FORT MCCOY, Wis. – The U.S. Defense Department has contracted a fleet of buses to transport Aghan refugees when they begin arriving at Fort McCoy for resettlement processing. The contracts run six months, sources said. Some buses already are standing by for 24/7 availability. The greatest bus traffic is expected between Fort McCoy and airports in LaCrosse and Madison. The refugees are first being evacuated to Qatar and other Middle East sites as interim stops before transfers to NATO ally countries. There may be as many as 30,000 refugees evacuated before the Kabul airlift is over. Fort McCoy and Fort Bliss in Texas were the first U.S. sites designated for resettlement. Now Fort Lee in Virginia now also has been designated.
First job: Screening
On arrival at resettlement sites in the United States, refugees will be screened by the U.S. Homeland Security Department to enter immigration processing, said Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby. These Afghans mostly are translators, drivers and fixers who supported the U.S. military over the past 20-years, as well as their families.