Afghanistan Conflict Monitor: Security Forces

Table of Contents

Afghan National Army
Afghan National Police
Private Security Companies
International Troop Contributions

For more information, see also the Monitor's posts on Afghan National Army, Afghan National Police, private security, NATO, ISAF and PRTs.

Last updated: August 2010

Afghan National Army (ANA):

Size: The size of the Afghan army has increased to 134,000 soldiers, up from about 97,000 in November, according to NATO (as of 11 Aug 10)

(Source: Afghan troops reach 240,000 goal early, USA Today, 11 August 2010)

Target strength: 171,600 (by October 2011)

(Source: Facts and Figures: Afghan National Army, April 2010, NATO, 1 April 2010)

Cost: Sustaining the current size of ANA costs $2.2 billion a year. This will rise to $3 million a year after the expansion, which itself will cost $17 billion

Distribution: Consists of 160 units of five ground corps, spread regionally throughout Afghanistan, and one air corps

Training: 26,000 soldiers were trained in 2008, and 28,000 are expected to be trained by 2009. 179 training teams are required for the 134,000 ANA expansion

(Source: Factbox-Afghan National Security Forces, Reuters, 27 March 2009)

Casualties: January-September 20, 2009: 227 killed
2007-2008: 537 killed

(Source: Afghanistan Casualties: Military Forces and Civilians, Congressional Research Service, 8 March 2010)

Order of Battle: See 'Afghanistan National Security Forces Order of Battle', Long War Journal

Afghan National Police (ANP):

Size: The police are at 109,000 now, up from about 95,000 in November (as of 11 Aug 10)

(Source: Afghan troops reach 240,000 goal early, USA Today, 11 August 2010)

Target strength: 109,000 (by October 2010)
134,000 (by October 2011)

Primary ANP organizations include:

Afghan Uniformed Police: 81,842;

Afghan Border Police: 14,494;

Afghan National Civil Order Police: 3,964;

Afghan Counter-Narcotics Police: 2,695

(Source: Facts and Figures: Afghan National Police, April 2010, NATO, 1 April 2010)

Cost:
2007-Nov 2009: $87 million
2002-2007: $80 million

Distribution: ANP consists of six organisations including uniformed police (40,000), border police (17,000), and civil order police (5,000). It has posts in nearly every one of Afghanistan's nearly 400 districts.

Training: 28,197 have been trained since June 2007. The U.S. military says it has a shortfall of 2,300 police trainers and has had to transfer some trainers and mentors from the ANA

Casualties: January-September 20, 2009: 536
2007-2008: 1,412

(Source: Factbox-Afghan National Security Forces, Reuters, 27 March 2009)

Further reading:

Actions Needed to Improve the Reliability of Afghan Security Force Assessments, Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), June 2010
A Force in Fragments: Reconstituting the Afghan National Army, International Crisis Group, May 2010
Shaping Afghan National Security Forces: What it Will Take to Implement President Obama's New Strategy, Center for Strategic and International Studies, April 2010
Build-up of Afghan Security Forces Ill Advised, Norwegian Peacebuilding Centre, January 2010
Police Perception Survey 2009: The Afghan Perspective, United Nations Development Programme, December 2009
Sustainable Security in Afghanistan Crafting an Effective and Responsible Strategy for the Forgotten Front, Center for American Progress, March 2009
Progress toward Security and Stability in Afghanistan, United States Department of Defense, January 2009
Anthony H. Cordesman, Follow the Money: Why the US is losing the war in Afghanistan, Center for Strategic and International Studies, September 2008
Afghanistan Security: Further Congressional Action May Be Needed to Ensure Completion of a Detailed Plan to Develop and Sustain Capable Afghan National Security Forces, Government Accountability Office, June 2008
Counterinsurgency in Afghanistan, RAND Corporation, June 2008
The situation in Afghanistan and its implications for international peace and security (A/62/722- S/2008/159), United Nations, March 2008
Testimony by John M. McConnell, Director, National Intelligence, before the U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services, February 2008
Afghanistan Human Development Report 2007, UNDP and Kabul University
Graph: Population per Police Officer, by Province, 2006

Private Security Companies:

"[...] as of March 2010, there were 112,092 DOD contractors in Afghanistan, compared to approximately 79,100 uniformed personnel. Contractors made up 59% of DOD’s workforce in Afghanistan. In December 2008, contractors represented 69% of DOD’s workforce in Afghanistan, which apparently represented the highest recorded percentage of contractors used by DOD in any conflict in the history of the United States." Department of Defense Contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan: Background and Analysis, Congressional Research Service, July 2010

"The Pentagon reported 107,292 U.S.-hired civilian workers in Afghanistan as of February 2010, when there were about 78,000 soldiers. This is apparently the first time that contractors have exceeded soldiers by such a large margin." Contractor Deaths Accelerate as They Outnumber Soldiers, ProPublica, April 2010

"According to DOD, as of September 30, 2009, there were 242,230 DOD contractor personnel in the CENTCOM AOR compared to approximately 280,000 uniformed personnel in the region who are supporting operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Contractors made up approximately 46% of DOD’s combined contractor and uniformed personnel workforce in the CENTCOM AOR, representing a .87:1 ratio between contractors and uniformed personnel." Department of Defense Contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan: Background and Analysis, Congressional Research Service, December 2009