Resolute Support Mission

Significance

The Resolute Support Mission marked the formal transition of NATO's role in Afghanistan from a combat operation to an advisory and training mission. It succeeded the International Security Assistance Force on 28 December 2014, with RSM beginning on 1 January 2015 under United Nations Security Council Resolution 2189. Rather than conducting direct combat operations, the mission focused on advising and training Afghan security forces to sustain long-term security independently. Framed under the U.S.–Afghanistan Strategic Partnership Agreement, RSM was originally structured to run through at least 2024, signaling a shift from coalition-led fighting to Afghan institutional capacity-building as the primary Western strategic objective in the country.