The Netherlands Armed Forces are the military forces of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The armed forces consist of four service branches: the Royal Netherlands Navy, the Royal Netherlands Army, the Royal Netherlands Air Force and the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee. The service branches are supplemented by various joint support organizations. In addition, local conscript forces exist on the Dutch Caribbean islands of Aruba and Curaçao. These operate under the auspices of the Royal Netherlands Navy and the Netherlands Marine Corps. The armed forces are part of the Ministry of Defence.
The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) was a multinational military mission in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2014. It was established by United Nations Security Council Resolution 1386 according to the Bonn Agreement, which outlined the establishment of a permanent Afghan government following the U.S. invasion in October 2001. ISAF's primary goal was to train the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) and assist Afghanistan in rebuilding key government institutions; it gradually took part in the broader war in Afghanistan against the Taliban insurgency.
The Australian contribution to the war in Afghanistan has been known as Operation Slipper (2001–2014) and Operation Highroad (2015–2021).
Uruzgan, also spelled as Urozgan or Oruzgan, is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. Uruzgan is located in the center of the country. The population is 436,079, and the province is mostly a tribal society. Tarinkot serves as the capital of the province. Uruzgan borders the provinces of Kandahar, Daykundi, Ghazni, Zabul, and Helmand.
The Regiment van Heutsz is a line infantry regiment of the Royal Netherlands Army. The regiment was named after J.B. van Heutsz, a former Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies who successfully brought the Aceh War closer to an end, and was formed on July 1, 1950. It is notable for its service as part of the United Nations force sent to fight during the Korean War. It is still operational and has served tours as part of the ISAF Afghanistan mission.
A battlegroup or task force in modern military theory is the basic building block of an army's fighting force. A battlegroup is formed around an infantry battalion or armoured regiment, which is usually commanded by a lieutenant colonel. The battalion or regiment also provides the command and staff element of a battlegroup, which is complemented with an appropriate mix of armour, infantry, and support personnel and weaponry relevant to the task it is expected to perform.
Tarinkot, also spelled as Tarin Kowt, is a city in south-central Afghanistan, serving as the capital of Uruzgan Province. It sits at 1,317 m (4,321 ft) above sea level, and is connected by a road network with Kandahar to the south, Nili in Daykundi Province to the north, and Malistan in Ghazni Province to the northeast.
Combined Joint Task Force – 76 (CJTF-76) was a US led subordinate formation of Combined Forces Command – Afghanistan (CFC-A) headquartered in Kabul, Afghanistan. It was active from the time CFC-A stood up to the time the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) took full command of the coalition military operations in Afghanistan in October 2006. CFC-A reported in its turn to United States Central Command. While CFC-Afghanistan was supposed to have inactivated sometime after November 30, 2006, CJTF-76 remained as a headquarters for ISAF's Regional Command East. CJTF-76 was replaced by Combined Joint Task Force 82, led by the 82nd Airborne Division, in the middle of 2007.
Task Force Uruzgan (TFU) was Australia's and the Netherlands' contribution to NATO's Regional Command South, International Security Assistance Force, in Afghanistan. The Dutch led one of the four Provincial Reconstruction Teams in the southern region of the country. Mandated by the Dutch Parliament in February 2006, between 1,200 to 1,400 Dutch military were tasked to maintain order in Uruzgan Province through July 2010. They were also to develop political and economic infrastructure and to train the Afghan National Police.
The 7th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment is a regular infantry battalion of the Australian Army. It was originally raised in 1965 as part of Australia's commitment to the Vietnam War and it eventually served two tours in Vietnam in 1967 and 1971. In 1973, following Australia's withdrawal from the conflict, the battalion was amalgamated with the 5th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment to form the 5th/7th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment.
In January 2006, NATO's focus in southern Afghanistan was to form Provincial Reconstruction Teams with the British leading in Helmand Province and the Netherlands, Australia and Canada leading similar deployments in Orūzgān Province and Kandahar Province respectively. The United States, with 2,200 troops, stayed in control of Zabul Province. Local Taliban figures voiced opposition to the incoming force and pledged to resist it.
The 189th Infantry Brigade is an Infantry brigade of the United States Army based at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington. It is a training brigade subordinate to First Army.
The Battle of Chora took place in and around the town of Chora, in Afghanistan's Uruzgan Province, from June 15 to 19, 2007. The fighting was between ISAF and Afghan forces on one side and Taliban forces on the other, for the control of the Chora District center, regarded by the Taliban as a tactical target because it provides ground access from unsecured Gizab District in the north to the provincial capital of Tarinkot. According to some press reports, the fighting was the largest Taliban offensive of 2007 in Afghanistan, and resulted in the death of one American, two Dutch, and 16 Afghan soldiers, as well as approximately 58 civilians and 71 Taliban fighters.
US and NATO International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) operations, alongside Afghan National Army forces, continued against the Taliban through 2007.
The 11 Air Assault Brigade is the rapid light infantry brigade of the Royal Netherlands Army, focused on conducting air assault operations. Troops of the brigade are qualified to wear the maroon beret upon completion of the demanding training course, those qualified as military parachutists wear the appropriate parachutist wings. The brigade received the name "7 December" when the First Division "7 December" was disbanded in 2004.
United States and NATO International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) operations, alongside Afghan National Army forces, continued against the Taliban through 2008.
3rd Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment (3 RCR) is a regular force light infantry battalion of the Canadian Forces. 3 RCR's most notable service occurred in Korea, Germany, Bosnia and Afghanistan. In 2006–2010, the battalion was deployed to Kandahar Province, Afghanistan. All three rifle companies were deployed at various times during this period of combat. Also notable was the period between 2003 and 2004, when it was the initial Canadian Forces unit to serve as part of the International Security Assistance Force, deploying to Kabul in August 2003.
The First and Second Battles of Kakarak were fought near the village of Kakarak in the West Dorafshan district of Orūzgān Province, in southern Afghanistan. The fighting took place between Australian forces from the 1st Mentoring and Reconstruction Task Force (MRTF-1) and Taliban fighters, with the area considered to be one of the last Taliban outposts in the area. During the first action on the morning of 16 March a six-man Australian Operational Mentoring and Liaison Team (OMLT) operating with Afghan National Army (ANA) troops was contacted by a numerically superior Taliban force near the village. In the ensuing battle one Australian was killed before close air support from Dutch AH-64D Apache helicopter gunships and US aircraft allowed them to withdraw after inflicting heavy casualties on the Taliban insurgents.
Task Force Kandahar (TFK) was the formation conducting the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) mission in Kandahar Province under ISAF Regional Command South. When it concluded its mission in summer 2011, the formation included a Canadian Forces battle group, three U.S. Army battalions, an engineer regiment, a signal squadron, Operational Mentor and Liaison Teams (OMLTs), and contributions to Operational Mentor and Advisory Teams (OMATs) and the Police Operational Mentor and Liaison Team (P-OMLT).
Mentoring Task Force One (MTF-1) was a combined arms battle group formed by the Australian Army for deployment as part of Operation Slipper during the War in Afghanistan. Formed in 2009 from the 7th Brigade, the unit consisted of infantry, engineers, cavalry, artillery and logistic elements from 55 different units, but was predominately based on the 6th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment. Based at Forward Operating Base Ripley outside of Tarin Kowt in Uruzgan Province as part of a multinational brigade known as Combined Team Uruzgan, MTF-1 was tasked with counter-insurgency operations in conjunction with United States, Dutch and other coalition forces, operating from a number of patrol bases in the Mirabad, Baluchi and Chora valleys. MTF-1 served in Afghanistan from January to October 2010.
