Last of U.S. Marines Leave Afghanistan’s Helmand Province

KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan—The last U.S. Marines unit flew out of Afghanistan’s Helmand province on Monday, ending one of the toughest fights in America’s longest war.

At around midday local time, the last wave of flights carried around 150 Marines out of Camp Leatherneck and Camp Bastion, a joint base that was shared with British forces.

The compound, spread out over 6,500 acres, is now in Afghan hands.

For years, Helmand was the focus of Marine Corps operations in Afghanistan, and Leatherneck-Bastion was the logistical hub and headquarters. The base once housed some 40,000 U.S. and allied troops.

Last of U.S. Marines Leave Afghanistan’s Helmand Province

Helmand saw some of the bloodiest fighting of the 13-year war. The Marines lost 378 men and women in the Afghanistan war, with the majority of them killed in Helmand. The British lost around 450 people, most of them in this province, too.

This was my weekend to do my Reserve stuff... for that I go over to Aurora CO. 4TH Marine Logistics Group there.
instead of dong our normal training... we all sat around and watched a video feed of the base decommissioning.

Let me tell ya all, most off of us there are combat Vets so to watch that base closing ... ended up being a good deal more emotional than I expected... some of us laughed, some cried, all of cheered... relieved that it is finally over...

That is until the next war comes along....
Ooh Rah !!!!

Now the question is......was it worth it?

Did those 378 Marines and 450 Brits die in vain?

Will president Hillary be sending them back in her first term like Obama did in Iraq in his second term?

originally posted by: crazyewok
Now the question is......was it worth it?

Did those 378 Marines and 450 Brits die in vain?

I was with 3/5 in 2010-11


Where I got my second purple heart... and souvenir limp...



Was it worth it.... Naw...

Thank you for your SERVICE!!!

a reply to: HardCorps

Sorry to hear you got hurt in such a useless mission.

originally posted by: Hoosierdaddy71
a reply to: HardCorps

Sorry to hear you got hurt in such a useless mission.

Yeah, me too... for a while there the Doc's said I would spend the rest of my life in a wheel chair... took some time but I proved em wrong...


BTW I'm not to proud to admit to still having nightmares and flash backs... Was young and dumb back them... sure had to grow up fast.

originally posted by: HardCorps

originally posted by: Hoosierdaddy71
a reply to: HardCorps

Sorry to hear you got hurt in such a useless mission.

Yeah, me too... for a while there the Doc's said I would spend the rest of my life in a wheel chair... took some time but I proved em wrong...


BTW I'm not to proud to admit to still having nightmares and flash backs... Was young and dumb back them... sure had to grow up fast.

There is no shame in that.
My dad was in Korea in 52 to 53 and he was still affected by it when I was a little kid in the late 70s.
Any time he hears helicopters or a bulldozers tracks squeek, he gets goosebumps. That # sticks with you just like the scars.

First off I do salute all those brave soldiers who fought and also to those who died in Afghanistan. But let us not forget that the last British soldiers left today as well. The RAF regiment left by helicopter and interestingly the pilot flying one of the helicopters was also the first pilot who arrived in Afghanistan.

Was the war a futile one? Yes and no. The Taliban were contained post 9/11 and OBL is dead. But I also say no because give it six months to a year and the country will descend into civil war again. Afghanistan has and always will be in a state of tribal warfare. Don't forget British troops were in Afghanistan in the 1860s-1880s.

The answer to all of this is not to fight, but to EDUCATE ordinary people that the likes of the Taliban and Islamic State is not the right road to travel down. They DO NOT represent the Islamic Faith per se.

Afghanistan is a broken country which is not really a country but more a patch work of tribal people led very loosely by a so called leader based in Kabul. Corruption is endemic. If there is to be a peace in this war torn country, then they will need tribal leaders and politicians to do service to their country and not fill their pockets with ill gotten gains.

I would also like to add that while the bulk of the US combat was going on in Iraq, Canada helped hold Kandahar and Helmand for you guys. We lost 158 soldiers in action there, the large bulk of them in Helmand and Kandahar.

I have no comment on the rest of it but I don't want our sacrifice in that place to be forgotten or over shadowed. We held the fort while Iraq burned. If it wasn't for the fortitude and resilience that the Canadians showed, Afghanistan may have been very different by the time you guys got around to refocusing on it. It was the biggest commitment of troops by Canada since the Korean War.

ETA: I don't want this to come as dismissing you or your comrades efforts man. Because I don't. I just don't my own countries very heavy contribution to be forgotten as well.