Operation Enduring Freedom Veteran Embroidered Patch - 5\" ROUND with WAX Backing for Sale

Operation Enduring Freedom Veteran Embroidered Patch - 5\" ROUND with WAX Backing For Sale

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Operation Enduring Freedom Veteran Embroidered Patch - 5\" ROUND with WAX Backing:
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OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM (OEF)
AFGHANISTAN
Operation Enduring Freedom Veteran Embroidered Patch - 5\" ROUND with WAX BackingAFGHANISTAN

\"Operation EnduringFreedom\" (OEF) is the official name used by the U.S. government for the Warin Afghanistan, together with a number of smaller military actions, underthe umbrella of the Global \"War on Terror\" (GWOT).

The operation wasoriginally called \"Operation Infinite Justice\" (often misquoted as\"Operation Ultimate Justice\"), but as similar phrases have been used byadherents of several religions as an exclusive description of God, it isbelieved to have been changed to avoid offense to Muslims, who are themajority religion in Afghanistan. U.S. President George W. Bush\'s remarkthat \"this crusade, this war on terrorism, is going to take a while\", whichprompted widespread criticism from the Islamic world, may also havecontributed to the renaming of the operation.

The Operation comprisesseveral subordinate operations:

Operation EnduringFreedom – Afghanistan (OEF-A)
Operation Enduring Freedom – Philippines (OEF-P,formerly Operation Freedom Eagle)
Operation Enduring Freedom – Horn of Africa(OEF-HOA)
Operation Enduring Freedom – Pankisi Gorge (completed in 2004)
Operation Enduring Freedom – Trans Sahara(OEF-TS; see also Insurgency in the Maghreb)
Operation Enduring Freedom – Caribbean andCentral America (OEF-CCA)
The term \"OEF\" typically refers to the war inAfghanistan. Other operations, such as the Georgia Train and Equip Program,are only loosely or nominally connected to OEF, such as through governmentfunding vehicles. All the operations, however, have a focus oncounterterrorism activities.

Operation EnduringFreedom – Afghanistan, which is a joint U.S., U.K. and Afghan operation, isseparate from the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), which isan operation of North Atlantic Treaty Organization nations including theU.S. and U.K. The two operations run in parallel, and although it has beenintended that they merge for some time, this has not yet happened.

Overview
In response to the attacks of 11 September, theearly combat operations that took place on 7 October 2001 to include a mixof strikes from land-based B-1 Lancer, B-2 Spirit and B-52 Stratofortressbombers, carrier-based F-14 Tomcat and F/A-18 Hornet fighters, and Tomahawkcruise missiles launched from both U.S. and British ships and submarinessignaled the start of Operation Enduring Freedom – Afghanistan (OEF-A).

The initial militaryobjectives of OEF-A, as articulated by Former President George W. Bush inhis 20 September Address to a Joint Session of Congress and his 7 Octoberaddress to the country, included the destruction of terrorist training campsand infrastructure within Afghanistan, the capture of al-Qaeda leaders, andthe cessation of terrorist activities in Afghanistan.\"

In January 2002, over1,200 soldiers from the United States Special Operations Command Pacific(SOCPAC) deployed to the Philippines to support the Armed Forces of thePhilippines (AFP) in their push to uproot terrorist forces on the island ofBasilan. Of those groups included are Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), al-Qaeda andJemaah Islamiyah.The operation consisted of training the AFP incounter-terrorist operations as well as supporting the local people withhumanitarian aid in Operation Smiles.

In October 2002, theCombined Task Force 150 and United States military Special Forcesestablished themselves in Djibouti at Camp Lemonnier. The stated goals ofthe operation were to provide humanitarian aid and patrol the Horn of Africato reduce the abilities of terrorist organizations in the region. Similar toOEF-P, the goal of humanitarian aid was emphasised, ostensibly to preventmilitant organizations from being able to take hold amongst the populationas well as reemerge after being removed.

The military aspectinvolves coalition forces searching and boarding ships entering the regionfor illegal cargo as well as providing training and equipment to the armedforces in the region. The humanitarian aspect involves building schools,clinics and water wells to enforce the confidence of the local people.

Since 2001, thecumulative expenditure by the U.S. government on Operation Enduring Freedomhas exceeded $150 billion.

The operation continues,with military direction mostly coming from United States Central Command.

Operation EnduringFreedom – Afghanistan (OEF-A)
The Taliban
Seizing upon a power vacuum after the Sovietswithdrew from Afghanistan after their invasion, the Taliban assumed the roleof government from 1996–2001. Their extreme interpretation of Islamic lawprompted them to ban music, television, sports, and dancing, and enforceharsh judicial penalties (See Human rights in Afghanistan). Amputation wasan accepted form of punishment for stealing, and public executions couldoften be seen at the Kabul football stadium. Women\'s rights groups aroundthe world were frequently critical as the Taliban banned women fromappearing in public or holding many jobs outside the home. They drew furthercriticism when they destroyed the Buddhas of Bamyan, historical statuesnearly 1500 years old, because the Buddhas were considered idols.

In 1996, Saudi dissidentOsama bin Laden moved to Afghanistan upon the invitation of the NorthernAlliance leader Abdur Rabb ur Rasool Sayyaf. When the Taliban came to power,bin Laden was able to forge an alliance between the Taliban and his al-Qaedaorganization. It is understood that al-Qaeda-trained fighters known as the055 Brigade were integrated with the Taliban army between 1997 and 2001. Ithas been suggested that the Taliban and bin Laden had very closeconnections.

U.S.-led coalition action
Main article: War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
On 20 September 2001, the U.S. stated that Osamabin Laden was behind the 11 September attacks in 2001. The U.S. made a fivepoint ultimatum to the Taliban:.

Deliver to the U.S. allof the leaders of al-Qaeda
Release all imprisoned foreign nationals
Close immediately every terrorist training camp
Hand over every terrorist and their supporters toappropriate authorities
Give the United States full access to terroristtraining camps for inspection
On 21 September 2001, the Taliban rejected thisultimatum, stating there was no evidence in their possession linking binLaden to the 11 September attacks.

On 22 September 2001 theUnited Arab Emirates and later Saudi Arabia withdrew their recognition ofthe Taliban as the legal government of Afghanistan, leaving neighboringPakistan as the only remaining country with diplomatic ties.

On 4 October 2001, it isbelieved that the Taliban covertly offered to turn bin Laden over toPakistan for trial in an international tribunal that operated according toIslamic shar\'ia law. On 7 October 2001, the Taliban proposed to try binLaden in Afghanistan in an Islamic court. This proposition was immediatelyrejected by the U.S. Shortly afterward, the same day, United States andBritish forces initiated military action against the Taliban, bombingTaliban forces and al-Qaeda terrorist training camps.

On 14 October 2001, theTaliban proposed to hand bin Laden over to a third country for trial, butonly if they were given evidence of bin Laden\'s involvement in the events of11 September 2001. The U.S. rejected this proposal and ensued with militaryoperations.

The UN Security Council, on 16 January 2002,unanimously established an arms embargo and the freezing of identifiableassets belonging to bin Laden, al-Qaeda, and the remaining Taliban.

Combat operations start

5-country multinational fleet, during \"OperationEnduring Freedom\" in the Oman Sea. In four descending columns, from left toright: MM Maestrale (F 570), De Grasse (D 612); USS John C. Stennis (CVN74), Charles De Gaulle (R 91), Surcouf (F 711); USS Port Royal (CG-73), HMSOcean (L 12), USS John F. Kennedy (CVN 67), HNLMS Van Amstel (F 831); and MMDurand de la Penne (D 560).
On Sunday 7 October 2001, American and Britishforces began an aerial bombing campaign targeting Taliban forces andal-Qaeda.

The Northern Alliance, aided by Joint SpecialOperations teams consisting of Green Berets from the 5th Special ForcesGroup, aircrew members from the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment(SOAR), and Air Force Combat Controllers, fought against the Taliban. Aidedby U.S. bombing and massive defections, they captured Mazari Sharif on 9November. They then rapidly gained control of most of northern Afghanistan,and took control of Kabul on 13 November after the Taliban unexpectedly fledthe city. The Taliban were restricted to a smaller and smaller region, withKunduz, the last Taliban-held city in the north, captured on 26 November.Most of the Taliban fled to Pakistan.

The war continued in thesouth of the country, where the Taliban retreated to Kandahar. AfterKandahar fell in December, remnants of the Taliban and al-Qaeda continued tomount resistance. Meanwhile, in November 2001 the U.S. military and itsallied forces established their first ground base in Afghanistan to thesouth west of Kandahar, known as FOB Rhino.

The Battle of Tora Bora,involving U.S., British and Northern Alliance forces took place in December2001 to further destroy the Taliban and suspected al-Qaeda in Afghanistan.In early March 2002 the United States military, along with allied Afghanmilitary forces, conducted a large operation to destroy al-Qaeda in anoperation code-named Operation Anaconda.

The operation wascarried out by elements of the United States 10th Mountain Division, 101stAirborne Division, the U.S. special forces groups TF 11, TF Bowie, TFDagger, TF K-Bar, British Royal Marines, the Norwegian ForsvaretsSpesialkommando (FSK), Hærens Jegerkommando and Marinejegerkommandoen,Canada\'s 3rd Battalion Princess Patricia\'s Canadian Light Infantry, Canada\'sJoint Task Force 2, the German KSK, and elements of the Australian SpecialAir Service Regiment and of the New Zealand Special Air Service and theAfghan National Army.

After managing to evadeU.S. forces throughout the summer of 2002, the remnants of the Talibangradually began to regain their confidence. A U.S. and Canadian ledoperation (supported by British and Dutch forces), Operation Mountain Thrustwas launched in May 2006 to counter renewed Taliban insurgency.

Since January 2006, theNATO International Security Assistance Force undertook combat duties fromOperation Enduring Freedom in southern Afghanistan, the NATO force chieflymade up of British, Canadian and Dutch forces (and some smallercontributions from Denmark, Romania and Estonia and air support from Norwayas well as air and artillery support from the U.S.) (see the articleCoalition combat operations in Afghanistan in 2006). The United Statesmilitary also conducts military operations separate from NATO as part ofOperation Enduring Freedom in other parts of Afghanistan, in areas such asKandahar, Bagram, and Kabul (including Camp Eggers and Camp Phoenix.)

International support
Main article: Operation Enduring Freedom -Afghanistan: Allies
The United States was supported by severalnations during Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) in Afghanistan in 2001–2003and in subsequent coalition operations directly or indirectly in support ofOEF. See the article Afghanistan War order of battle for the currentdisposition of coalition forces in Afghanistan.

Result

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The U.S.-led coalition initially removed theTaliban from power and seriously crippled al-Qaeda and associated militantsin Afghanistan. However, since the 2001 invasion success in quelling theTaliban insurgency has been mixed. Many believe the Taliban cannot bedefeated as long as it has sanctuary in neighboring Pakistan and thatOperation Enduring Freedom has transformed into a continuing full-fledgedwar with no end in sight.

On 9 October 2004,Afghanistan elected Hamid Karzai president in its first direct elections.The following year, Afghans conducted the Afghan parliamentary election,2005 on 18 September. Since the invasion, hundreds of schools and mosqueshave been constructed, millions of dollars in aid have been distributed, andthe occurrence of violence has been reduced.

While military forcesinterdict insurgents and assure security, Provincial reconstruction teamsare tasked with infrastructure building, such as constructing roads andbridges, assisting during floods, and providing food and water to refugees.Many warlords have participated in an allegiance program, recognizing thelegitimacy of the government of Afghanistan, and surrendering their soldiersand weapons; however, subsequent actions have led to questions about theirtrue loyalties.

The Afghan National Army, Afghan National Police,and Afghan Border Police are being trained to assume the task of securingtheir nation.

Criticism
Main article: Criticism of the War on Terror
AFP, reporting on a news story in the Sunday, 3April 2004, issue of The New Yorker, wrote that retired Army Colonel HyRothstein, \"who served in the Army Special Forces for more than 20 years,...commissioned by The Pentagon to examine the war in Afghanistan concludedthe conflict created conditions that have given \'warlordism, banditry andopium production a new lease on life\'...\"

The conduct of U.S.forces was criticised in a report entitled Enduring Freedom – Abuses by U.S.Forces in Afghanistan by U.S.-based human rights group Human Rights Watch in2004. Some Pakistani scholars, such as Masood Ashraf Raja, editor ofPakistaniaat, have also provided a more specific form of criticism thatrelates to the consequences of war on terror on the region.

Operation EnduringFreedom – Philippines (OEF-P)
Main article: Operation Enduring Freedom -Philippines
AbuSayyaf Group
Mainarticle: Abu Sayyaf

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The Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) Al Harakat Al Islamiyya, is deemed a \"foreignterrorist organization\" by the United States government. Specifically, it isan Islamist separatist group based in and around the southern islands of theRepublic of the Philippines, primarily Jolo, Basilan, and Mindanao.

Since inception in theearly 1990s, the group has carried out bombings, assassinations,kidnappings, and extortion in their fight for an independent Islamic statein western Mindanao and the Sulu Archipelago. Its claimed overarching goalis to create a Pan-Islamic superstate across the Malay portions of SoutheastAsia, spanning, from east to west, the large island of Mindanao, the SuluArchipelago (Basilan and Jolo islands), the large island of Borneo (Malaysiaand Indonesia), the South China Sea, and the Malay Peninsula (PeninsularMalaysia, Thailand and Myanmar).

Jemaah Islamiyah
Main article: Jemaah Islamiyah
Jemaah Islamiyah is a militant Islamic terroristorganization dedicated to the establishment of a fundamentalist Islamictheocracy in Southeast Asia, in particular Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei,Malaysia, the south of Thailand and the Philippines.

Financial links betweenJemaah Islamiyah and other terrorist groups, such as Abu Sayyaf andal-Qaeda, have been found to exist. Jemaah Islamiyah means \"Islamic Group\"or \"Islamic Community\" and is often abbreviated JI.

Jemaah Islamiyah isthought to have killed hundreds of civilians. Also, it is suspected ofcarrying out the Bali car bombing on 12 October 2002, in which suicidebombers attacked a nightclub killing 202 people and wounding many more. Mostof the casualties were Australian tourists. After this attack, the U.S.State Department designated Jemaah Islamiyah as a Foreign TerroristOrganization. Jemaah Islamiyah is also suspected of carrying out theZamboanga bombings, the Metro Manila bombings, the 2004 Australian embassybombing and the 2005 Bali terrorist bombing.

U.S. action
In January 2002, 1,200 members of United StatesSpecial Operations Command, Pacific (SOCPAC) were deployed to thePhilippines to assist the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in uprootingal-Qaeda, Jemaah Islamiyah and Abu Sayyaf. The members of SOCPAC wereassigned to assist in military operations against the terrorist forces aswell as humanitarian operations for the island of Basilan, where most of theconflict was expected to take place.

The United StatesSpecial Forces (SF) unit trained and equipped special forces and scoutrangers of the AFP, creating the Light Reaction Company (LRC). The LRC andelements of SOCPAC deployed to Basilan on completion of their training. Thestated goals of the deployment were denying the ASG sanctuary, surveiling,controlling, and denying ASG routes, surveiling supporting villages and keypersonnel, conducting local training to overcome AFP weaknesses and sustainAFP strengths, supporting operations by the AFP \"strike force\" (LRC) in thearea of responsibility (AOR), conducting and supporting civil affairsoperations in the AOR.

Result
The desired result was for the AFP to gainsufficient capability to locate and destroy the ASG, to recover hostages andto enhance the legitimacy of the Philippine government. Much of theoperation was a success: the ASG was driven from Basilan and one U.S.hostage was recovered. The Abu Sayyaf Group\'s ranks, which once counted morethan 800 members, was reduced to less than 100. The humanitarian portion ofthe operation, Operation Smiles, created 14 schools, 7 clinics, 3 hospitalsand provided medical care to over 18,000 residents of Basilan. Humanitariangroups were able to continue their work without fear of further kidnappingsand terrorists attacks by the Abu Sayyaf Group.

Operation EnduringFreedom – Horn of Africa (OEF-HOA)
Main article: Operation Enduring Freedom - Hornof Africa
Unlikeother operations contained in Operation Enduring Freedom, OEF-HOA does nothave a specific terrorist organization as a target. OEF-HOA instead focusesits efforts to disrupt and detect terrorist activities in the region and towork with host nations to deny the reemergence of terrorist cells andactivities. Operations began in mid-2002 at Camp Lemonier by a CombinedJoint Special Operations Task Force (CJSOTF) augmented by support forcesfrom Fort Stewart, Fort Hood, and Fort Story. In October 2002, the CombinedJoint Task Force, Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA) was established at Djibouti atCamp Lemonier, taking over responsibilities from the CJSOTF. CJTF-HOAcomprised approximately 2,000 personnel including U.S. military and SpecialOperations Forces (SOF), and coalition force members, Combined Task Force150 (CTF-150). The coalition force consists of ships from Australia, Canada,France, Germany, Netherlands, Italy, Pakistan, New Zealand, Spain, Turkeyand the United Kingdom. The primary goal of the coalition forces is tomonitor, inspect, board and stop suspected shipments from entering the Hornof Africa region.

CJTF-HOA has devoted the majority of its effortsto train selected armed forces units of the countries of Djibouti, Kenya andEthiopia in counterterrorism and counterinsurgency tactics. Humanitarianefforts conducted by CJTF-HOA include the rebuilding of schools and medicalclinics, as well as providing medical services to those countries whoseforces are being trained. The program expands as part of the Trans-SaharanCounter Terrorism Initiative as CJTF personnel also assist in training theforces of Chad, Niger, Mauritania and Mali.