Camp Shorab, located in Helmand's desert and built among the ruins of two previous installations, has grown into a base complete with a mess hall, showers, WiFi, a small post exchange and an Afghan-run shop that sells souvenirs and haircuts. As U.S. forces draw down in 2017, the number of advisers there will increase from […]
Some 100 US troops have been sent to Lashkar Gah, capital of Afghanistan’s Helmand province, where the Taliban is advancing and opium cultivation is booming. A new report shows various support contractors outnumber US troops in the country more than three to one. The US contingent has arrived in Lashkar Gah with a mission to […]
Current restrictions on U.S. troop levels in Afghanistan and a heavy reliance on civilian contractors are eroding the skills and cohesion of units deployed to the country, according to information from the Army given to the House Armed Services Committee and provided to The Washington Post. According to an Army document, the use of civilian […]
By Sara A. Carter — Surrounded by increasing violence and instability, U.S. contractors left behind in Afghanistan are raising alarm about the potential for another Benghazi tragedy, saying the State Department isn't sharing with them a plan to evacuate if insurgents launch a debilitating attack. The concerns are heightened by the fact that many of […]
Every day at 5 p.m., the Pentagon releases a list of that day’s contracts worth more than $7 million. On July 27, buried in the daily email was an eye-catching detail: Military contractors would be working inside Syria alongside the roughly 300 U.S. troops already deployed there. This appears to be the first time the […]