Germany’s Defense Ministry announced Monday the nation will ship back nearly 6,000 gallons of alcohol from Afghanistan as the troops prepare to withdraw from the country.
About 65,000 cans of beer, 340 bottles of wine and some amount of shandy should leave Afghanistan along with the German troops. This is the German military’s chosen method of disposing of the enormous stock of alcohol stored in the country’s largest foreign military base, Camp Marmal in Mazar-i-Sharif, according to The Times.
German military withdrawal from Afghanistan facing challenges: “22,500 liters of beer, wine and champagne have to be shipped back to Germany with a leased Antonov freight plane or have to be disposed of locally.” https://t.co/d8hOEsF0QC
— Florian Weigand (@florian_weigand) June 5, 2021
Every German soldier was reportedly entitled to two cans of beer a day until a ban on soldiers’ alcohol consumption was imposed. This decision of military officials was explained by the dwindling number of the remaining troopers and the need for keeping the base safe from potential attacks in the area, DW News reported.
However, the ban has also led to the pileup of alcohol, posing a challenge to the army’s withdrawal plans, Defense Ministry spokeswoman Christina Routsi said Monday, according to The Associated Press. (RELATED: Washington Post Runs Op-Ed Criticizing Afghanistan Withdrawal, Doesn’t Disclose Author Is On Defense Contractor Board)
Routsi added that the military had hired a civilian contractor that will take care of the logistics of the alcohol repatriation. The contractor’s transportation costs are expected to be covered by the proceeds of the alcohol’s sale elsewhere, she told the AP.
Germany and other NATO countries‘ militaries currently deployed in Afghanistan are due out of the country by Sept. 11, 2021, DW News reported.