Fort Bragg commanding general returns home from Afghanistan
FORT BRAGG, N.C. (WTVD) -- When Gen. Joseph Anderson stepped on North Carolina soil early Tuesday morning, it marked the official end to Ft. Bragg's mission in Afghanistan.
Monday, Gen. Anderson turned over the reins of command to US/NATO Forces in Afghanistan, ceremonially marking the end of a combat mission.
Fort Bragg Special Operations troops were among the first combat boots on the ground after 9/11. Later waves of 82nd Airborne troops, along with Bragg soldiers from different units, would follow.
At one point more than 140,000 American and coalition troops were in Afghanistan fighting the war on terror.
This is not the last homecoming at Fort Bragg. Several Bragg units, including troops with the 82nd Airborne, will spend several more months in Afghanistan. Not as combat troops, but teaching and supporting Afghan troops.
