Resolute Support Mission

Overview

Resolute Support Mission (RSM) or Operation Resolute Support was a NATO-led multinational mission in Afghanistan. It began on 1 January 2015 as the successor to the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), which was completed on 28 December 2014. Pursuant to United Nations Security Council Resolution 2189 of 2014, RSM was a noncombat mission aimed at advising and training Afghan security forces to provide long-term security to the country, under the aegis of the U.S.–Afghanistan Strategic Partnership Agreement between the United States and Afghanistan, which was originally supposed to run from 1 January 2015 and was to "remain in force until the end of 2024 and beyond" unless terminated with two years' advance notice.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

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.