For U.S. troops leaving Iraq, Camp Adder is last stop

Col. Rick Kaiser is in charge of the transition of equipment and personnel out of Iraq through Camp Adder, the last stop in the south before crossing into Kuwait. The camp has gone from 12,000 American soldiers to 2,000, and will soon be turned over to the Iraqi military and become an Iraqi Air Force base.  (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

At Camp Adder, hundreds of vehicles will be left behind for the Iraqis. They are either in need of repair or not worth the high cost of transporting them.  (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

Two soldiers, helping to transition convoys of equipment through Camp Adder that are headed south to Kuwait, take a break at the equipment staging area.  (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

At Camp Adder, convoys of nonessential equipment, such as kitchens and office supplies, are being trucked out of the country by foreign national truckers. The convoys stop in Camp Adder before crossing into Kuwait.  (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

These housing units, along with bunkers, at Camp Adder in southern Iraq already have been cleared out by U.S. forces.  (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

Civilian contractors arrive at Camp Adder, one of the last points of exit for American troops and others leaving Iraq before the Dec. 31 deadline.  (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

Members of the U.S. Air Force, including Airman 1st Class Bryan Tolbert of Houston, won’t be home for Christmas. Tolbert expects he will be in Kuwait. He staffs the rear of the aircraft carrying Gen. Jeffery Buchanan as he leaves Baghdad for a tour of Camp Adder in southern Iraq with a group of journalists.  (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

U.S. Air Force Airman 1st Class Bryan Tolbert, left, of Houston, waits to close the back end of the plane carrying Gen. Jeffery Buchanan as he leaves Baghdad for a tour of Camp Adder.  (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

Gen. Jeffery Buchanan leaves Baghdad for Camp Adder, one of the last bases in operation before the final departure of all American troops from Iraq.  (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)