Afghan soldier training in Little Rock among seven on AWOL list

An Afghanistan soldier training at a Little Rock international military student program is among seven in the nation who disappeared from U.S. military bases this month, military officials said Thursday.

Four students left their posts -- one from Little Rock, two from Fort Benning in Georgia and one from Fort Lee in Virginia -- without leave Labor Day weekend, which spanned Sept. 3 through Sept. 5, U.S. Navy Defense Press Operations commander Patrick Evans said in an email to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

Three more Afghanistan military training students went absent without leave the weekend of Sept. 17, according to Evans. Two were from Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri and one from Fort Gordon in Georgia.

"We are aware of the situation and are following it," said J.R. Davis, spokesman for Gov. Asa Hutchinson.

The United States in 2001 began bringing Afghan soldiers to military facilities across the nation for training to rebuild and protect Afghanistan from remaining Taliban and feuding warlords.

Evans said he did not know which facility the Little Rock student was attending when he disappeared.

When contacted, Arkansas National Guard spokesman Joel Lynch said that no international students were missing from the three training schools located at Camp Robinson in North Little Rock.

Capt. Ashley Walker with the Little Rock Air Force Base declined to say whether the soldier was at that Jacksonville facility and referred all questions to the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Thomas Byrd, public affairs officer with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said it is "actively working to locate these individuals in coordination with the State Department and the Department of Defense. Specific details regarding these activities are not available due to the ongoing investigation."

It is unclear what training the missing students were receiving.

Evans said it is important to note that the majority of Afghan military students in the U.S. finish their training and return to their country.

"However, there have been occasions where IMSOs [international military student offices] have learned of plans to go AWOL," Evans said. "In some of those cases, those students have been returned immediately to their country."

Officials have not said whether they believe the absences are connected.

In December, two Afghan men disappeared while training with the U.S. military at a base in south Georgia, Air Force officials said at the time, according to The Associated Press. The two had been at Moody Air Force Base near Valdosta, Ga., as part of training aimed at improving Afghanistan's air force.

Evans said that when an international military student is missing without authorization for more than 24 hours the training facility first checks the student accountability records to ensure that the student is not absent because of misunderstanding the schedule, sick in quarters/local hospital, or for other reasons.

After verifying that the student has indeed disappeared, Immigration and Customs Enforcement is notified as well as the appropriate military department training manager, the U.S. Department of Defense Combatant Command, and the Defense Security Cooperation Agency.

The consular section of the U.S. Embassy that issued the military student's visa also will be notified. The student's Department of Defense identification card is immediately canceled and all forms of financial and housing support is withdrawn.

The Defense Intelligence Agency and the FBI are also brought in to the search.

State Desk on 09/30/2016

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