WASHINGTON – The Pentagon ordered that Fort McCoy in Wisconsin begin preparation to receive thousands of refugees fleeing Afghanistan. A similar order went to Fort Bliss at El Paso, Texas. A massive airlift is rescuing an estimated 30,000 Afghans to nearby countries and eventually elsewhere. Chaos in the Afghan capital of Kabul precludes precise counts, said Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby. Perhaps 22,000 could be moved to Fort McCoy and Fort Bliss, he said. Other refugees are being parked in Uzbekistan and other nearby countries. Kirby could not be specific on timelines because of the mad scramble in Kabul to get out. The evacuation is a humanitarian effort to save Afghans who worked for the U.S. embassy, which has been abandoned, and for the U.S. military, which has shut down its Afghan operation except for managing the evacuations.
Fort McCoy profile
The Army post is primarily for National Guard and Reserve training, which is heaviest in summers. As many as 149,000 soldiers pass through the post annually, mostly on two-week tours and housed in barracks. As a refugee camp, McCoy took in 14,000 Cubans in 1980. They were housed in tents while visas and other paperwork was processed. During World War II it was a prisoner of war camp. The post comprises 60,000 acres, most of it wooded. Its permanent staff is 2,500 civilians and 450 soldiers.
Welcome. Main entrance midway between Sparta and Tomah.
Desperate to escape. Hundreds of Afghans stormed the runway at Kabul, running alongside a C-5 Galazy taxiing to take off. Some clung to landing gear and external handholds and fell to their deaths as the plane picked up speed and lifted off. In some configurations the C-5 theoretically can seat 1,000 people — more if standing elbow to elbow. Max cargo wejght: 281,000 pounds.