How often...

...do you see Tajikistan in the news?

Not a lot, I'm thinking. But CENTCOM has a press release from a few days ago about Tajikistan, and I thought I'd share it with you all.

U.S. AIRLIFTS WINTER SUPPLIES TO TAJIKISTAN BORDER GUARDS

DUSHANBE, Tajikistan - The U.S. recently began a $3 million airlift of winter supplies and equipment to assist border guards in Tajikistan. Deliveries of food, winter clothing, medical supplies, tents and other needed supplies began arriving in Tajikistan on January 2 and will continue over the next several days.

The first supplies flown in by U.S. Air Force C-130 aircraft from Afghanistan, consisted of 100,000 ready-to-eat meals for the border guards. The supplies are being delivered at the request of the Tajik government to assist border guard units during the winter months.

U.S. Charge d'Affaires Thomas Armbruster and Head of Tajik Border Guard International Relations Department, Erkin Tojibaev, helped unload the first shipment at Dushanbe International Airport January 2. Charge Armbruster noted how Tajikistan recently supplied Pakistan with emergency food assistance following the devastating earthquake there and how the international community responded to assist the people of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. "This airlift is in the same spirit of friends helping friends in need," said Armbruster.

Increased attention to the challenges for the Tajik Border Guards is an ongoing effort of the United States, Tajikistan and other partners including the United Nations Office of Drug Control and the European Union's Border project to better secure Tajikistan's borders and to stop the trafficking of people, drugs and weapons in order to encourage regional trade and help ensure global security.

The ability to rapidly shift assistance to areas needed has been a hallmark of U.S. - Tajik cooperation on border security and is a sign of the confidence the United States has in Tajik border guards.

Just thought you'd want to know. We don't hear enough about the good stuff that's going on with our military forces overseas, in my opinion.

You may ask, "Where the heck is Tajikistan, anyway?" Unfortunately, our woeful lack of geography education has made us Americans a rather ignorant lot when it comes to such matters. Tajikistan is nestled in the mountains along the northern border of Afghanistan. On the east it's bordered by China, and on the north and west it's hemmed-in by Uzbekistan.