The Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan

[Slater]

Fror the history buffs, an interesting article on this phase of the Soviet involvement in Afghanistan. Their withdrawal was more measured and orderly than ours, but of course that was then and this is now:

"Jalalabad was the first Soviet garrison handed over to the DRA. The Soviet 66th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade had been stationed there and took maximum effort to ensure that the garrison and its equipment was transferred correctly. The 66th left a three-month reserve of ammunition, fuel and food at the Jalalabad garrison. The garrison had barracks buildings, mess halls, steam baths and a hospital. The soldiers fixed everything that needed repair including the weapons and equipment that were going to be transferred to the DRA.

Afghan inspectors from the Ministry of Defense test-fired all the weapons and drove the equipment before they accepted it. The soldiers cleaned the barracks and made up all the bunks with clean blankets and linen. The soldiers had to sleep outside the night before the turnover to keep the barracks spotless. On the morning of 14 May, 1988, the Afghan 1 Corps Commander signed for the garrison and the entire 66th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade left Jalalabad by convoy heading toward Kabul and eventually home.

The Afghans took over the garrison and stripped it bare by that afternoon. Soviet televisions, radios, air conditioners, furniture and bunks were now for sale in the city shops. They even stripped the doors, windows and window frames from the buildings. Several days after this, the DRA 1 Corps Commander requested urgent resupply from Najibullah. He stated that the three month reserve of ammunition, fuel and food had not been left. The 1 Corps commander had actually personally signed for it. The 40th Army learned from this sad experience. In the future, they insisted that an MOD official sign for property and material and they videotaped the entire transfer procedure of inspection and acceptance."


https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/ADA470066.pdf

[lowprone]

Well , we showed them how not to do it !

[SteyrAUG]

Well , we showed them how not to do it !

Actually they showed us how NOT to do it and we still didn't get it right.

[TheAlsatian]

I saw a good bit of Soviet equipment laying around when I first arrived in Afghanistan in very early 2002. I suppose the later stages of their withdrawal was not quite as orderly....

[ABNAK]

Afghans gonna Afghan......

[AndyLate]

I saw a good bit of Soviet equipment laying around when I first arrived in Afghanistan in very early 2002. I suppose the later stages of their withdrawal was not quite as orderly....

Or it was equipment the Soviets were providing to their puppet govt. Just like the equipment we provided to ours.

Andy

[AndyLate]

Afghans gonna Afghan......

Its really that simple.

Andy

[TheAlsatian]

Or it was equipment the Soviets were providing to their puppet govt. Just like the equipment we provided to ours.

Andy

Some of both. Definite Soviet marked equipment and then some that they provided to the Afghans, or else the Afghans repurposed. When we first got to Bagram, there were quite a few Soviet and Afghan aircraft still sitting at the airfield. They were in the way so we eventually pushed them all up into a pile. I have a photo of them somewhere.

[ViniVidivici]

Thread makes me think of "9nth Company".

[ABNAK]

I read the whole PDF today while eating lunch and it is pretty interesting. Definitely recommend.