Afghanistan will confront and challenge Germany in the coming year. It will require close collaboration between the United States and Germany as well as the coalition allies, as the ability of the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces to secure the country against the return of the Taliban promises to be an uphill battle. With the stakes high, the ability to succeed in their efforts to stabilize Afghanistan is unfortunately far from assured. As deputy command of the Resolute Support Mission (RSM), the need for Germany to work in tandem with the United States has never been as important.