NH Guard Helps with Afghan Refugees in New Jersey
Members of the New Hampshire Air National Guard's 157th Air Refueling Wing are have joined a task force to assist with the arrival of refugees from Afghanistan.
The 11 are assigned to the Joint Base Dix-McGuire-Lakehurst in Central New Jersey until Sept. 20. The base has set up shelter for up to 9,500 Afghan nationals for up to a year as part of Joint Task Force Liberty. Joint Base spokesman Derek VanHorn told Seacoast Current he did not have an exact number of nationals brought to the base.
The task force will provide housing, medical, logistics, and transportation support for Afghan individuals as they begin to arrive in the United States.
VanHorn said the Department of Defense would work to provide "culturally appropriate food, water, bedding, religious services, recreational activities" for those at the base.
"The New Hampshire Air National Guard has a long tradition of volunteering to answer our nation’s calls for support, and this time is no exception,” Brig. Gen. Jed French, the commander of the NH Air National Guard said in a statement. “I am proud of the Airmen who have volunteered on short notice to support our Afghan partners and their families."
The United States completed its evacuations from Afghanistan on Monday bringing to a close the country's longest war.
Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com or via Twitter @DanAlexanderNH
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6090-754 2008