UK forces end combat role as base control passed to Afghans
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BRITISH forces yesterday handed over formal control of their last base in Afghanistan to Afghan troops, ending combat operations in the country after 13 years which cost hundreds of lives.
The Union Jack was lowered at Camp Bastion in the southern province of Helmand, while the Stars and Stripes came down at the adjacent Camp Leatherneck — the last US Marine base in the country.
All NATO combat troops will depart Afghanistan by December, leaving Afghan troops and police to battle Taliban insurgents on their own.
The huge joint base built in the desert near the provincial capital Lashkar Gah was the most important installation for the NATO mission in Afghanistan.
Between 2010 and 2011, it housed almost 40,000 foreigners.
Hundreds of US Marines and British troops are set to leave Helmand soon, though the precise date has not been revealed for security reasons.
In a ceremony yesterday the Afghans took formal control of the base, despite already being present in a portion of it. The British and US flags were lowered, leaving only Afghanistan’s flag to flutter in the breeze.
Britain’s Defense Secretary Michael Fallon paid tribute to his nation’s role in fighting the Taliban.
A total of 453 British troops and 2,349 Americans were killed.
“It is with pride that we announce the end of UK combat operations in Helmand, having given Afghanistan the best possible chance of a stable future,” he said in a statement from London.
Marine General Daniel D. Yoo, regional commander, said the Afghan army is now capable of taking over the reins.
“I’m cautiously optimistic they will be able to sustain themselves. I know from my experience that they have the capability and the capacity if they allocate the resources properly,” he said.
“We’re very proud of what we’ve accomplished here,” added the officer, who was among the first Marines on the ground in autumn 2001, when a US-led coalition toppled the Taliban who had been in power since 1996.
General Sayed Malook, who leads the Afghan forces in the region and has now established his quarters in the base, said the camp would become a military training center and house 1,800 soldiers.
“I’m certain we can maintain the security,” he said yesterday.
At Camp Leatherneck troops busied themselves with packing up, sorting out what medical equipment will go and what will remain.
Corporal Ruf Stevens, in charge of vehicle transport, returned to his hut with his assault rifle in one hand and a guitar he found in a dustbin in another.
“I just think we got the job done,” he said.
The operational command center, a small room in a wooden hut filled with surveillance screens and computers, is seeing out its final days.
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