Evacuees wait to board a Boeing C-17 Globemaster III during an evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, August 23, 2021. Picture taken August 23, 2021. U.S. Marine Corps/Sgt. Isaiah Campbell/Handout
FORT McCOY, WI (WSAU) — The US Department of Defense says there are no Afghan refugees remaining to be resettled at Fort McCoy.
“I would like to thank the federal staff, servicemembers, volunteers, and members of the local community whose dedication was critical to the success of our mission at Fort McCoy,” said Robert J. Fenton, Jr., Senior Response Official for Operation Allies Welcome. “With the help of our partners across government and non-profit organizations, the 12,600 Afghan evacuees who were temporarily housed at Fort McCoy have now joined their new communities, and we have completed operations at seven of the eight safe haven locations.”
As of Tuesday, all refugees at the base have been resettled elsewhere in the country. Some stayed in the Badger State to be resettled in areas such as Wausau, while others went to one of over 290 other areas with local resettlement agencies.
Operation Allies Welcome brought in more than 74,000 Afghans who worked with US troops to one of eight bases across the US. Ft. McCoy was the 7th to have all of their refugees resettled.
According to a release from the Department of Defense, just 1,200 refugees remain to be resettled. They are currently housed at a base in New Jersey.
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