Although NATO’s International Security Assistance Force operation in Afghanistan was authorized in December, 2001, it wasn’t until August, 2003 that the organization assumed total leadership of the program, putting an end to a system that placed individual nations in charge for six-month periods. Later that year, NATO began a process of taking back control of the war-torn nation by assuming command over Provincial Reconstruction Teams in the northern part of the country. Similar strategies were employed to the west, south, and east, culminating in 2006 with the ISAF assuming command of the various international military forces in eastern Afghanistan that up to that had point had been under the charge of the U.S.-led coalition.
Between 2007 and 2011, there were two major components of the ISAF mission. The first was to respond to an insurgency that sprang up in the east and south of the nation, eventually becoming so strong that a surge of some 40,000 extra troops was deployed to the area in response. The second task was to train the various elements of the country’s new legal and military infrastructure—the Afghan National Police, Afghan National Army, and Afghan National Security Forces—to be able to maintain the stability that was becoming the norm in some parts of the nation and to quell insurgent uprising before they could gain significant footholds.
During the last three years of the ISAF mission, security responsibilities were transitioned completely to Afghan forces, and ISAF came to an official end on December 28, 2014.
At its high-water mark, the ISAF comprised more than 130,000 personnel from more than 50 NATO and partner nations.
NATO regulations regarding NATO Medals were altered in 2011, mandating all personnel who felt they were eligible for the award must submit a request within two years of leaving the operational area. Servicemembers hoping that the wording here allows them to submit a medal request after December 28, 2016 because they might not have left the operational area for some time following the official campaign end date will be disappointed. Specifically, Section 9-11(f) of AR 600-8-22, Military Awards, says that they are out of luck: “Request for medals for operations that ended 2 years or more prior to the date of request will not be processed.”