There are no more Afghan refugees at Ramstein Air Base in Germany after the final few were flown to the United States over the weekend.
A majority of the evacuees who flew to Ramstein had departed by Oct. 17, but a select few who tested positive for the coronavirus during pre-departure screenings did not leave until Saturday, according to DVIDS.
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Since the collapse of the U.S.-backed Afghan government and military in August and the Taliban’s rise to power, the German air base has served as a transitory and sustainment hub for the evacuation.
“Over the last two months, the women and men of our military and their families, government agencies, and the international community dedicated themselves in service to provide transportation, food, shelter, and medical care for the people of Afghanistan,” said U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Randall Reed, Third Air Force commander. “When they were in need, our country and its allies delivered. As a result, these courageous travelers can now begin a new chapter in their lives.”
At the peak of the evacuation period, there were roughly 21,000 evacuees awaiting onward travel at Ramstein, and there were more than three dozen bases born to Afghan evacuees during the operation.
“I remain incredibly proud of the immense work the entire team has done throughout this operation,” said Brig. Gen. Josh Olson, 86th Airlift Wing commander. “We ran to our nation’s call and met multiple challenges that we neither expected nor trained for. The success of this amazing operation could not have been achieved without the outpouring of support from our service members and their families, German partners, NATO, non-governmental organizations, volunteers, and interagency partners.”
The flights were temporarily halted in September after a measles outbreak at the insistence of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Evacuees were vaccinated for measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR), chickenpox, COVID-19, and the flu.
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Roughly 9,000 Afghans have resettled in the U.S. to date, while approximately another 53,000 are temporarily residing on one of eight military bases in the U.S. that are being used for such purposes. Additionally, there are another 3,700 who will be coming to the U.S. in the next 10 days from bases overseas, according to former Delaware Gov. Jack Markell, who is overseeing the Afghan refugee resettlement process, per the Associated Press.
