VS-ambassadeur Jonathan Addleton brengt bezoek aan soldaten Mongolië in Afghanistan

Jonathan Addleton, de Amerikaanse ambassadeur in Mongolië, bracht een bezoek aan de Mongoolse soldaten die deelnemen aan de International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) van de NAVO in Afghanistan.

Addleton verbleef vier dagen in Afghanistan en bezocht onder meer Mongoolse soldaten in Kabul die daar training geven aan het Afghaanse leger.

De trip was georganiseerd door kolonel Batjargal, de bevelhebber van de militairen uit Mongolië in Afghanistan en majoor Holt van de Alaska National Guard. Holt is als verbindingsman verbonden aan het Mongoolse contingent.

Verslag van de Amerikaanse ambassade in Mongolië

U.S. Ambassador Visits Mongolian Troops in Afghanistan

Ambassador of the United States to Mongolia Jonathan Addleton just returned to Uaanbaatar, having spent most of last week visiting the Mongolian military contingent serving in Afghanistan.

The program for the four-day trip was arranged by Colonel Batjargal from the Mongolian army and Major Holt from the Alaska National Guard. Batjargal commands the Mongolian soldiers who will shortly complete their six-month rotation in Afghanistan while Holt is assigned to the Mongolian contingent as a liaison officer. Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Lau, the US military attache in Mongolia, accompanied the Ambassador on his trip.

"The main purpose of our visit was to express thanks and appreciation to the Mongolian soldiers in Afghanistan," said Addleton. "Mongolia is making an important contribution to the work of the broader international coalition in Afghanistan and it is important to recognize and honor their service."

While in Kabul, Addleton pinned ISAF service medals on many of the Mongolian soldiers serving there. He also brought a number of gifts from home -- Mongolian language newspapers and magazines; aruul from the countryside; tea from the Lake Hovsgol region; and letters and drawings from Mongolian school children in Ulaanbaatar.

"The international character of the effort in Afghanistan is especially striking," Addleton noted. "While in Kabul, I saw soldiers from many countries including not only Mongolia and the United States but also the UK, Germany, Italy, France, Netherlands, Australia, Greece, Turkey, Croatia, Macedonia, Singapore and the Czech Republic, among other countries".

Part of Addleton's visit was spent with the Mongolian soldiers providing site protection at Camp Eggers, near ISAF headquarters in Kabul. He also visited smaller Mongolian contingents providing training to the Afghan military at several locations on the outskirts of Kabul. Among other things, this includes training Afghan soldiers in artillery, mortars and helicopter maintenance.

"It was a real honor to have the opportunity to finally make this visit," Addleton stated on his return to Ulaanbaatar. "It is one thing to read about members of the Mongolian army serving in Afghanistan and on various UN peacekeeping missions in places like Darfur, Chad, Sierra Leone and Kosovo. But it leaves an even stronger impression to see the soldiers in action and speak with them face-to-face".

(Ambassy of the United States, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, 28-03-2011)

Fotoreportage:
http://photos.state.gov/galleries/mongolia/82677/ambassador_meets_mongolian_soldiers/1.html