It was a year of transition, as the Marine Corps' role in Operation Enduring Freedom ended in 2014. Over the course of the year the Marines continued evolving in their approach to crisis response, published a new capstone concept, significantly changed their amphibious-vehicle program, and welcomed a new Commandant. On the morning of 26 October 2014, Brigadier General Daniel Yoo, Commanding General of Marine Expeditionary Brigade-Afghanistan, formally passed responsibility for Regional Command-Southwest over to Afghan authorities. After the ceremony, the last 872 Marines serving in that country's Helmand Province departed by C-130s for the trip to Kandahar Airport to catch the long flight home. While they left from the airfield that their sea-based predecessors in Task Force 58 had seized 13 years earlier, it was Helmand that had become synonymous with the Marines' war in Afghanistan.
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