The U.S. military will withdraw its troops on September 11 and destroy its military equipment as part of the protocol.
Weapons are tagged after being turned in by U.S. Army soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division after they arrived from a 9-month deployment in Afghanistan.
Thousands of Military Equipment Destroyed
In a recently published article in Newsweek, at least 1,300 pieces of military equipment that can no longer be used were destroyed in scrap yards. Officials said that these are in poor condition that Afghan troops can no longer use anymore.
The U.S. military officials also said that more equipment would be destroyed as they prepare to leave Afghanistan. They said that the decision to destroy the military equipment is part of the process and protocol.
According to a published article in Yahoo News, this is to ensure that the U.S. military equipment will not fall into the hands of the militants. However, scrap sellers across the country see this process as waste.
Read Also: US General Says Withdrawing From Afghanistan Is a Problem
Scrapyard Owners Feel Bad About the Destruction
Even though the purpose of the U.S. military troops is to benefit both countries for security purposes. The scrapyard owners across Afghanistan clamor. They said that this process is a waste because they cannot benefit from it, according to a published article in Laptrinhx.
One of the scrapyard owners told a new outlet that what American troops are doing is an act of betrayal. He said, "Like they have destroyed this vehicle, they have destroyed us," This is because they can no longer sell any part of it anymore.
The scrapyard owner also shared the possible income that he could earn if the military equipment were not destroyed. He said that $40,000 is just a fraction of his potential profit only if that equipment remained intact.
Equipment that Will Be Given to the Afghan Troops
Officials are keeping their decisions on what stays and not under wraps. According to the U.S and Western officials who talked on the condition of anonymity to speak frankly about departing soldiers, the majority of what is being sent home is critical equipment that should never have been left behind.
Other items, such as helicopters, military vehicles, weapons, and ammunition, will be delivered to Afghanistan's National Defense and Security Forces. They will also be given some bases. The New Antonik base in Helmand province, where the Taliban are said to dominate approximately 80% of the rural area, was one of the most recently handed over.
This is not an everyday activity. The same thing happened in 2014 when thousands of soldiers left when the United States and NATO turned over stability in Afghanistan to Afghans.
A spokeswoman for the military's Defense Logistics Agency in Virginia said at the time that more than 387 million pounds (176 million kilograms) of scrap from scrapped equipment and vehicles were sold to Afghans for $46.5 million.
According to a Western official familiar with the packaging procedure, US forces are in a pickle. It could be to hand over mostly defunct but intact equipment and avoid letting it fall into the hands of hostile troops, or it could be to trash them and enrage Afghans.
It can be remembered, and the U.S forces uncovered two Humvees that had gotten into the hands of the enemy. They might have been modified and loaded with explosives. U.S forces demolished the cars, and the incident enforced a campaign of trashing facilities.
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