Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel took a 30-minute helicopter ride from the Afghan capital, Kabul, on Sunday to visit a base that he says will provide the blueprint for an orderly U.S. exit from Afghanistan.
Forward Operating Base Gamberi, not far from Jalalabad, is home to the Train, Advise, Assist Command for the country's eastern region. Its mission: to make Afghan forces fully capable of providing security as the U.S. withdraws. "What you all do in this area has really developed into a model for how we'll continue to do this," Hagel told about 100 U.S. troops and a small contingent of Polish soldiers.
With the official U.S. combat mission in Afghanistan set to end this month, a dwindling number of American troops will focus on training. - Bloomberg