Operation Freedom's Sentinel

Operation Freedom's Sentinel
Part of the War on terror, War in Afghanistan, Resolute Support Mission

A U.S. Army crew chief with 17th Cavalry Regiment surveys the area over Jalalabad, Afghanistan.
Date1 January 2015 – 30 August 2021
(6 years, 7 months and 2 weeks)
Location
Afghanistan
Result
Belligerents

 NATO

 Islamic Republic of Afghanistan

 United States
(Part of Resolute Support Mission)

  • DoD Contractor Personnel

Afghanistan Taliban
 al-Qaeda

 Islamic State

Commanders and leaders

United States CIC Joe R. Biden (2021)
United States CIC Donald J. Trump (2017–2021)
United States CIC Barack H. Obama (2014–2017)

United States United States Central Command:

NATO Resolute Support Mission:

Coalition:

RS[1]
(2015–2021)

Afghanistan Hibatullah Akhundzada
Afghanistan Akhtar Mansour †
Ayman al-Zawahiri

Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi
(2019–2021)
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi †
(2014–19)
Hafiz Saeed Khan †
(2015–July 2016)
Abdul Haseeb Logari †[2][3]
(2016–April 2017)
Abdul Rahman Ghaleb †[4][5]
(April–July 2017)
Abu Saad Erhabi †[6]
(July 2017–August 2018)
Abdullah Orokzai (POW)[7][8]
(April 2019–April 2020)
Qari Hekmat †
Mufti Nemat Surrendered
Dawood Ahmad Sofi †
Mohamed Zahran †

Ishfaq Ahmed Sofi †
Strength

Peak strength:

Resolute Support Mission: 17,178 troops (in October 2019)[9]

Afghan National Defense and Security Forces: 307,947 (on January 28, 2021)[10]

DoD Contractor Personnel: 39,609 (1st quarter of 2015)[11]		 Afghanistan Taliban: 58,000-100,000
(As of February 2021)[12]
Casualties and losses
See War in Afghanistan for full lists

Operation Freedom's Sentinel (OFS) was the official name used by the U.S. government for the mission succeeding Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) in continuation of the War in Afghanistan as part of the larger Global War on Terrorism. Operation Freedom's Sentinel was part of the NATO-led Resolute Support Mission, which began on January 1, 2015. OFS had two components: counterterrorism and working with allies as part of Resolute Support.[13]

There were 16,551 NATO and non-NATO troops in Afghanistan around February 2020.[14] Around June 2020, that number dropped to 15,937.[15] In February 2021, there were 9,592 NATO and non-NATO troops in Afghanistan.[16]

The self-reported strength of the Afghan National Security Forces consisted of more than 300,000 personnel during 2020.[17][18] These forces surrendered or fled to neighbouring countries during the August phase of the 2021 Taliban offensive, leaving nearly all of the country under Taliban control.

Operation Freedom Sentinel was expected to formally end on August 31, 2021, but was de-facto completed one day earlier on August 30, as the last remaining troops withdrew and was officially terminated by the DoD on October 1, 2021 as it officially initiated its successor, Operation Enduring Sentinel.[19][20]

  1. ^ "News – Resolute Support Mission". Archived from the original on 28 February 2015. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
  2. ^ "Army Rangers killed in Afghanistan were possible victims of friendly fire". Army Times. 28 April 2017.
  3. ^ Barbara Starr; Ralph Ellis (8 May 2017). "ISIS leader in Afghanistan was killed in raid, US confirms". CNN.
  4. ^ Browne, Ryan (14 July 2017). "US kills leader of ISIS in Afghanistan". CNN. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  5. ^ "Statement by Chief Pentagon Spokesperson Dana W. White on death of ISIS-K leader in Afghanistan". U.S. Department of Defense. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  6. ^ "ISIL leader in Afghanistan killed in air raids". aljazeera.com.
  7. ^ "UN: Islamic State replaced leader in Afghanistan after visit from central leadership | FDD's Long War Journal". longwarjournal.org. July 30, 2019.
  8. ^ "Afghan forces announce arrest of local ISIL leader".
  9. ^ "Resolute Support Mission (RSM): Key Facts and Figures" (PDF). NATO. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  10. ^ "Quarterly Report to Congress" (PDF). Sigar. 30 April 2021. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  11. ^ CENTCOM reportacq.osd.mil January 2015 Archived 2022-01-29 at the Wayback Machine
  12. ^ Julia Hollingsworth. "Who are the Taliban and how did they take control of Afghanistan so swiftly?". CNN.com. Retrieved 16 July 2023.
  13. ^ "Meet Operation Freedom's Sentinel, the Pentagon's new mission in Afghanistan". Washington Post. Retrieved 2018-10-07.
  14. ^ "Resolute Support Mission (RSM): Key Facts and Figures February 2020" (PDF).
  15. ^ "Resolute Support Mission (RSM): Key Facts and Figures June 2020" (PDF).
  16. ^ "Resolute Support Mission (RSM): Key Facts and Figures February 2021" (PDF).
  17. ^ "SIGAR Quarterly Report April 30, 2020" (PDF).
  18. ^ "SIGAR: QUARTERLY REPORT TO THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS April 2021" (PDF).
  19. ^ "The U.S. military finishes its evacuation, and an era ends in Afghanistan". AP NEWS. 2021-08-30. Retrieved 2021-08-30.
  20. ^ "Operation Enduring Sentinel & Operation Freedom's Sentinel Lead Inspector General Report to the United States Congress" (PDF). Department of Defense Office of the Inspector General. 30 September 2022. p. 5. Retrieved 30 September 2022.