McRaven: Fort Bragg Special Ops Troops Mission Continues

Families and soldiers at Fort Bragg are curious about the future mission in Afghanistan and how many troops might be left on the ground after the 2014 drawdown.

In a virtual town hall meeting last week, the Commander, U.S. Special Operations Command, Admiral William McRaven candidly answered questions about the role of these units.

"The president has given us a number for the end of 2013, then we'll have a group of NATO soldiers, around 15,000. Near the end of 2014, a decision has not been made yet as the size of the force left," said Admiral William McRaven. "Within the next several months the President will make a decision about what that number ought to be."

In McRaven's opinion:

"There will be a need in 2014 for us in the special operations community to continue in the counter terrorism role - to advise, train and assist the Afghans."

The leader said that USASOC is doing a magnificent job building the Afghan local police. The Afghan local police force is up to 19,000 and growing to the goal of 45,000. The Afghan special forces and commandos are also being built through the U.S. partnership. According to the Commander, U.S. Special Operations Command, there will always be a role for the USASOC soldier through the end of 2014 in the advisory role.

What is unknown is whether the U.S. will have an enduring presence in Afghanistan. Talks between President Obama, President Karzai, and Secretary General Rasmussen from NATO will determine that course of action.

"It's going to be less than it is today, and that is important because we have other demands out there," said McRaven."I want to get our operational tempo back to where it's a 1 or 2 to a minimum, so that your husband is not constantly deploying. We want to get him back to make sure his dwell time at Fort Bragg is appropriate."