U.S. airstrikes are increasing in Afghanistan as the Taliban continues its attacks, despite ongoing peace negotiations and the drawdown of American forces in the country, a watchdog report finds. The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, in its quarterly report to Congress released Feb. 1, ...
The Biden administration still wants to withdraw all forces from Afghanistan as long as the Taliban abides by the agreement reached last year, but that hasn't happened yet, the top Pentagon spokesman said Jan. 28. The U.S. reached a deal with the Taliban last year ...
U.S. military forces in Afghanistan and Iraq have dropped to 5,000 troops across both countries, with 2,500 personnel in each, meeting a Jan. 15 deadline from President Donald J. Trump to reduce the military’s footprint in the Middle East. The withdrawal marks the lowest level ...
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark A. Milley met with Taliban negotiators on Dec. 15, before moving on to Afghanistan to speak with local leaders regarding the ongoing and fragile peace process aimed at ending the 19-year-old war. The meeting marked the ...
The Pentagon has approved plans to draw down to 2,500 troops in Afghanistan, focusing on a smaller number of bases and continuing the advising and training role as well as the counterterrorism mission. “After 20 years, [and] two decades of consistent effort there, we’ve achieved ...
NATO leaders will discuss the way ahead in Afghanistan during this week's defense ministerial meeting, but a final decision on whether to stay or leave the country is not expected until February, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Nov. 30. “In the months ahead, ...
Two pararescuemen on Oct. 1 received Bronze Stars with Valor for their roles in saving the lives of partner forces in two separate fights in Afghanistan in 2019. Master Sgt. Adam Fagan and Staff Sgt. Benjamin Brudnicki, Airmen serving in the 48th Rescue Squadron, received ...
Master Sgt. John Grimesey, the flight chief of the 21st Special Tactics Squadron at Pope Field, N.C., on Aug. 14 received the military's Silver Star medal for his actions during a 2013 firefight in Afghanistan. He saved the life of one Soldier and killed more ...
About 70 Airmen and C-130s from the Kentucky Air National Guard’s 123rd Airlift Wing deployed to the Persian Gulf in support of Operation Freedom's Sentinel on June 24. The Airmen and aircraft will operate from an undisclosed base in Afghanistan as well as elsewhere in ...
Despite a framework for peace in one theater and declarations of upcoming troop withdrawals in another, the head of U.S. Central Command said June 10 that there’s no finish line or concrete withdrawal in sight in either Afghanistan or Syria. CENTCOM boss Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, ...
For the first time since the early days of the war in Afghanistan, Air Forces Central Command is not providing a regular update on the number of airstrikes in that theater, or from ongoing operations in Iraq and Syria. AFCENT, in a statement, said it ...
The Afghan Air Force lost 12 aircraft in the first quarter of 2020, an 8 percent drop of its flying fleet. The service also decreased its flying hours by a quarter, according to a new watchdog report. The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction states ...