Readout of Deputy Secretary Carter’s Visit to Afghanistan
November 30, 2013

Spokesperson for the Deputy Secretary of Defense James Swartout provided the following readout:

On his last foreign trip as Deputy Secretary of Defense, Ashton B. Carter traveled to Afghanistan November 28th – 30th to visit U.S. servicemen and women during the Thanksgiving holiday and thank them for their service. During his visit, Deputy Secretary Carter met with numerous senior U.S. military commanders, including International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) Commander General Joseph Dunford. In these conversations, Deputy Secretary Carter discussed progress being made by Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF), ISAF moving toward the responsible conclusion of its combat mission at the end of 2014, continued international advisory and enabling support to the ANSF, and ongoing U.S. retrograde efforts.

While in theater, Deputy Secretary Carter traveled to several coalition operating locations, including Forward Operating Base Gamberi, where he met with Major General Waziri, Commander of the Afghan National Army’s 201st Corps; Regional Command (RC) East Headquarters at Bagram Air Base; RC South Headquarters and a retrograde facility at Kandahar Air Base; and RC Southwest Headquarters at Camp Leatherneck. At each operating location Deputy Secretary Carter met with deployed service members to express his and Secretary Hagel’s appreciation for their efforts in support of a stable and secure Afghanistan.

This visit to Afghanistan marks the ninth time Carter has traveled to the country in an official capacity, first as Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, and then as Deputy Secretary of Defense.