U.S. and coalition forces have withdrawn from three forward operating bases in northeastern Syria—Mission Support Site Green Village, Mission Support Site Euphrates (often called the Conoco gas-field base), and a third smaller facility—sometime in May 2025, according to the latest Department of Defense Inspector General quarterly report.
These closures represent a mass exodus from the Middle Euphrates River valley, cutting back the footprint from eight bases to just one. About 500 troops left, reducing force presence from roughly 2,000 down to about 1,400, with longer-term plans pushing below 1,000.
How Long We’ve Been There—and Why We Stayed
U.S. boots first hit Syrian ground in 2015, during the height of the anti‑ISIS campaign under Operation Inherent Resolve. For nearly a decade—2015 through mid‑2025—American forces have been embedded in Kurdish‑held zones, training and advising Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), guarding oil and gas fields, and helping hold thousands of captured ISIS fighters in detention centers.
Initially, small outposts grew into nine bases and three advance outposts, with about 2,200 U.S. troops deployed by 2018. As ISIS was territorially defeated in 2019, the mission morphed—shifting from chasing black‑flagged jihadis to deterring ISIS’s insurgent return and serving as a strategic hedge against Iranian proxy forces creeping westward.
Why Leave Now?
The U.S. military’s decision to withdraw from Syria now comes down to a mix of shifting threats, political changes, and strategic realignment. ISIS hasn’t controlled major territory since 2019, leaving only scattered cells. That means the fight has moved away from direct ground combat to a more targeted, over-the-horizon counterterrorism mission designed to stop any large-scale resurgence. On the political side, the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime and the creation of a transitional Syrian government have opened the door to new diplomacy. Washington wants to lean more on regional partners and political solutions instead of keeping large numbers of American boots on the ground.
Part of the plan is to consolidate U.S. forces from multiple bases down to one main hub in Hasakah. This fits into a broader regional pivot—less focus on long-term deployments, more attention on other global priorities.
The security picture has also changed. The Syrian Democratic Forces, now working in coordination with Syrian government security elements, control significant swaths of territory. They provide the U.S. with a capable local partner to maintain influence without a heavy presence.
Finally, domestic politics and cost concerns are pushing this move forward. There’s growing pressure to end what many see as an open-ended mission with no clear finish line. In short, the decision reflects a smaller ISIS threat, new political realities in Syria, and a U.S. strategy that favors indirect engagement over direct occupation.
The Trio That Closed
Mission Support Site Green Village
Once a buzzing anti‑ISIS base and repeated victim of Iran‑backed militia rocket attacks over the past five years, Green Village has now been shuttered completely, infrastructure dismantled or handed to the SDF.
Mission Support Site Euphrates (Conoco gas field)
Built near key oil and gas facilities, Euphrates was critical in highway control and resource denial to ISIS. As of May 2025, it was turned over to the SDF, who now occupy the site.
H2-Syria
The New York Times and others cite a third small outpost shuttered in the east (~Deir ez‑Zor region). This location is referred to as H2, but it is distinct from another H2 base in western Iraq.
What’s Left—in the New Blueprint
Behind closed doors, strategic planners are consolidating operations into a lone surviving base, location undisclosed but likely in Hasakah province. That site will anchor the residual force of fewer than 1,000 soldiers, supporting the final validations against ISIS and training local forces through the SDF ⸺ now transitioning toward integration with Damascus governance.
This drawdown aligns with a broader U.S. posture shift: a successful anti-ISIS campaign, Assad’s fall in December 2024, warming U.S.-Damascus relations, and a new regional security architecture pressing Washington to decouple from long-term boots-on-the-ground roles.
The Bigger Picture: Strategy or Retreat?
This isn’t simply a footprint shaved for budgetary reasons. It’s a rebrand of America’s role: from occupying overlord to conditional supporter, pivoting to diplomacy over deployment.
U.S. forces are no longer the guarantor of Kurdish security or oil‑field guardian—they’re betting on local forces and a reshaped Syrian government to hold the line.
Still, critics—particularly Kurdish leaders—warn that ISIS is opportunistic, rising in vacuums left by these closures. SDF commanders report increased ISIS activity near vacated bases, and U.S. air defenses intercepted missiles at the still‑held Al Shadadi site—a reminder that this game is far from over.
Rolling Out
The U.S. troop mission morphed from offensive to defensive, and now to a delegator. For nearly ten years, American forces served as both spear and shield in northeastern Syria. Now, as of May–June 2025, we’ve ejected from three of eight bases, handed two of them to local allies, and reined in our footprint—with a final consolidation underway to just one operational base.
Whether this is truly the beginning of America’s exit from the Syrian game—or a slippery pivot to invisible influence—only time will reveal. But for now, the dusty gates of Green Village, Euphrates, and that unmarked post lie silent. The desert has swallowed them.