Last Estonian Unit to Arrive In Helmand Starts Disassembling Equipment
The last Estonian Defense Forces unit to ship out to Afghanistan - the national logistical support element NSE-17 - has arrived in Helmand province after departing Tallinn over the weekend, and has started breaking camp.
Their mission will be to service equipment stores at Camp Bastion and preparing them to be shipped back - armored vehicles, weapons, and communication devices - and disassembling the Estonian contingent's infrastructure.
"The workload will be great because all of the equipment will have to broken down and prepped for transport," Captain Riho Juurik said.
NSE-17 consists of seven Defense Forces personnel. Nine personnel from NSE-16 will also remain behind into the month of May.
"NSE-16 has already started servicing equipment and done quite a lot of work ahead of time," said Defense Forces logistics center commander, Lieutenant Toomas Pärnpuu.
The NSE-17 operation in southern Afghanistan is expected to wind up in summer. The last infantry company in Afghanistan, Estcoy-17, will return in mid-May.