 1, 2008, according
to DOD, the United States had 48,250 troops stationed in Afghanistan — 37,700 active
component and 10,550 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 June 1, 2008, according to the Department of Defense (DOD), the United
States had 48,250 military personnel deployed in Afghanistan. Of these, 37,700 were
active component personnel and10,550 were National Guard and Reserves. Figures 1
and 2 provide the distribution by armed service of active component personnel. These

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totals do not include 23,000 military support personnel in Kuwait, or naval personnel
aboard ships patrolling through the Persian Gulf.1
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 June 1, 2008)
18,400
20,000
18,000
13,400
16,000
14,000
12,000
10,000
8,000
3,700
6,000
2,200
4,000
2,000
0
Arm y
Air Force
Navy
Marine Corps
Source: Department of Defense, Office of the Joint Chief Staff, “Boots on Ground” data.
1 DOD Fact Sheet, Global Commitments, December 14, 2007.

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Figure 2. Reserve Component Personnel in Afghanistan
(as of June 1, 2008)
Army NG
5,200
2,100
Air NG
1,500
Army Rv
1,100
Air Rv
350
Navy Rv
300
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.
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
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.
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 3. Comparative OEF Active Component Force Levels
(June 2007/June 2008)
18,035 18,400
20,000
Jun-07
Jun-08
13,400
15,000
10,000
3,669
3,700
5,000
2,200
937
313
0
Army
Navy
AF
MC
Source: Department of Defense, Office of the Joint Chief Staff, “Boots on Ground” data.
Figure 4. Comparative OEF Reserve Component Force Levels
(June 2007/June 2008)
6,000
5,200
Jun-07
Jun-08
5,000
4,000
3,000
1,831
2,100
2,000
1,500
837
1,100
590
350
1,000
217
300
47
4
0
Army NG
Air NG
Army Rv
Air Rv
Navy Rv
Marine Rv
Source: Department of Defense, Office of the Joint Chief Staff, “Boots on Ground” data.

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Figure 5. Comparative U.S. Force Levels in Afghanistan
(January 2007 - December 2007)
30,000
25,000
24,845
20,000
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
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0
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-
-
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7
0
-0
0
0
7
7
7
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.
Figure 6. Comparative U.S. Force Levels in Afghanistan
(January 2008 - June 2008)
50,000
49,000
48,250
40,000
30,000
33,000
26,607
28,050
28,650
20,000
10,000
0
Jan
Feb-
M
A
Ma
Ju
ar
pr
-
n
08
y
0
-
-0
-
-08
8
08
8
08
Source: Department of Defense, Office of the Joint Chief Staff, “Boots on Ground” data, January 1, 2008,
through June 1, 2008.

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Figure 7. Comparative U.S. Force Levels in Afghanistan
(Years 2007 and 2008)
48,250
30,000
29,000
26,480
28,000
27,000
26,000
25,000
24,000
June 2007
June 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.