Reports circulating widely on social media have fueled speculation of a potential U.S. military return to Afghanistan, with claims that a contingent of the U.S. Army’s 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne), also known as the Green Berets, has departed from Eglin Air Base in Florida bound for Bagram Airfield.
Several Afghan social media users amplified the reports late Thursday, while an account on X (formerly Twitter) under the name SSG Travis Mills shared a photograph of U.S. forces with the caption:
“Getting our gear squared away before heading to Bagram Afghanistan. Still in the holding tents on the way to our FOB. Mags topped off, weapons cleaned, vests adjusted, and every piece of kit checked to make sure it fit right and worked exactly as needed.”
The post quickly went viral, intensifying speculation that elite U.S. forces may once again be preparing to operate from Afghanistan’s most iconic former base.
Bagram Airfield, vacated in July 2021 ahead of the full American withdrawal, was once the largest U.S. military installation in the country and the nerve center of two decades of counterinsurgency and counterterrorism operations. Any re-entry even symbolic would mark a dramatic shift in Washington’s Afghanistan policy.
No official statement has been released by the U.S. Department of Defense or Central Command (CENTCOM), leaving the reports unverified. However, analysts note that their spread underscores the Taliban’s ongoing struggle to contain terrorist groups such as Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K) and the deep uncertainty surrounding Afghanistan’s security landscape.
Observers caution that, whether accurate or not, the claims risk inflaming political sensitivities both inside Afghanistan and across the region, as Afghans remain sharply divided over the prospect of a U.S. return. For now, the reports remain confined to social media — but the debate they have sparked highlights the enduring shadow of America’s longest war.
