Story by U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Davis, SHAPE Public Affairs Office
KABUL, Afghanistan — Gen. Phil Breedlove, Supreme Allied Commander Europe, visited Kabul and Bagram Air Field, Afghanistan, Jan. 6-8 to speak with senior Afghan officials and troops to get a firsthand look at NATO’s new Resolute Support mission.
Breedlove had the opportunity to discuss Resolute Support with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Officer Abdullah Abdullah as well as NATO and Afghan National Security Force leaders responsible for the new mission.
"I’m very pleased with how effectively the headquarters rapidly reorganized itself,” said Breedlove. "I visited mainly to see how we, a NATO force, were changing our mission set to align ourselves with the goals of Resolute Support. The ANSF has been in the lead for over 18 months now, they have proven to be a capable force and I’m confident they will continue to sustain and improve on their capabilities.”
Resolute Support officially started Jan. 1 and is based on a request from the Afghan government and the Status of Forces Agreement between NATO and Afghanistan. Approximately 12,000 personnel from both NATO and partner nations will be deployed in support of the mission to train, advise and assist Afghan security forces.
Under Resolute Support, efforts to train, advise, and assist Afghan Security Institutions and the ANSF at the ministerial, operational, and institutional levels are focused on eight essential functions: Multi-year Budgeting; Transparency, Accountability and Oversight; Civilian Governance of the ASI; Force Generation; Sustainment; Strategy and Policy Planning, resourcing, and Execution; Intelligence; and Strategic Communication.