{"id":66093,"date":"2021-05-11T19:15:36","date_gmt":"2021-05-11T19:15:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2021\/05\/11\/centcom-is-releasing-drawdown-updates-but-they-dont-include-troop-numbers\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T12:48:33","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T12:48:33","slug":"centcom-is-releasing-drawdown-updates-but-they-dont-include-troop-numbers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2021\/05\/11\/centcom-is-releasing-drawdown-updates-but-they-dont-include-troop-numbers\/","title":{"rendered":"CENTCOM is releasing drawdown updates, but they don\u2019t include troop numbers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The U.S. military\u2019s withdrawal from Afghanistan <\/a>is between 6 and 12 percent complete, according to a Tuesday release from Central Command<\/a>, but it\u2019s unclear how many troops, if any, have made their way home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s on purpose, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Tuesday, in order to hedge against possible attacks by the Taliban<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCentral Command has expressed a concern about the release of personnel figures specifically,\u201d Kirby told reporters on Tuesday, \u201cgiven that we have to assume, and we are still assuming that this drawdown could be opposed by the Taliban.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Specifically, that releasing ever-shrinking numbers of American forces in the country could embolden the Taliban, who had been working off of the Trump administration\u2019s May 1 deadline, issuing threats to resume attacks on U.S. troops after it became clear the timeline had moved to the right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Immediately following the announcement of the Sept. 11 deadline, Kirby told reporters it was likely that numbers would surge for a time to beef up force protection while the mission turned to packing up and shipping out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though the Pentagon\u2019s official troop figure has been 2,500 since January, Army Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has said that number is more like 3,300 when you factor in special operations units.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following President Joe Biden\u2019s April withdrawal announcement, defense officials told the Associated Press that \u201chundreds\u201d of Army Rangers would be sent to Afghanistan as extra security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So far, according to CENTCOM, the U.S. has loaded up roughly 100 C-17 Globemasters of equipment out of the country, in addition to transferring more than 1,800 pieces to the Defense Logistics Agency to be destroyed.<\/p>\n\n\n\t