The transition from combat to coaching in a twenty-year war

Wars & Conflicts · Published 9 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: By 2015, the U.S. military shifted from active combat to a strategy of training and assistance. Operation Freedom's Sentinel was the official name for this pivot, marking a move toward building local forces while maintaining a shadow presence of specialized counterterrorism units.

Operation Freedom's Sentinel (OFS) officially began on January 1, 2015, succeeding Operation Enduring Freedom. It was designed as a dual-track mission: a counterterrorism (CT) effort against Al-Qaeda remnants and a collaborative effort with allies under the NATO-led Resolute Support Mission. The goal, as articulated by General John F. Campbell in October 2015, was to build the Afghan National Security Forces (ANDSF) so they could eventually secure the country and win the peace independently.

The scale of these forces was massive. By 2020, the self-reported strength of the ANDSF exceeded 300,000 personnel. However, the transition from U.S.-led combat to local security proved fragile. Despite the presence of roughly 16,551 NATO and non-NATO troops in early 2020, the ANDSF largely surrendered or fled to neighboring countries during the Taliban's August 2021 offensive. This collapse left nearly the entire country under Taliban control, highlighting the difficulty of transferring military momentum to a local partner.

The logistics of the withdrawal were complex. While the U.S. publicly reported a reduction to 2,500 troops by January 2021, it was later revealed that an additional 1,000 troops—including Special Operations forces—were present in the country. Furthermore, approximately 18,000 military contractors remained in Afghanistan as of early 2021. The mission officially ended on October 1, 2021, following a de-facto completion on August 30, as the U.S. transitioned to Operation Enduring Sentinel.

Throughout the mission, the Lead Inspector General for Overseas Contingency Operations reported significant hurdles, including the rise of ISIS-K, the need for credible elections, and the persistence of suicide attacks. While the U.S. aimed to move away from major military operations toward a smaller role of training, the reality was a persistent cycle of managing increased violence and coordinating massive evacuation efforts like Operation Allies Refuge.

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