Skip to main content (Press Enter).
 News
    
        Photos

    Week in Photos

    Air Force TV

    Commentaries

    Features

    Art

    About Us
    
        Air Force Senior Leaders
    
        SECAF

    CSAF

    CMSAF

    Biographies

    Fact Sheets

    SECAF Reading List

    CSAF Leadership Library
    
        CSAF Leadership Library 2022

    CSAF Leadership Library 2021

    CSAF Reading List Pre-2020 Archive
    
        2018 CSAF Reading List

    2017 CSAF Reading List

    2016 CSAF Reading List

    CSAF Leadership Library 2023

    CMSAF Leadership Library

    50 Years of the CMSAF

    Adjunct Professors

    Air Force Strategic Documents

    Arctic Strategy

    Empowered Airmen

    State Licensure Portability

    Careers

    AF Federal Advisory Committees

    AF 75th Anniversary

    Policy Updates

    AF Content Management

    Contact Us

    AF Sites
    
        Site RegistrationU.S. Air Force LogoAir Force

        Policy UpdatesNewsroomReoptimizationBIOGRAPHIESAF Senior Leaders      Campbell to lawmakers: Afghanistan not a short-term problemPublished Feb. 5, 2016
                    
                    By Jim Garamone
                    
                    
                    DoD News, Defense Media Activity
            **WASHINGTON (AFNS) --**The situation is extremely complex in Afghanistan, but one simple truth is that 2016 cannot be a repeat of 2015, Army Gen. John Campbell told the Senate Armed Services Committee Feb. 4.
Campbell, the commander of NATO's Resolute Support Mission and U.S. forces in Afghanistan, said the Taliban were emboldened by the U.S. withdrawal and the concomitant reduction in close air support. The Taliban “have fought the Afghan security forces very tough, and we can’t let that happen as we move forward,” he said.
Campbell told the committee that the current plan, which calls for a reduction in U.S. service members in the country to 5,500 by Jan. 1, 2017 -- would limit the train, advise and assist mission in Afghanistan. “The 5,500 plan was developed primarily around counterterrorism,” he said. “There is very limited train, advise and assist (funding) in ... those numbers.
"To continue to build on the Afghan security forces, the gaps and seams in aviation, logistics, intelligences, as I've talked about, we’d have to make some adjustments to that number,” he said.**Prepare, adjust**
Campbell said he is, of course, prepared to pare U.S. numbers in Afghanistan to 5,500 -- from about 9,800 -- by the end of the year. “I believe the right thing to do is to prepare to go to 5,500 as I am ordered, but at the same time take a look at conditions on the ground, look at the capabilities ... not the number -- and to provide those adjustments to my military leadership, and then make those adjustments to the capabilities,” he said.
“If we don't have the capabilities, or if the assumptions that we made for the 5,500 plan don't come out true, then of course, we have to make those adjustments,” he added.
Any adjustments would have to be made early this year, Campbell said, and preferably before summer. Campbell stressed that Afghanistan is not a short-term problem and that it must be viewed in years. NATO and partner nations need time to prepare troops and equipment for deployment, he explained.
A five-year cycle “gives them the ability to plan, to resource,” Campbell said. “Again, any budget one year at a time is very, very hard to do. So I think NATO's completely on board with that. All the countries continue to provide the assistance that they pledged at the Chicago 2012 conference. Again, the United States is the biggest contributor, but the NATO countries continue to provide and have done so.”
In addition to internal training requirements, the general said a long-term commitment also serves to give confidence to the Afghan government and people.
“It sends a message to Pakistan, it sends a message to the Taliban, and it sends a message to NATO,” Campbell said. “Talking those kind of terms, conditions based on the ground, is the way we need to move forward to enable the Afghans to have a predictability and stability.”Senate Armed Services Committee 



testimony 



Afghanistan 



NATO 



Resolute Support Featured News
        Senior Leader Priorities
                SecAF Kendall visits Bangor ANG Base
                    
                    Vice President Harris congratulates USAFA Class of ‘24
                    
                    Senate confirms Melissa Dalton as next Under Secretary of the Air Force
                    
                    ‘One Team, One Fight’: SecAF visits Keesler AFB
                    
                    SecAF Kendall experiences VISTA of future flight test at Edwards AFBInnovation
                AFSFC reaches final phase of fielding Model Defender gear
                    
                    Around the Air Force: PCS Allowances, Air Task Forces, All-Volunteer Force
                    
                    AFIMSC focuses I-WEPTAC topics on GPC solutions
                    
                    Optimizing AI, Air University hosts Artificial Intelligence Symposium
                    
                    AFIMSC tools deliver data-driven solutions across DAFMAJCOM News
                AFMC to expand AcqDemo workforce
                    
                    AFMC empowers small businesses for Air Force reoptimization
                    
                    Acquisition Instructor Course Class 25A open for nominations
                    
                    Air Guard leaders host 2024 Wing Leader Conference
                    
                    Referral bonuses aim to help fill mission-critical vacancies
 Quick Links
AccessibilityContact UsEqual OpportunityFOIA | Privacy | Section 508Information QualityInspector GeneralJAG Court-Martial DocketLink DisclaimerNo FEAR ActOpen GovernmentOSI Tip LinePlain LanguageQuestionsResilienceRSSSite MapVeterans Crisis LineCareers
Join the Air ForceAir Force BenefitsAir Force CareersAir Force ReserveAir National GuardCivilian ServiceConnect
            Get Social with Us
            
            Official United States Air Force Website
    Hosted by Defense Media Activity - WEB.mil