CENTCOM Logistics Team Visits Torkham Gate, Busiest Afghanistan-Pakistan Border Crossing

Courtesy Photo | Combined Joint Task Force 82nd Soldiers and logistics units walk the Torkham border crossing area with CENTCOM Deployment and Distribution Operations Center Director, U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Robert McMahon, March 25, 2010, Torkham, Afghanistan.  

JALALABAD, AFGHANISTAN

03.29.2010

Story by Maj. Christopher LeCron 

Warrior Citizen Media Center (IMA)

As part of an ongoing effort to enhance logistics throughout Afghanistan, the Director of CENTCOM Deployment and Distribution Operations Center, U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Robert McMahon, met with U.S. logistics and border security forces from Combined Joint Task Force 82nd (Regional Command-East) at Torkham Gate, the critical border crossing between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

"This is the main entryway into Afghanistan," said U.S. Army Lt. Col. Seibert, the U.S. military officer in charge of the Torkham Gate mission. Torkham Gate serves as both the busiest port of entry for commercial goods from the Pakistan border and the busiest major route in supplying U.S. and NATO coalition forces throughout the country of Afghanistan.

The border crossing is located by the Khyber Pass, a mountain pass that links Afghanistan and Pakistan inside the Hindu Kush mountain region. The majority of military cargo moving into Afghanistan in support of U.S. and NATO forces moves by truck after vessel transport to Karachi, Pakistan. These supply trucks transit Pakistan and then cross into Afghanistan by way of a border crossing. Torkham is the busier of the two major border crossings.

"You are making a difference for the nation of Afghanistan," McMahon said to the logistics and security forces stationed at Forward Operating Base Torkham. "Although your mission is not well-known, it is of vital importance."

The logistics team at Torkham includes a movement control team and surface movement specialists. Military cargo is tracked and cleared through the border crossing for forward movement throughout Afghanistan. Security forces from the U.S. military, NATO, the Afghan national army, and the Afghan national police ensure the proper procedures are followed in regards to customs clearances, tariff memorandums, biometrics scans, and force protection in order to transport cargo safely, securely, and efficiently.

The recent visit included discussions of how to improve the logistics and security mission at Torkham. One planned initiative is the development of a reliable, secure communication channel with the Pakistan military and government. Other discussions focused on potential increased border forces from the local population and a potential program to train Afghan soldiers on border control procedures in the U.S.

The town of Torkham lies in the Nangarhar province of Afghanistan and the Khyber Agency of Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas, right on the Durand Line border. It is linked by a highway with Jalalabad to the west and Peshawar to the east, connecting with N-5 National Highway all the way to Karachi.

• Date Taken: 03.29.2010
• Date Posted: 03.29.2010 06:26
• Story ID: 47368
• Location: JALALABAD, AF