NATO’s Support in the evacuation and relocation of Afghans

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Contributed by NATO Military Official

 

NATO is supporting the evacuation and relocation of Afghans. Elements of the NATO Response Force (NRF), commanded by Admiral Robert P. Burke (US Navy), are leading the operation and providing care, security, processing and accommodation for the Afghan evacuees.   

The NRF has robust command and control capability, ideal for a mission of this size and complexity. It provides collective defence and a rapid military response in times of crisis, but it can also perform peace-support operations, provide protection to critical infrastructure, and support disaster relief. The NRF is regularly exercised, for instance during exercise Steadfast Defender 21 earlier this year, exercise Noble Jump 19 and exercise Trident Juncture 18.    

The core element of the NRF in this operation is the Joint Logistics Support Group Naples (JLSG) that forms Task Force Noble.

More than 20 Allied nations are contributing, providing transportation aircraft, construction equipment, ambulances, medical teams, civil affairs teams and security personnel.

Around 300 NRF troops are deployed in temporary locations hosting Afghan evacuees. We are working closely with Poland and institutions in Kosovo, who have agreed to temporarily host the evacuees.  There are also hundreds of NATO personnel supporting the operation from our commands and headquarters. For instance, NATO’s Allied Air Command, based in Ramstein, Germany, has been critical to this effort, providing transportation aircraft and crews.  

We are committed to ensure a safe and compassionate transfer of the Afghan evacuees, through a series of temporary locations and on to resettlement. It is a huge effort, and Allies and partners are coming together to make it happen as quickly as possible. At this point, it is too soon to know how long the operation will take.

Acknowledgment: Article by NATO military official September 2021 (Copyrighted material)

Additional: NATO Staffs work together to help Afghan refugees in Spain