http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=67424
Stars and Stripes Mideast Edition January 23, 2010 Bahrain military bringing security to Afghan bases By John Vandiver CAMP LEATHERNECK, Afghanistan...125 guards from Bahrain are helping secure the headquarters for U.S. military operations in volatile Helmand province, where more than 10,000 Marines are stationed and more are on the way. Bahrain deployed members from its special security force to Afghanistan in December. It joins several predominantly Muslim countries that have contributed troops to the war, including the United Arab Emirates, Azerbaijan and Jordan. “The Bahrainis are the first line of defense to get into Camp Bastion and Camp Leatherneck. They are on the front line, making that happen,” said Marine Lt. Col. Chris Naler, commander of brigade headquarters at Camp Leatherneck. Under Bahrain’s deployment agreement, reached last year following a visit to the country by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the special security troops are in Afghanistan for two six-month deployments. The nation has the option to do two more six-month deployments after that. .... Up to 20 members of the Bahrain force speak between five and seven languages, including Farsi, Dari and Pashtu. Bahrain’s official language is Arabic but English, Farsi and Urdu are also commonly spoken. .... =========================== Stop NATO http://groups.yahoo.com/group/stopnato Blog site: http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/ To subscribe, send an e-mail to: [email protected] or [email protected] Daily digest option available. ==============================
