SVK Armed Forces end their 20-year-long engagement in Afghanistan

Consistent with NATO's drawdown of forces in Afghanistan, the Slovak Armed Forces have withdrawn their forces and assets deployed under the Resolute Support Mission (RSM) in Afghanistan, bringing the nearly 20-year-long presence of SVK servicemen and women in this country to an end on 16 June 2021.

Over 4,300 SVK military personnel had rotated in and out of Afghanistan under the “coalition of the willing” and the NATO flag since 2002, serving with Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), and the Resolute Support Mission (RSM) with focus on “train, advise, assist” over more than the past five years.

Speaking of the SVK deployment to Afghanistan, Defence Minister Jaroslav Naď said: “On all these operations, the Slovak Armed Forces carried out a wide spectrum of tasks, ranging from building infrastructure for the coalition forces at Bagram and Kandahar airfields, through to base protection as sentries and the training of the Afghan Security Forces in such remote areas as Uruzgan in southern Afghanistan or at different bases in the east of the country. Our servicemen and women got through an immense amount of work in Afghanistan by which they contributed towards building the security of the country and bringing credit on our Armed Forces. It was both a challenge and an opportunity to gain a lot of new experience and expertise.” Mr Naď also praised the contribution made by SVK Civil-Military Cooperation (CIMIC) experts on the Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs) in building and modernising the Afghan countryside, as well as the postings of staff officers to all levels of the operation's command structures.

Speaking on the occasion of the last soldiers of the Slovak RSM Contingent returning home from Afghanistan, Chief of Defence Gen Daniel Zmeko said: “I find this long-term deployment and the achievements of our service members in such a remote and climatically challenging destination as Afghanistan a success of the entire Armed Forces. We owe our thanks to every serviceman and woman and civilian employee who have played a role in making this success happen over the past twenty years – be that while involved in direct action or carrying out support tasks. The successful planning and withdrawal of our forces in such a short time since the political announcement demonstrate the professionalism of our military planners at all levels of command.”

During our involvement in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, the SVK military suffered human losses. Especially tragic was the year 2013 when two serious incidents claimed the lives of three soldiers and several others were seriously wounded with lasting health problems.