Operation Mountain Thrust
Coalition forces concluded Operation Mountain Thrust following the NATO International Security Assistance Force assumption of command from Coalition forces in southern Afghanistan on July 31. During a six-week period, Mountain Thrust included combat, humanitarian assistance and reconstruction missions in southern Afghanistan .
In conducting post-operation assessments, the Coalition believes Mountain Thrust successfully disrupted enemy lines of communication by targeting leadership and maintaining pressure on insurgents who remained in a reactive posture due to Coalition attacks. In total, more than 1,100 extremists were killed, wounded or captured.
The Afghan National Army and police, assisted by Coalition forces, achieved many tangible objectives for the Afghan people and government, said Coalition officials, particularly in the areas of increasing the government’s capacity to govern in the southern provinces and establishing the conditions for a seamless transition from the Coalition to ISAF.
A key measurement was the Afghan government’s Programme Tahkm-e Sohl, or PTS program. The program experienced a strong increase in the month of July, with 60 insurgents turning in arms. The PTS program offers insurgents an opportunity to reconcile and reintegrate back into mainstream Afghan society, as long as they pledge an Oath of Allegiance to the GOA, recognize the authority of the Afghan Constitution and promise to obey the laws of Afghanistan .
“What Operation Mountain Thrust did was expand the reach of the legitimate Afghan government, by extending security into far-reaching and remote areas of southern Afghanistan, and it helped enable an effective transition from a U.S.-led to a NATO-ISAF-led operation,” said Maj. Gen. Benjamin C. Freakley, commander of Combined Joint Task Force – 76. “Our combat operations made up only a small portion of Mountain Thrust’s success. Much of our effort went to improve reconstruction and governance for Afghans.”
During Mountain Thrust, the Afghan National Army improved their professional skills, not just in combat, but also in support of operations such as logistics management. Officers from the ANA planned and executed many successful re-supply missions and improved their staff functions, intelligence collection and analysis and reporting procedures.
Humanitarian support included four major Cooperative Medical Assistance visits, including two in Uruzgan Province and one each in Kandahar and Zabul provinces. The CMA visits provided medical care for civilians and veterinarian assistance for livestock.
During Operation Mountain Thrust, more than 10,000 people were treated by Afghan and Coalition medical professionals.
The reconstruction effort in the southern region also continued with the ongoing construction of four new roads in Helmand, Uruzgan, Kandahar and Zabul provinces. Zabul Province will also receive a new Provincial Coordination Center and three new district centers.
In the southern provinces, Coalition forces have already pushed forward over $21 million in reconstruction projects that were requested and coordinated by the governors of southern Afghanistan .
“We’re very happy the U.S. Congress appropriated an additional $17.1 million for our continued reconstruction effort across southern and eastern Afghanistan ,” said Brig. Gen. Daniel Pepin, deputy commanding general for effects. “As we clear extremists from their safe havens, we will continue to follow-up combat operations with immediate reconstruction projects to improve life for Afghans.”
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