End of the ISAF Mission

On 31st December the operation “Reconstruction of Afghanistan” – the name of the Spanish contribution to NATO’s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan – came to an end after 13 years. The new allied mission to that country, “Resolute Support”, was launched immediate afterwards, on 1st January. Throughout 2014 responsibility for security was gradually transferred to Afghan forces as the countries in the international coalition redeployed their contingents and adjusted areas, personnel and teams to fit the design and task distribution of the new mission.

In the case of Spain the redeployment, which started in 2013, continued last year, when the Spanish soldiers withdrew from the Herat advanced support base, the Mizar air detachment, the unmanned planes unit and an advising team to the Afghan border police. At the same time, a force protection support unit made up of a Spanish Army company with several instructors and surveillance and control teams was deployed. It was relieved at the beginning of December by a Task Group which will assume protection of the Camp Arena base during the redeployment process to Kabul, as foreseen in the first phase of Resolute Support. “The ISAF mission has probably been the most demanding and complex our forces have had to face in the recent past,” asserted Spanish minister of Defence Pedro Morenés, who believes that the basic objectives of the operation have been “fully fulfilled, given the circumstances and the means available.”

The war in Afghanistan has cost Spain more than 3.5 billion euros. In addition, the human cost for the Armed Forces has been huge: 100 soldiers have died, including the 62 victims of the Yak-42 accident in 2003.