Stunning photos show remnants of Afghanistan’s largest military base.
The combat mission in Afghanistan officially ended last Sunday, marking the end of the longest war in American history. Now, a new non-combat mission centered at Bagram Air field will take its place.
Originally built in the 1950’s, the Bagram Air Field in the Parwan province of Afghanistan served as an important base for the US first during the Cold War and later during the 1980’s Soviet war in Afghanistan. During the US-led war in Afghanistan the base was greatly expanded — once nothing more than a runway, by 2007 Bagram had become the size of a small town.
Now, the base is being shrunk as large swaths of housing are demolished to accommodate the 13,000 foreign NATO troops who will stay behind in a reduced, NATO-led “Resolute Support” mission to train and advise Afghan soldiers.
Located about 25 miles north of Kabul International Airport, Bagram is the largest US military base in Afghanistan. At its peak, it had 40,000 inhabitants and conducted 14,000 operations per year.
Read more and view more superb photographs here.
