ISAF

International Security Assistance Force - ISAF

ISAF is a coalition of the willing deployed under the authority of the UN Security Council. In addition to the 28 NATO nations also 22 non-NATO nations throughout the world currently contribute to ISAF to bring the total number of ISAF-forces in Afghanistan to approximately 129 000.

JFC Brunssum's role

Allied Joint Force Command (JFC) Brunssum, carries out NATO's prime mission to assure that ISAF can sustain its operations uninterruptedly looking ahead over a period of several years to further progress the transition in Afghanistan within the UN mandate.

It staffs, monitors and coordinates the necessary activities by providing operational support, management to sustain the operations and coordination of manning and training of designated ISAF Headquarters' staffs to enable their smooth transition into ISAF.

ISAF's role

In support of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (GIRoA), ISAF conducts operations in Afghanistan to reduce the capability and will of the insurgency, support the growth in capacity and capability of the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF), and facilitate improvements in governance and socio-economic development in order to provide a secure environment for sustainable stability that is observable to the population.

ISAF's organisation

The ISAF command structure comprises of an operational Four- Star Headquarters - ISAF HQ, a subordinate tactical Three-Star Headquarters - ISAF Joint Command (IJC), and the NATO Training Mission - Afghanistan (NTM-A).

The ISAF Commander focuses on strategic political-military aspects of the ISAF mission, synchronising ISAF's operations with the work of Afghan and other international organisations in the country.

Whilst IJC is responsible for executing the full spectrum of tactical operations throughout the country, including Operational Mentor and Liaisons Teams, NTM-A is responsible for overseeing and streamlining the development of the Afghan National Army (ANA) and the Afghan National Police's (ANP) institutional training, education and professional development, as set out by the Afghan Ministries of Defence and Interior.

The OMLT program is a key contribution towards developing the ANA. OMLTs provide training and mentoring to support ANA units' operational deployments and are embedded in ANA Battalions (Kandaks), Brigades, Garrisons and Corps HQs.