{"id":41109,"date":"2018-10-09T18:55:18","date_gmt":"2018-10-09T18:55:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/10\/09\/milley-the-war-in-afghanistan-is-17-years-old-and-now-storm-clouds-are-on-the-horizon\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T03:31:13","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T03:31:13","slug":"milley-the-war-in-afghanistan-is-17-years-old-and-now-storm-clouds-are-on-the-horizon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2018\/10\/09\/milley-the-war-in-afghanistan-is-17-years-old-and-now-storm-clouds-are-on-the-horizon\/","title":{"rendered":"Milley: The war in Afghanistan is 17 years old, and now storm clouds are \u2018on the horizon\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

On Oct. 7, 2001, detachments of Army Special Forces soldiers <\/a>dropped into Afghanistan to launch the first counterattack against terrorist forces following 9\/11<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two days after Operation Enduring Freedom\u2019s anniversary, Army Chief of Staff Mark Milley<\/a> brought attention to the ongoing conflict in a speech Tuesday at the AUSA annual meeting in Washington.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAmid all the headline news, it seems like we hardly notice we are still a nation at war in some places, and in others we are preventing war,\u201d Milley said. \u201cSeventeen years later, we have suffered about 58,000 killed and wounded, most of them Army soldiers, in a war that continues.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark MIlley and his wife Hollyanne enjoy the opening ceremony for the 2018 annual meeting and exposition in Washington, DC. (Stephen Barrett\/Special to Defense News & Army Times)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

There are still 180,000 soldiers deployed in 140 countries, and as the Army prepares to make a shift from counterinsurgency options to more conventional wars, the number shows no sign of coming down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe give meaning to their sacrifice if we ensure those who follow in their footsteps are prepared for the challenges again,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In his fourth and final year at the Army\u2019s top officer, Milley has been taking stock of the Army\u2019s progress and looking ahead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“America\u2019s Army is on the mend after nearly two continuous decades of operations,\u201d he said, with steady funding, an end strength push that could get units to 105 percent manning levels by 2023 and a new modernization command that will upgrade weapons, vehicles and equipment from nearly top to bottom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite what some have thought, he said, future wars won\u2019t be short or easily fought by air power from long distances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe faint clouds of a coming storm are visible on the horizon,\u201d he said, with Russia and China bolstering their militaries and looking to expand their economic influence.<\/p>\n\n\n\t