Bases Closing in Afghanistan

The number of bases in Afghanistan has dropped dramatically. It is reported that there are less than 30 bases occupied by ISAF as of October 2014. This will drop even further as we get closer to December. Some bases will remain - Mazar-e-Sharif in the north, Herat in the west, Kandahar Air Field in the south, and FOB Gamberi, Jalalabad, and Bagram in the east. Of course, there will be an ISAF presence in Kabul as well. FOBs like FOB Shank (nicknamed "Rocket City" for the incoming rockets that came in almost every day) are a small remnant of their past. Shank at one time had over 3,000 personnel stationed there. Most of these bases, large and small, are being transferred over to the Afghans. However, many of the smaller ones were just leveled with bulldozers and "returned to their natural state". (Photo: A Puma UAV is launched by a 6/8 Cav Soldier at FOB Shank, Logar province, Afghanistan; credit U.S. Army. The UAV helps keep U.S. and Afghan soldiers safe by providing an eye in the sky and finding threats to the Soldiers.)