Gates arrives in Afghanistan ahead of first Marines

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Gates arrives in Afghanistan ahead of first Marines
By Kevin Baron, Stars and Stripes
Stars and Stripes online edition, Tuesday, December 8, 2009

ABOARD A MILITARY AIRCRAFT — Defense Secretary Robert Gates landed in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Tuesday, determined to see firsthand if the U.S.-led military operation is ready to accept an influx of 30,000 troops within six months.

Along with the initial surge of 1,500 Marines from Camp Lejeune, N.C., who will begin arriving next week, the secretary on Friday signed the deployment orders for approximately 16,000 troops to begin arriving in February through April.

The secretary said he wanted assurances that U.S. forces in country were ready to handle the logistical demands of those troops and their equipment.

“Most of them live in tents anyway,” said Gates. “I will say this, we would not have agreed to the shorter timeline if logistics folks and the folks out here hadn’t thought it was possible. It’s going to be a heavy lift, there’s no question about it.”

Gates also said he wants an early report card on the first hundred few hundred M-ATVs that have arrived in country. The Pentagon has ordered more than 6,000 of the lighter, faster versions of the Mine-Resistant Ambush-Protected vehicle.


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=66540