Afghanistan War: October 7, 2001, to August 30, 2021

US Military/Department of Defense Casualties and Financial Costs

Updated October 19, 2022 (published November 21, 2021) | Click to download as a PDF

I. Executive Summary

The Afghanistan War started with Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) on October 7, 2001, and ended with Operation Freedom’s Sentinel (OFS) when the last troops pulled out on August 30, 2021.^[1]Hannah Fischer, “A Guide to U.S. Military Casualty Statistics: Operation Freedom’s Sentinel, Operation Inherent Resolve, Operation New Dawn, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Operation Enduring … Continue reading ^[2]Office of Inspector General, United States Department of Defense, “Lead Inspector General for Operation Freedom’s Sentinel I Quarterly Report to the United States Congress I January 1, 2021 … Continue reading A total of 832,000 U.S. troops and 25,100 Defense Department civilians served in Afghanistan during this time, alongside thousands of U.S. contractors.^[3]Geir Moulson and Kathy Gannon, “Most European Troops Exit Afghanistan Quietly After 20 Years,” apnews.com, June 30, 2021, … Continue reading ^[4]Congressional Research Service, “Department of Defense Contractor and Troop Levels in Afghanistan and Iraq: 2007-2020,” crsresports.congress.gov, February 22, 2021, … Continue reading

Those war operations led to the deaths of 2,456 U.S. military members,^[5]Defense Casualty Analysis System website – https://dcas.dmdc.osd.mil/dcas/app/conflictCasualties and the deaths of 3,923 U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) contractors and civilians.^[6]This combines the 3,917 U.S. Contractor and 6 U.S. Department of Defense Civilian deaths. There is no breakdown by year. Neta C. Crawford and Catherine Lutz, “Human Cost of Post-9/11 Wars,” … Continue reading ^[7]Based on the definition of “defense contractor,” the U.S. Contractor death total many contain both U.S. citizens and foreign nationals. 20,770 U.S. military members were wounded.^[8]Defense Casualty Analysis System – Casualty Summaries by Month for “U.S. Military Casualties – Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) Casualty Summary by Month and Service” and … Continue reading

The Costs of War Project by the Watson Institute at Boston University estimated the total U.S. costs from 2001 to 2021 at $2.261 trillion, consisting of an estimated $530 billion in interest payments on borrowed money, $933 billion for Defense Department Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) war budget, $59 billion for State Department OCO war budget, $443 billion for Defense Department base budget war-related increases, and $296 billion for veterans’ care.^[9]Costs of War Project, “U.S. Costs To Date For The War In Afghanistan, 2001-2021,” watson.brown.edu, accessed August 23, 2021, … Continue reading

The Office of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), an oversight authority created by Congress, estimated the United States spent $899.8 billion on the Afghanistan War from 2001 to 2021.^[10]Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, “Quarterly Report to the United States Congress,” sigar.mil, July 30, 2022, https://www.sigar.mil/pdf/quarterlyreports/2022-07-30qr.pdf That estimate does not include cost categories for increases over the DOD base budget, veteran care, and interest on money borrowed to pay for the war, all of which account for $1.259 trillion of the Cost of War Project’s estimate. Adding that $1.259 trillion to the SIGAR estimate of $899.8 billion would lead to a total of $2.159 trillion, which is in line with the Cost of War Project’s $2.261 trillion estimate.

The numbers in this report are as we found them and are presented without subjective analysis or theories.^[11]Much can exist beneath the surface of the numbers, and good people can and probably will debate what the numbers and data indicate. The situation of a new administration inheriting a previous … Continue reading

Summary of US Military/DOD Deaths and US Military Wounded in the Afghanistan War from 2001 to 2021

A. President / Years	B. US Military Deaths[12]Defense Casualty Analysis System – Casualty Summaries by Month for “U.S. Military Casualties – Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) Casualty Summary by Month and Service” and … Continue reading	C. DOD Contractor & Civilian Deaths[13]Neta C. Crawford and Catherine Lutz, “Human Cost of Post-9/11 Wars,” watson.brown.edu, September 1, 2021, … Continue reading	D. Total Deaths (B & C)	E. US Military Wounded[14]Defense Casualty Analysis System – Casualty Summaries by Month for “U.S. Military Casualties – Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) Casualty Summary by Month and Service” and … Continue reading
George W. Bush 8 years (2001-2008)	626	(We have only found cumulative numbers, rather than numbers broken down by year or presidency)	(We have only found cumulative numbers, rather than numbers broken down by year or presidency)	2,656
Barack Obama 8 years (2009-2016)	1,752			17,629
Donald Trump 4 years (2017-2020)	65			439
Joe Biden <1 year (as of 9/2021)	13			46
Totals	2,456 U.S. Military Deaths	3,923 DOD Contractor & Civilian Deaths	6,379 Total Deaths	20,770 U.S. Military Wounded

Summary of US Costs Related to the Afghanistan War from 2001 to 2021

US Spending 2001-2021 (not including post-2021 Veterans’ Care and Interest)[15]Costs of War Project, “U.S. Costs to Date for the War in Afghanistan, 2001-2021,” watson.brown.edu, accessed August 23, 2021, … Continue reading
$933 billion: Defense Department Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) (War) Budget
$59 billion: State Department OCO (War) Budget
$443 billion: Defense Department Base Budget War-Related Increases
$296 billion: Veterans Care for Afghan War Vets
$530 billion: Estimated Interest on War Borrowing
Total: $2.261 trillion

II. US Military Deaths in Afghanistan by Year & by President

The table and chart below show 2,456 U.S. military deaths over the 20 years of the Afghanistan War.^[16]Sources – Chart & Table: Defense Casualty Analysis System – Casualty Summaries by Month for “U.S. Military Casualties – Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) Casualty Summary by Month … Continue reading ^[17]The Costs of War project estimates total deaths in the Afghanistan war at 176,206, according to the report by Neta C. Crawford and Catherine Lutz, “Human Cost of Post-9/11 Wars,” … Continue reading

III. US Department of Defense Contractor and Civilian Deaths

The Afghanistan War operations led to the deaths of 3,917 Department of Defense contractors and six DOD civilian employees from 2001 to 2021, a total of 3,923 deaths.^[18]Neta C. Crawford and Catherine Lutz, “Human Cost of Post-9/11 Wars,” watson.brown.edu, September 1, 2021. This combines the 3,917 U.S. Contractor and 6 U.S. Department of Defense Civilian deaths. ^[19]According to the CRS Report, “Defense Primer: Department of Defense Contractors,” updated February 3, 2021: "A defense contractor, as defined by the Code of Federal Regulations, is 'any … Continue reading We have not found a breakdown of these numbers by year.

The U.S. contractor death total is probably not exact. According to the U.S. Department of Labor website page “Defense Base Act Case Summary by Nation,” which keeps count of these numbers, “These reports do not constitute the complete or official casualty statistics of civilian contractor injuries and deaths. They are offered as general information to the public who may be interested in the scope of civilian government contracting overseas.”^[20]US Department of Labor, “Defense Base Act Case Summary by Nation,” dol.gov, accessed October 15, 2021, https://www.dol.gov/agencies/owcp/dlhwc/dbaallnation

The Costs of War Project stated that “the majority of U.S. contractors are the citizens of other countries, many of whose deaths appear not to have been reported.”^[21]Costs of War Project, “U.S. & ALLIED KILLED,” watson.brown.edu, July 2021, https://watson.brown.edu/costsofwar/costs/human/military/killed

IV. US Military Wounded in Afghanistan by Year & by President

The numbers below come from the Defense Department, Defense Casualty Analysis System.^[22]Source – Chart & Table: Defense Casualty Analysis System – Casualty Summaries by Month for "U.S. Military Casualties - Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) Casualty Summary by Month and Service" … Continue reading Note that the number of US. military members wounded in Afghanistan may be higher than reported. The ACLU stated that, "the Defense Department has gone to significant lengths to control and suppress information about the human cost of war" in Afghanistan.^[23]ACLU, "The Human Cost - Civilian Casualties in Iraq & Afghanistan," aclu.org (accessed October 24, 2022), https://www.aclu.org/human-cost-civilian-casualties-iraq-afghanistan.

V. Costs of the War in Afghanistan Through 2021, Excluding Post-2021 Veteran Care & Interest on Borrowing

SIGAR (Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction), an oversight authority created by Congress, reported a cost of $899.8 billion from 2001 to 2021, which includes Department of Defense spending of $849.7 billion and additional “Reconstruction” spending of $50.1 billion for USAID, the Department of State and other unnamed agencies for Security, Governance/Development, Humanitarian, and Agency Operations.^[26]Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, “Quarterly Report to the United States Congress,” sigar.mil, July 30, 2022, https://www.sigar.mil/pdf/quarterlyreports/2022-07-30qr.pdf. … Continue reading

SIGAR noted that its estimate was lower because the Costs of War Project “adds what it considers to be Afghanistan-related costs of $433 billion above DOD baseline costs, $296 billion in medical and disability costs for veterans, and $530 billion in interest costs on related Treasury borrowing.”^[27]Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, “Quarterly Report to the United States Congress,” sigar.mil, July 30, 2022, https://www.sigar.mil/pdf/quarterlyreports/2022-07-30qr.pdf

Those three additional costs included by the Costs of War Project but not by SIGAR total $1.259 trillion. Adding that to the SIGAR estimate of $899.8 billion results in a total of $2.159 trillion, which is in line with the Cost of War Project’s $2.261 trillion estimate.

The charts below contain SIGAR’s estimates of the Department of Defense’s cost of war totals by president, including DOD spending on reconstruction for fiscal years 2002 to 2001. Due to SIGAR’s style of reporting, these totals do not include additional costs of reconstruction for USAID, the Department of State and other agencies that totaled $50.1 billion over fiscal years 2002-2021.^[28]Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, “Quarterly Report to the United States Congress,” sigar.mil, July 30, 2022, https://www.sigar.mil/pdf/quarterlyreports/2022-07-30qr.pdf ^[29]The fiscal year (FY) for the federal government begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. It is designated by the calendar year in which it ends. The FY 2002 numbers would therefore include the … Continue reading

VI. Conclusion

While the numbers in this report are the most authoritative we have found, it should be noted that exact numbers are difficult, if not impossible, to obtain during war. Regardless, we hope the above information gives you a snapshot of U.S. military and related casualties, and dollars spent in America’s war in Afghanistan, from 2001 to 2021.

In addition to estimates presented above, the Costs of War project estimated that 66,000-69,000 Afghan military and police, 1,144 allied troops from other nations, 47,245 Afghan civilians, 51,191 opposition fighters, 72 journalists, and 444 humanitarian aid workers were killed due to the war in Afghanistan.^[31]Neta C. Crawford and Catherine Lutz, "Human and Budgetary Costs to Date of the U.S. War in Afghanistan," watson.brown.edu, April 15, 2021, … Continue reading