David Johnston, the Defence Minister, confirmed the last troops left the war-torn region on Sunday.
“They are in the air on the way home,” he said on Monday in Sydney.
PM Tony Abbott said: “This war is ending, not with victory, not with defeat, but with hope that Afghanistan is a better place and Oruzgan in particular is a better place for our presence.”
“I firmly believe that to be the case.”
Abbott acknowledged the price servicemen had paid in serving in Afghanistan with 40 dead and 261 seriously wounded.
“Oruzgan today is a very significantly different better place than it was a decade ago,” he said.
Australian special forces have been in Afghanistan since late 2001 and Oruzgan Province since the latter part of 2005.
Australia had planned to pass control of the base at Tarin Kowt to Afghan forces by year’s end and Australia has chosen to move on a fortnight early.
“I want to say a very deep thank you to all of our servicemen and women who have been in Afghanistan, over 25,000 of them over the last decade or so,” Mr Abbott said.
It has been confirmed that about 400 Australian troop will stay in Kabul and Kandahar in advisory roles.
Images via Getty
