Those magnificent men (and women) and their flying machines.

Operation Iraqi Freedom might be over, but the U.S., U.K. and NATO still maintain a significant presence in civil-strife torn Afghanistan, where the main challenge is to prop up the authority of the elected government and ensure the security of civilians while what is left of the Taliban continues to attack and disrupt daily life in capital, Kabul, and in towns and cities across the nation.

Check out this amazing gallery of shots taken at U.S. Transit Centre in Manas, 30 km outside Kyrgyzstan’s capital, Bishkek as a squadron of U.S. Servicemen prepare to ship out on the last leg of their trip to Afghanistan to help secure the safety of its government and people.

The onward movement of personnel to and from Afghanistan is one of the four mission pillars of the centre that is used as a transit hub for about 15 000 troops, planes and 500 tonnes of cargo a month. The other three pillars are airlift, aerial refueling and humanitarian assistance.

Polls in the States indicate a large swell of popular opinion towards ending the U.S. presence in Afghanistan, and indeed the current administration has set a target of 2014 for full withdrawal from the country. The planned withdrawal of U.S. and coalition forces by the end of 2014 hinges on building up Afghan army and police, but the surge in ‘fratricidal’ attacks threatens to undermine that strategy, with strained relations between NATO troops and Afghan forces marked by distrust and cultural clashes.

[Source: Daily Mail]