Afghan War order of battle

A U.S. Army Special Forces soldier scans for insurgents during an engagement on 10 April 2007, in the Sangin District area of Helmand Province in southern Afghanistan. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Daniel Love).

The Afghan War order of battle is the disposition and structure of military forces in the ongoing War in Afghanistan. This article lists deployed units under the command of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), which controls both combat and reconstruction operations (often led by the Provincial Reconstruction Teams). ISAF comprises units from many nations. In this article, units are assumed to be from the United States unless otherwise stated.

This list covers current coalition forces in Afghanistan. See the article Operation Enduring Freedom - Afghanistan: Allies for coalition support for Operation Enduring Freedom from October 2001 to 2003.

For coalition forces involved in NATO combat operations in the past, see the articles Coalition combat operations in Afghanistan in 2006, Coalition combat operations in Afghanistan in 2007, and Coalition combat operations in Afghanistan in 2008. See also article International Security Assistance Force.

International Security Assistance Force

The overall command of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force starts from Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe at Casteau, Belgium. The overall command is vested in Joint Force Command Brunssum at Brunssum in the Netherlands, then the Commander ISAF (COMISAF). The current COMISAF is General John R. Allen (USMC), at ISAF Headquarters in Kabul.

There are three subordinate commands under COMISAF: the Intermediate Joint Command, which controls the tactical battle along the lines of on the lines of Multi-National Corps Iraq; the NATO Training Mission-Afghanistan/Combined Security Transition Command – Afghanistan, which trains the Afghan National Army; and Special Operations Forces.

The Intermediate Joint Command in turn controls the regional commands, roughly analogous to divisions. There are six regional commands: Capital (at Kabul), South, Southwest, North, East, and West. Each regional command has a headquarters to provide command and control and logistics support for its area of responsibility, and comprises both combat units and Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs).

Regional Command Capital

• Commander: Brigadier General Rafet Sevinc Sasmaz (Turkey)
• Headquarters: Kabul
• Area of responsibility: Kabul Province

Combat units

Unit	Sub-units	Headquarters	Tasking
1st Battalion Motorized Task Force (Turkey)		Camp Dogan, Kabul	Responsible for Kabul Province.
2nd Battalion Motorized Task Force (Turkey)		Camp Gazi, Kabul	Responsible for Kabul Province.

Provincial Reconstruction Teams

Regional Command Capital has no Provincial Reconstruction Teams.

Regional Command South

• Commander: Major General James L. Huggins (USA)
• Headquarters: Kandahar Airfield
• Area of responsibility: Kandahar, Orūzgān, Zabul, and Daykundi Provinces

Combat units

Unit	Sub-units	Headquarters	Tasking
Combined Team Uruzgan	3rd Brigade (Australia) (Mentoring Task Force 3)[1] 4th Squadron, 70th Armor Regiment	Camp Holland, Tarin Kowt	Responsible for Orūzgān Province.
116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Combined Team Zabul)	1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment 2nd Infantry Battalion, 1st Mechanized Brigade (Romania) 495th Infantry Battalion, 1st Mechanized Brigade (Romania)	FOB Eagle, Qalat	Responsible for Zabul Province
1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division (Task Force Arctic Wolves)	5th Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment 2nd Battalion, 8th Field Artillery Regiment 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment	Kandahar Airfield	Responsible for Daman, Dand, Panjwaye, and Shah Wali Kot Districts
3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Task Force Spartan)	2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment 4th Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment (United States) 4th Battalion, 25th Field Artillery Regiment 2nd Battalion, 34th Armor Regiment	FOB Pasab	Responsible for Maywand and Zhari Districts.
159th Combat Aviation Brigade (Task Force Thunder)	4th Battalion, 227th Aviation Regiment 7th Battalion, 17th Aviation Regiment 3rd Battalion, 101st Aviation Regiment 4th Battalion, 101st Aviation Regiment 7th Battalion, 101st Aviation Regiment	Kandahar Airfield	Aviation support for Regional Command South.
2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division (Task Force Warhorse)	385th Military Police Battalion 2nd Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment 1st Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regiment 1st Squadron, 67th Armor Regiment 3rd Squadron, 71st Cavalry Regiment	Camp Nathan Smith	Responsible for Kandahar City and Arghandab District.
504th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade (Task Force Viper)	2nd Battalion, 38th Cavalry Regiment	FOB Spin Boldak	Responsible for Spin Boldak District.

Provincial Reconstruction Teams

Designation	Composition	Headquarters	Sponsors
PRT Kandahar		Kandahar	Lead nation: USA
PRT Uruzgan		Tarin Kowt	Lead nation: Australia
PRT Zabul		Qalat	Lead nation: USA Supporting nations: Romania UK

Regional Command Southwest

• Commander: Major General John A. Toolan, USMC
• Headquarters: Camp Leatherneck, Helmand
• Area of Operations: Helmand and Nimruz Provinces

Combat units

Unit	Sub-units	Headquarters	Tasking
3 Commando Brigade (United Kingdom) (Task Force Helmand)	3rd Battalion, Mercian Regiment 4th Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland 42 Commando Royal Marines 45 Commando Royal Marines Danish Team 12 1st Battalion, Rifles 24 Commando Regiment Royal Engineers 29 Commando Regiment Royal Artillery 30 Commando Information Exploitation Group 2nd Battalion, Royal Gurkha Rifles	Camp Lashkar Gah	Conducts ground operations in central Helmand Province.
2nd Marine Division (Task Force Leatherneck)	2nd Combat Engineer Battalion 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion 1st Battalion, 12th Marines 1st Battalion, 25th Marines	Camp Leatherneck	Conducts ground operations in Helmand and Nimruz Provinces.
Regimental Combat Team 5 (Task Force Leatherneck)	1st Battalion, 3rd Marines 3rd Battalion, 6th Marines 1st Battalion, 9th Marines	Camp Dwyer, Garmsir	Responsible for southern Helmand Province.
Regimental Combat Team 8 (Task Force Leatherneck)	2nd Battalion, 4th Marines 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines 1st Battalion, 6th Marines 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines 33rd Light Infantry Battalion	FOB Delaram II	Responsible for northern Helmand Province and part of Nimruz Province.
2nd Marine Aircraft Wing (Task Force Leatherneck)	Marine Attack Squadron 513 Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 363 Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 464 Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 267 Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 269 Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 162 Marine UAV Squadron 3	Camp Leatherneck	Aviation support in Helmand and Nimruz Provinces.
Joint Aviation Group (United Kingdom)	Joint Helicopter Force Afghanistan No. 31 Squadron RAF No. 39 Squadron RAF	Camp Leatherneck	Headquarters for British aviation units.

Provincial Reconstruction Teams

• PRT Helmand (Lead nation: United Kingdom)

Designation	Composition	Headquarters	Sponsors
PRT Helmand		Lashkar Gah	Lead nation: UK

Regional Command East

• Commander: Major General Daniel B. Allyn, USA
• Headquarters: Bagram Airfield
• Area of responsibility: Ghazni, Kapisa, Khost, Kunar, Laghman, Logar, Nangarhar, Nuristan, Paktika, Paktia, Panjshir, Parwan and Wardak Provinces and Surobi District of Kabul Province

Combat units

Unit	Sub-units	Headquarters	Tasking
172nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Task Force Blackhawk)	2nd Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment 3rd Squadron, 66th Armor Regiment 1st Battalion, 77th Field Artillery Regiment 9th Engineer Battalion	FOB Sharana	Responsible for Paktika Province.
3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division (Task Force Bronco)	1st Battalion, 2nd Infantry Regiment 3rd Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment 3rd Battalion, 7th Field Artillery Regiment 2nd Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment 2nd Battalion, 35th Infantry Regiment	Jalalabad Airfield	Responsible for Khost and Paktia Provinces.
3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division (Task Force Duke)	6th Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment 1st Battalion, 6th Field Artillery Regiment 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment 1st Battalion, 279th Infantry Regiment 92nd Military Police Battalion	FOB Salerno, Khost	Responsible for Khost and Paktia Provinces.
10th Combat Aviation Brigade (Task Force Falcon)	6th Squadron, 6th Cavalry Regiment 1st Battalion, 10th Aviation Regiment 2nd Battalion, 10th Aviation Regiment 3rd Battalion, 10th Aviation Regiment 1st Battalion, 227th Aviation Regiment Task Force ODIN-A III	Bagram Airfield	Provides aviation support for eastern Afghanistan.
11th Parachute Brigade (Task Force La Fayette, France)	Task Force Mousquetaire 152nd Infantry Regiment 1st Parachute Infantry Regiment	FOB Nijrab, Kapisa	Responsible for Kapisa Province and Surobi District of Kabul Province.
4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Task Force Patriot)	2nd Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment 5th Battalion, 25th Field Artillery Regiment 2nd Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment 3rd Battalion, 89th Cavalry Regiment Task Force 222 (Jordan)	FOB Shank, Logar	Responsible for Logar and Wardak Provinces.
45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Task Force Thunderbird)	1st Battalion, 179th Infantry Regiment	Bagram Airfield	Responsible for Laghman, Panjshir, Parwan, and western Nuristan Provinces.
17th Mechanized Brigade (Task Force White Eagle, Poland)	Battle Group Alpha (Poland) Battle Group Bravo (Poland) 2nd Battalion, 2nd Infantry Regiment	FOB Ghazni	Responsible for Ghazni Province.

Provincial Reconstruction Teams

Designation	Composition	Headquarters	Sponsors
PRT Logar	200 military personnel 10 civilians	FOB Shank	Lead nation: Czech Republic[2]
PRT Ghazni			Lead nation: Poland Supporting nation: USA
PRT Bamyan			Lead nation: New Zealand
PRT Kapisa			Lead nation: USA Supporting nation: France
PRT Parwan			Lead nation: South Korea
PRT Wardak			Lead nation: Turkey
PRT Panjshir			Lead nation: USA
PRT Paktika			Lead nation: USA
PRT Mehtar Lam			Lead nation: USA
PRT Khost			Lead nation: USA
PRT Nangahar		Jalalabad	Lead nation: USA
PRT Patkia		Gardez	Lead nation: USA
PRT Kunar		Asadabad	Lead nation: USA
PRT Nuristan			Lead nation: USA

Regional Command North

• Commander: Major General Marcus Kneip, Germany
• Headquarters: Mazar-i-Sharif
• Area of responsibility - Badakhshan, Baghlan, Balkh, Faryab, Jowzjan, Kunduz, Samangan, Sar-e Pul and Takhar Provinces.

Combat units

Unit	Sub-units	Headquarters	Tasking
Task Force Kunduz (Germany)		FOB Kunduz	Operating in eastern Regional Command North.
Jager Battalion 292 (Task Force Mazar-e-Sharif)		Camp Marmal	Operating in western Regional Command North.
Expeditionary Air Wing Mazar-e-Sharif (Germany)		Camp Marmal	Aviation support for northern Afghanistan.
170th Brigade Combat Team (Task Force Bayonet)	2nd Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment 1st Battalion, 84th Field Artillery Regiment 40th Engineer Battalion	Camp Mike Spann, Mazar-e-Sharif	Operating in Baghlan, Balkh, Faryab and Kunduz Provinces.
1st Air Cavalry Brigade (Task Force Warrior)	2nd Battalion, 227th Aviation Regiment	Camp Marmal	Providing aviation support for northern Afghanistan.

Provincial Reconstruction Teams

Designation	Composition	Headquarters	Sponsors
PRT Kunduz			Lead nation: Germany Supporting nations: Armenia Belgium USA
PRT Mazar-i-Sharif			Lead nations: Finland and Sweden Supporting nations: USA
PRT Meymaneh			Lead nation: Norway Supporting nations: Latvia Macedonia USA
PRT Pul-e Khumri			Lead nation: Hungary Supporting nations: Albania Croatia Montenegro
PRT Faizabad			Lead nation: Germany Supporting nations: Mongolia USA

Regional Command West^[3]

• Commander: Brigadier General Luciano Portolano, Italy
• Headquarters: Camp Arena, Herat.
• Area of responsibility - Badghis, Farah, Ghor, and Herat Provinces.

Combat units

Unit	Sub-units	Headquarters	Tasking
Task Force Badghis (Spain)		Qala-e-Naw	Operating in Badghis Province.
66th Airmobile Infantry Regiment, Italy (Task Force Center)		Camp La Marmora, Shindand	Operating in southern Herat Province.
5th Engineer (Sapper) Regiment, Italy (Task Force Genio)		Herat	Engineer support for western Afghanistan.
151st Infantry Regiment, Italy (Task Force North)		Bala Murghab	Operating in Badghis Province.
152nd Infantry Regiment, Italy (Task Force South)		Camp El Alamein, Farah	Operating in western Farah Province.
San Marco Regiment, Italy (Task Force Southeast)		Camp Lavaredo, Bakwa District	Operating in eastern Farah Province.
5th Aviation Regiment, Italy (Task Force Fenice)		Herat Airfield	Providing aviation support for western Afghanistan.
3rd Bersaglieri Regiment, Italy			Herat Provincial Reconstruction Team
3rd Battalion, 16th Field Artillery Regiment		Camp Stone, Herat	Operating in western Afghanistan.
3rd Battalion, 227th Aviation Regiment (Task Force Spearhead)		Shindand Air Base	Aviation support for western Afghanistan.

Provincial Reconstruction Teams

Unit	Sub-units	Headquarters	Tasking
PRT Herat			Lead nation: Italy
PRT Farah			Lead nation: USA
PRT Qal'ah-ye Now			Lead nation: Spain
PRT Chagcharan			Lead nation: Lithuania

U.S.-led Coalition

The overall command of the U.S.-led coalition effort in Afghanistan—known as Operation Enduring Freedom—Afghanistan—is headquartered at Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan, which reports to United States Central Command. OEF-Afghanistan's two major commands are Combined Joint Task Force 101, and the Combined Security Transition Command - Afghanistan (CSTC-A).^[4] With the Stage IV transition of authority to ISAF, the status of the 10th Combat Aviation Brigade/Task Force Falcon, which handles all the helicopter combat aviation duties in Afghanistan, is uncertain, along with the exact status of Combined Task Force Sword, the engineer task force, and the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force. It is unclear exactly what units are assigned to OEF-Afghanistan, but the operation is in charge of counter-terrorist operations, including pursuing al Qaeda along Afghanistan’s inhospitable border region with Pakistan.^[5]

Combined Security Transition Command - Afghanistan (CSTC-A)

• This command is responsible for training the Afghan National Army and the Afghan National Police through its headquarters and Combined Joint Task Force (CJTF) Phoenix.^[6] CSTC-A is responsible for mentoring the ministries of defense and interior, while CJTF Phoenix is responsible for mentoring Afghan National Army corps and below and Afghan National Police districts and below. CJTF Phoenix is headquartered by the 33rd Brigade Combat Team, Illinois Army National Guard, which relieved the 27th Brigade Combat Team, New York Army National Guard in late 2008, which relieved the 218th Brigade Combat Team, South Carolina Army National Guard in early 2008. The rest of the task force is made up of National Guard and Reserve personnel from 42 states, Marine Corps reservists, active duty representatives from the Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps, and soldiers assigned from France, Germany, Romania, Canada, New Zealand, Mongolia, and the United Kingdom.

References

1. ^ "Australian mentoring of Afghan Army produes results". Australian Department of Defense. 14 October 2011. http://www.defence.gov.au/defencenews/stories/2011/oct/1014.htm. Retrieved 29 October 2011. 
2. ^ ISAF - Provincial Reconstruction Team in Logar
3. ^ For more on Regional Command West, see "The Italian Job". Jane's Defence Weekly. (5 November 2008) and the Jane's Interview, same issue.
4. ^ United States Central Command, CSTC-A Official Website
5. ^ Securing Afghanistan
6. ^ Florida Army National Guard, Task Force Phoenix

External links

• Afghanistan Order of Battle - Institute for the Study of War
• Troop Levels in Afghanistan Since 2001 - interactive map by The New York Times
• Marine Expeditionary Brigade-Afghanistan/Task Force Leatherneck