DOD updates force-level accounting for Afghanistan

By Justin Doubleday / August 31, 2017 at 11:30 AM

The Pentagon admitted this week there are actually approximately 11,000 American forces deployed to Afghanistan, rather than the previously reported 8,400, as the Defense Department aims to be more transparent in its force-level accounting for the 16-year conflict now expected to ramp up under the Trump administration's new South Asia strategy.

"DOD's previous force management practice only disclosed publicly the forces under the force management level, not those forces on temporary missions," chief Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White told reporters at the Pentagon Wednesday. The Obama administration set a cap on the number of troops to be deployed in Afghanistan, and DOD officials used a "complex series of authorized exemptions" to get above the limit, according to Lt. Gen. Ken McKenzie Jr.

Now, DOD will count forces on temporary missions, as well as those under the force management level, according to White, who added the caveat that the Pentagon will still not disclose "sensitive units and certain temporary missions."

The 2,600 troops who were not previously counted are on "short-duration missions, not necessarily [staying] for the entire length of the operations; some troops in a temporary duty status; troops assigned to combat support agencies; and forces assigned to the material recovery element and Resolute Support sustainment brigade," according to McKenzie.

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis is expected to make a decision soon on the number of additional troops to send to Afghanistan as part of President Trump's new South Asia strategy. The number is expected to be as high as 4,000, based on a recommendation made by the top commander in Afghanistan earlier this year.

House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mac Thornberry (R-TX) released the following statement after the announcement was made yesterday:

"I am pleased to see that as we prepare to execute a new strategy in Afghanistan, President Trump and Secretary Mattis have chosen to put the facts on the table. The Obama Administration did not shoot straight on how many people they sent to Afghanistan, which added cost to the mission and made it harder to succeed. It is important to be upfront about the importance of the mission and what it takes to succeed."

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