Lexington Native to Lead U.S. Out of Afghanistan

Army Col. Robert McLaughlin, a Lexington native, is headed for Afghanistan to oversee the American exit from the country where our troops have spent more than a decade in conflict, according to the Boston Herald.

McLaughlin’s current assignment, as chief of staff of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, is his third tour overseas since the U.S. began its wars with Iraq and Afghanistan and comes after three years as garrison commander at Fort Carson in Colorado.

Previously, McLaughlin, a 1981 graduate of Lexington High, has done two combat tours in Iraq, including commanding a battalion during the 2007-2008 surge, according to reports. McLaughlin also deployed to Bosnia in 1999 as part of Operation Joint Forge.

According to the Herald, McLaughlin’s duties in Afghanistan will include overseeing the removal of U.S. military equipment, and coordinating that with the primary mission of training and assisting the Afghan Army.

“It’s a lot more challenging than it was in Iraq. It takes a lot of air coordination, using air force assets and northern ground routes to accomplish the mission,” McLaughlin told the Herald. ““We all signed up to do these things. And frankly, being given the opportunity to do this and help out, is a big deal.”