Uzbekistan

Countries > Uzbekistan

One of the countries on the northern border of Afghanistan is the Central Asian country of Uzbekistan. This country used to be a former territory of the Soviet Union. It still has a sizeable Russian minority residing in the country.

K2 - Camp Stronghold. From 2001 to 2005 the United States maintained a base in southern Uzbekistan called "K2" and later, Camp Stronghold. The 5th Special Forces Group established a forward operating base at K2 from where they launched Special Forces ODA's into northern Afghanistan to fight alongside the Northern Alliance against the Taliban. Once the Taliban regime fell other SOF and conventional units operated from K2. Some unites were transiting through on the way to or out of Afghanistan; others were on K2 in a permanent basis supporting SOF and air operations into Afghanistan.

K2 Vets and Cancer. In late 2019 a movement among U.S. veterans who served at K2 was established to bring attention to the significant number of K2 vets who are ill or who have died of cancer. [1]

Endnotes

 [1] See "K2 Veterans Experiencing High Cancer Rate - VA Nonrespondent", by Mike Jenne, SOF News, February 5, 2020.