The seven-man Slovenian contingent features members of the special operations unit of the Slovenian Armed Forces who will serve as mentors for the Afghan forces and will be based in Herat in west Afghanistan.

The first contingent will operate in Afghanistan until July, followed by three more six-month rotations.

Slovenian soldiers are already serving in the same area as part of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) mission called Enduring Freedom, which will be concluded at the end of December after 13 years.

Unlike its predecessor, Resolute Support will be a non-combat mission, as military personnel and experts will be restricted to training Afghan troops. The mission will feature around 12,500 members, the majority of them coming from the US.

Slovenia joined the ISAF mission in 2004, and the last soldiers of the 21st Slovenian contingent will return home on 25 December. A total of 1,273 members of the Slovenian Armed Forces have participated in the mission.