The Secretary of Defense has approved Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va., as a site for temporarily housing vulnerable Afghans in support of Operation Allies Refuge.

Marine Corps Base Quantico joins Fort Pickett, Va.; Fort Lee, Va.; Fort McCoy, Wis.; Fort Bliss, Texas; Holloman AFB, N.M.; and Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., in providing temporary housing and support for up to 50,000 at risk Afghans.

The Department of Defense, through U.S. Northern Command, has agreed to provide to the Department of State (DOS) transportation and temporary housing, sustainment, and support inside the United States for Afghan special immigrant visa applicants, their families, and other at risk individuals at suitable facilities, in permanent or temporary structures, as quickly as possible.

A task force of approximately 700 Marines from the II Marine Expeditionary Force and Marine Corps Base Quantico will work together to provide food, housing, logistical support and physical security on Marine Corps Base Quantico for Afghan evacuees.

U.S. Marine Corps Forces Northern Command stands resolute with U.S. Northern Command and U.S. Army North as the Department of Defense team vigilantly supports the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security with this critical humanitarian mission.

U.S. Northern Command is the Department of Defense's lead combatant command for this mission in the continental United States and is providing oversight in support of the Department of State and the Department of Homeland Security. U.S. Army North, as U.S. Northern Command's Joint Force Land Component Command, is the lead operational command for this mission.