BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan (AP) -- The first troops to leave Afghanistan as part of the U.S. drawdown handed over their slice of battlefield Wednesday to a unit less than half their size and started packing for home.
When the 650 members of the Iowa National Guard's 1st Squadron, 113th Cavalry Regiment arrived in Afghanistan in November 2010, bases didn't have enough housing, translators were in short supply and chow halls were packed. Commanders were using a buildup of 33,000 extra troops for a major push that they said would turn the tide of the war against the Taliban insurgency.
Nine months later, it's still unclear if that push has succeeded, but the pullback has begun. Although major combat units are not expected to start leaving until late fall, two National Guard regiments comprising about 1,000 soldiers in all are withdrawing this month -- the Iowa soldiers from Parwan province in eastern Afghanistan, and the other group from the capital, Kabul. (15 images)
When the 650 members of the Iowa National Guard's 1st Squadron, 113th Cavalry Regiment arrived in Afghanistan in November 2010, bases didn't have enough housing, translators were in short supply and chow halls were packed. Commanders were using a buildup of 33,000 extra troops for a major push that they said would turn the tide of the war against the Taliban insurgency.
Nine months later, it's still unclear if that push has succeeded, but the pullback has begun. Although major combat units are not expected to start leaving until late fall, two National Guard regiments comprising about 1,000 soldiers in all are withdrawing this month -- the Iowa soldiers from Parwan province in eastern Afghanistan, and the other group from the capital, Kabul. (15 images)
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U.S. soldiers board a U.S. military aircraft as they leave Afghanistan, at the U.S. base in Bagram, north of Kabul, Afghanistan, Thursday, July 14, 2011. The first groups of the U.S. soldiers left Afghanistan after President Barack Obama announced last month that he would pull 10,000 of the extra troops out in 2011 and the remaining 23,000 by the summer of 2012. AP / Musadeq Sadeq
U.S. soldiers with Task Force Red Horse walk in to the customs office to be given briefing, as they leave Afghanistan at the U.S. base in Bagram, north of Kabul, Afghanistan on Thursday, July 14, 2011. AP / Musadeq Sadeq
A U.S. soldier with Task Force Red Horse jumps off the packed luggage out side the customs office at the U.S. base in Bagram, north of Kabul, Afghanistan, on Thursday, July 14, 2011. AP / Musadeq Sadeq
U.S. soldiers with Task Force Red Horse carry their baggage to the customs office for checking, as they leave Afghanistan at the U.S. base in Bagram, north of Kabul, Afghanistan on Thursday, July 14, 2011. AP / Musadeq Sadeq
A U.S. soldier with Task Force Red Horse carries his baggage to the customs office to be checked, as he leaves Afghanistan at the U.S. base in Bagram, north of Kabul, Afghanistan on Thursday, July 14, 2011. AP / Musadeq Sadeq
U.S. soldiers walk into a U.S. military plane, as they leave Afghanistan, at the U.S. base in Bagram, north of Kabul, Afghanistan on Thursday, July 14, 2011. AP / Musadeq Sadeq
A U.S. soldier with Task Force Red Horse leans on baggage, as he and others wait to leave Afghanistan at the U.S. base in Bagram, north of Kabul, Afghanistan on Thursday, July 14, 2011. AP / Musadeq Sadeq
U.S. soldiers with Task Force Red Horse wait to leave Afghanistan at the U.S. base in Bagram, north of Kabul, Afghanistan on Thursday, July 14, 2011. AP / Musadeq Sadeq
U.S. soldiers with the Task Force Red Horse board a bus for the airport section to leave Afghanistan, at the U.S. base in Bagram, north of Kabul, Afghanistan on Thursday, July 14, 2011. U.S. AP / Musadeq Sadeq
U.S. soldiers with Task Force Red Horse wait in a bus to be transported for the airport section to leave Afghanistan, at the U.S. base in Bagram, north of Kabul, Afghanistan, Thursday, July 14, 2011. AP / Musadeq Sadeq
U.S. soldiers with Task Force Red Horse unload their baggage from a truck outside of the customs office to leave Afghanistan at the U.S. base in Bagram, north of Kabul, Afghanistan, on Thursday, July 14, 2011. AP / Musadeq Sadeq
Spc. Bret Lee, right, from Nebraska, with 45th MP Detachment inspects the baggage of a U.S. soldier with Task Force Red Horse at the customs office at the U.S. base in Bagram, north of Kabul, Afghanistan on Thursday, July 14, 2011. AP / Musadeq Sadeq
A crane carries packed luggage belonging to U.S. soldiers, who are leaving Afghanistan, in to a U.S. military plane at the U.S. base in Bagram, north of Kabul, Afghanistan on Thursday, July 14, 2011. AP / Musadeq Sadeq
Lt. Col. David A. Updegraff, right, commander of Task Force Red Horse, ties the furled flag of Task Force Red Horse during a transfer of authority ceremony from Task Force Red Horse to Task Force Maverick at the U.S. base in Bagram, north of Kabul, Afghanistan on Wednesday, July 13, 2011. AP / Musadeq Sadeq
U.S. soldiers roll up the U.S. flag after a transfer of authority ceremony from Task Force Red Horse to Task Force Maverick at the U.S. base in Bagram, north of Kabul, Afghanistan, on Wednesday, July 13, 2011. AP / Musadeq Sadeq
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