As the War in Afghanistan was preparing to come to an end last month, Vicksburg-based soldiers were helping prepare the handover of military bases to Afghan forces.

The 608th Engineer Detachment, Construction Management Team, 4th Resolute Support Sustainment Brigade, a subordinate command of the 412th Theater Engineer Command, led retrograde missions all over Afghanistan, downsizing and closing military bases.

Their primary mission was to assist with the closing and transfers of forward operating bases.

Structures that do not meet certain safety, security or longevity requirements had to be removed by engineers to prevent waste, Army officials said.

Lt. Col. Mark L. Ogburn, the commander of the 608th, said the detachment made a huge impact on by assisting with the transfer of bases and countless other projects.

“We have assisted with de-scoping about 27 different bases in the CJOA-A (Combined Joint Operations Area-Afghanistan) and either transferred or closed all of those 27,” Ogburn said. “We also have completed over 700 other engineering projects on top of the FOB transfers”.

During the 608th’s deployment they utilized Afghan residents, who go through a screening process before being escorted onto the bases to assist with the deconstruction.

Chief Warrant Officer 2 Candia L. Rizzo, the acting Deputy Commanding Officer for the 608th Engineers said these opportunities provide a chance for the locals to learn valuable trades.

“By using the locals we are teaching them a trade in a way and initiating an interest while also providing for their families. Then if they have a real interest in it, once we are all gone some of them may want to start their own construction business,” Rizzo said. “It is just another way of helping out.”

Engineers also found ways to save the tax payers money by utilizing a ‘No Cost Contract,’ which allows locals living near the surrounding FOBs to assist Soldiers with the deconstruction of buildings and structures after they have been cleared of any sensitive materials. This type of service benefits coalition forces with the overall cost of the de-scoping mission and helps the locals who can take some materials, mainly wood, to warm their homes, or help build and repair their homes.

Sgt. 1st Class Raymond L. Ostrowski said ‘No Cost Contracts’ are extremely helpful in the operations.

“The benefit of this is that we are getting someone to take the lumber away and it isn’t costing the government any money, and we are building the relationships within the community by providing them something that they need,” said Ostrowski.

The United States and NATO formally ended the war in Afghanistan Dec. 28 with a ceremony at their military headquarters in Kabul as the insurgency they fought for 13 years remains as ferocious and deadly as at any time since the 2001 invasion that unseated the Taliban regime following the Sept. 11 attacks.

Since Jan. 1, the new mission will provide training and support for Afghanistan’s military, with the U.S. accounting for almost 11,000 members of the residual force.

The war ended with 2,224 American soldiers killed, according to an AP tally, out of a total of some 3,500 foreign troop deaths.

The mission peaked at 140,000 troops in 2010 with a surge ordered by U.S. President Barack Obama to root the insurgents out of strategically important regions, notably in the southern provinces of Helmand and Kandahar, where the Taliban had its capital from 1996 to 2001.