General: Afghan forces making progress

[unhappycamper]

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/feb/13/general-says-Afghan-forces-are-making-progress/



Maj. Gen. Charles Gurganus is escorted by his protective security detail as he arrives by (a $100+ million dollar) helicopter at Forward Operating Base Geronimo.

General: Afghan forces making progress
Nathan Max11:14 a.m.Feb. 13, 2013

CAMP PENDLETON — The commanding general of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force and some 30,000 NATO troops in Helmand and Nimroz provinces said Wednesday that Afghans are making significant progress in taking over for coalition forces.

Maj. Gen. Charles "Mark" Gurganus, who is wrapping up one year in charge of international troops in southwestern Afghanistan, spoke for more than 30 minutes to reporters at Camp Pendleton on Wednesday morning via teleconference. During the call, he said "there are a lot of reasons to be optimistic," that Afghans will successfully carry on the fight when Americans and their allies leave the country.

During Tuesday night's State of the Union address, President Barack Obama announced that he plans to remove 34,000 of the 66,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan by this time next year. Gurganus on Wednesday described those comments as "interesting," although, "not in a good way and not in a bad way."

Troops from Camp Pendleton and Miramar Marine Corps Air Station represent about 4,000 of the 6,500 U.S. Marines currently on the ground in southwestern Afghanistan.