KABUL- As the drawdown of United States (US) troops from Afghanistan steps up in 2012, NATO military planners are trying to figure out the logistics of how to ship out the massive quantities of alliance vehicles, weapons and other equipment from the mountainous landlocked country.
The operation requires the removal of US$30 billion ($38.6 billion) worth of state-of-the-art military gear by the end of 2014, when US and other coalition troops are to end their combat role, a senior NATO official said on Tuesday.

Most of the American equipment will be shipped to military depots in the United States for refurbishment and then redistributed to bases around the country, but some assets will go to bases in Europe, primarily Germany, or in Asian nations such as South Korea.

'The stuff we have here is the very best the US has ever produced,' the NATO official said. 'It's better than anything available (to military units) in the United States.' He spoke on condition of anonymity because the planning for the equipment pullout is still in its initial stages. (AP)