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Downloaded from
YTS.MX

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Official YIFY movies site:
YTS.MX

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Let's start at the beginning.

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How... how did this all come about?

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I mean, one minute

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you're at Tim Kennedy's

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house working on his book,

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and the next minute

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you've been in the Middle East

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in Afghanistan for the past seven,

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eight days.

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Yeah,

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I can definitely say

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that I never expected

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to be on a mission like this.

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You know, the...

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the Taliban

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just blasted through Afghanistan so fast

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that it put

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both our troops

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and our allies

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in a really precarious position.

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Is the Department of Defense surprised

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at how quickly

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it seems that the Afghan National Army

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has collapsed under Taliban pressure?

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Is... is the military

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or the Pentagon or the administration

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everyone surprised

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by how fast the Taliban

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has been able

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to move through parts of the country,

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taking these major cities

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like Kandahar, Herat? Lashkar Gah

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looks like it's fallen.

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Can you...

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offer any guarantee

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to the Americans and Afghan allies

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that if they remain there past

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the end of the month, U.S.

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troops will help them evacuate

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past the end of the month?

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Our focus right

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now is on doing the work at hand.

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On July the fifth,

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in the middle of the night,

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the Americans left Bagram for good

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without telling the base's
Afghan commander.

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This map shows Taliban controlled

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areas in red,

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contested territory in yellow,

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and regions under government control

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in blue.

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The embattled government controls

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only the capital, Kabul,

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and the areas marked in blue.

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I cannot believe the world

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abandoned Afghanistan.

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Our friends are going to get killed.

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They're going to kill us.

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Our women are not going

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to have any more rights.

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It was so frightening for me

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when I heard their stories like girls

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weren't allowed to go to school.

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Boys were needed to obey

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what Taliban told them.

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Like,

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it was so horrible for me

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that when I heard the girls

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need to marry at a very young age

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to a man that they don't want to.

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And that was just devastating.

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And then watching, just being like

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everyone in America glued to the news,

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watching the Taliban march

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across a country that had held U.S.

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troops for 20 years,

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many of whom took their,

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you know, had their last moments on earth

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occur there or left pieces of themselves

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there, literally and otherwise.

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And it was just devastating.

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Helping liberate

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those people and...

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And send little girls to school

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and all these things we did.

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And it came at a cost.

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And we... we lost so many American lives.

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I buried 15 friends

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personally that served in Afghanistan.

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So it was always personal to me.

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To the community of people

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who either had lost

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a loved one in Afghanistan

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or whose lives had been forever

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impacted by Afghanistan,

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we had to do something to try to,

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not only make them whole, but

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make it all count.

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Having uncles that were in Vietnam,

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both of them were texting me

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while Afghanistan was falling and

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painfully pointing out the similarities

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between the two.

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It didn't look like

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the government

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was going to be able to react fast enough

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to get people out.

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Our good friend

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Chad Robichaux had been trying

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to get his interpreter out.

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He had done ten deployments

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with this interpreter named Aziz.

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You're forward deployed

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and it's kind of

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just you and an interpreter sometimes.

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And Aziz was his interpreter.

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He quickly became my teammate

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and then my sole teammate.

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He and I worked together

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on hundreds of combat missions.

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I knew that if I

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didn't personally intervene,

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Aziz would die.

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He was individually already identified.

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He was on the run.

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His days were numbered

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and he was going to die.

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These people are being slaughtered.

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We made a promise to them.

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They're being slaughtered.

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They're being hunted for
the crime of fighting alongside

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our own military.

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For six years

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I had been fighting
to get this guy the visa

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he deserved. A SIV, special immigrant visa.

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And that process is only supposed

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to take nine months.

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To not be able to get
him here in six years.

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And a nine month process

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was really disturbing to me.

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And he was getting desperate

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because it didn't look like

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the government had... had a plan in place

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that was going to get him out in time.

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So he was

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he was planning a trip of just four

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or five guys

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just to get Aziz out

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and started making connections.

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For me, it was a choice of

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do I do

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nothing or do I

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save my friend's life who saved mine?

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I knew I needed

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not only help, but the right help.

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People that had the experience,

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but also people I trusted.

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Chad and I connected.

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We had worked together

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over the last several years

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and I just said, you know, how can I help?

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While I was talking to Chad,

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Nick,

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who is here writing Scars

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and Stripes with me,

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is talking to Sarah Verardo,

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both asking us the same question of,

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Can you go?

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But more importantly,

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giving us and providing us the answer with

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this is what we're doing.

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They were

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figuring out a way to land some planes

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into Kabul.

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Initially, it was a very clear mission,

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which was to go

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rescue Aziz.

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As we were putting that plan together

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we kind of pause for a second and said,

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Hey this great, we're
going to go help Aziz,

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but I'm talking to this
orphanage over here.

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That's 3500 orphans that need help, too.

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Why don't we help them?

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And I think there was another pause

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and we said, man,

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we really have the right
group of people here.

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We have the skills.

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We have the ability to do this.

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The passion's there.

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Let's not just help this limited group.

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Let's help as many people as we can.

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Interpreters and their families,

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women and children
that would be vulnerable.

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Christians that would be persecuted

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for their faith,

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these different vulnerable groups.

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Let's help as many people as we can.

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And so I started

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just putting together

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different lists and trying to help.

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We knew it would be a difficult situation,

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but we thought that we had,

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you know, a couple of weeks

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to make real substantial change.

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And as these requests started to build

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and we started vetting

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these requests, resources

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also started to be organized.

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And so Tim and I

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just looked at each other and said, okay.

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Then we're getting on a plane.

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24 hours later, tickets are booked.

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We're boarding a flight to the Middle East.

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100.

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70.

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60, 50, 40.

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We get through all COVID screening

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and we arrive at the UAE

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military's headquarters for their officers,

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like their officer academy.

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We just jumped right into the rotation.

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There was no time for like,

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oh, we're going to sleep.

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We're going to...

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you know... we're
going to figure things out.

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We're still in a whirl

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trying to figure out what everything is,

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where everything is.

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Sean Lee, who works for Sarah Verardo,

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he had already arrived in UAE

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and they had set up a forward TOC.

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UAE is our Lily Pad
launch base and our forward

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Tactical Operations Command Center.

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Nick and I were basically running

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the evacuation

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of 2500 people

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from two cell phones and a laptop.

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So we just kept working

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and working and working.

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A number of people

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in Congress, in the Senate,

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in the State Department, D.O.D.,

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were happy to have us.

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People wanted to help.

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And so it was just connecting

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people who wanted to help

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that would be effective at helping.

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Back home in the States,

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Sarah Verardo set up

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operation center in Washington, D.C.

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to process people that needed help, help

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vet people, work

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directly with the Joint Chiefs

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to make sure that we're vetting our groups.

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Senator Tillis, his team,

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I mean,

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it was really whatever we needed, they were

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they were doing

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they were legitimizing our efforts.

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DOD was legitimizing our efforts.

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We saw so many great people

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drop their lives and do
whatever was needed.

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One of our team members

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had a personal relationship with the

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royal family in United Arab Emirates.

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We thought,

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hey, let's ask them

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if they want to participate

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in this and help. So we asked for support.

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I got several Congress members on a call.

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We basically proposed to the UAE

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what we're going to do.

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And they had faith in us.

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They believed that we could do it.

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I knew I would be more of an asset

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working with whoever's on the ground.

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Nick and Tim are in Abu Dhabi and are like,

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Can we do a kind of a quick call?

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And so I'm thinking, okay,

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we're going to get on the phone

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and they're going to talk about

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getting on a plane

285
00:10:41,182 --> 00:10:43,350
landing and loading people and going back.

286
00:10:43,351 --> 00:10:44,768
And they were like, Yeah,

287
00:10:44,769 --> 00:10:45,686
we're going to do a little bit

288
00:10:45,687 --> 00:10:46,770
more than that.

289
00:10:46,771 --> 00:10:49,732
Leaving the officer's club, it is Joe

290
00:10:49,982 --> 00:10:51,608
who was the

291
00:10:51,609 --> 00:10:53,736
the originating contact for the UAE.

292
00:10:54,195 --> 00:10:57,448
He throws myself and Nick in a truck.

293
00:10:57,823 --> 00:10:59,032
We grab our bags,

294
00:10:59,033 --> 00:11:00,075
check my body armor,

295
00:11:00,076 --> 00:11:01,743
change my batteries in my night vision,

296
00:11:01,744 --> 00:11:02,328
change the batteries in

297
00:11:02,329 --> 00:11:03,620
my thermal imager,

298
00:11:03,621 --> 00:11:05,372
did a couple of tests in a new country

299
00:11:05,373 --> 00:11:06,207
with a new country code

300
00:11:06,208 --> 00:11:08,041
with my SAT radio and my satcom.

301
00:11:08,042 --> 00:11:12,922
Then we drove to the military airstrip.

302
00:11:13,381 --> 00:11:14,631
And shortly thereafter

303
00:11:14,632 --> 00:11:17,259
we were on a flight
from Abu Dhabi to Kabul.

304
00:11:17,468 --> 00:11:21,055
And Nick and I boarded a 737, a very weird,

305
00:11:21,097 --> 00:11:24,433
eerie feeling of getting on a 737

306
00:11:24,809 --> 00:11:25,975
with no one on it

307
00:11:25,976 --> 00:11:27,686
besides the crew,

308
00:11:27,687 --> 00:11:29,939
which are all people from Afghanistan.

309
00:11:30,231 --> 00:11:33,108
And the pilots were three pilots

310
00:11:33,109 --> 00:11:34,068
from Afghanistan.

311
00:11:34,069 --> 00:11:35,276
They asked us

312
00:11:35,277 --> 00:11:37,153
if we could get their families out,

313
00:11:37,154 --> 00:11:39,364
and we promised that we would try

314
00:11:39,365 --> 00:11:40,157
and we meant it.

315
00:11:40,157 --> 00:11:40,491
You know,

316
00:11:40,492 --> 00:11:41,908
we got everybody's information

317
00:11:41,909 --> 00:11:42,785
and built

318
00:11:42,786 --> 00:11:44,787
a manifest and tried to get locations

319
00:11:45,579 --> 00:11:47,164
and all that.

320
00:11:48,124 --> 00:11:49,375
And we...

321
00:11:50,751 --> 00:11:52,919
went wheels up around sunrise to fly

322
00:11:52,920 --> 00:11:54,422
into Afghanistan.

323
00:12:19,697 --> 00:12:21,239
Everything you've ever known about

324
00:12:21,240 --> 00:12:25,035
an airfield is wrong here.

325
00:12:25,411 --> 00:12:28,581
I've never seen an airstrip as wild as...

326
00:12:29,790 --> 00:12:31,583
People are everywhere.

327
00:12:31,584 --> 00:12:33,168
There's no tower.

328
00:12:33,169 --> 00:12:34,711
It's like one guy on a radio

329
00:12:34,712 --> 00:12:37,214
running the airstrip. Just nuts.

330
00:12:41,510 --> 00:12:43,512
I mean, it is a mess.

331
00:12:43,679 --> 00:12:44,971
Plane lands.

332
00:12:44,972 --> 00:12:47,558
Taxi stops in front of Ramp nine.

333
00:12:48,100 --> 00:12:49,392
Honestly, I was thinking

334
00:12:49,393 --> 00:12:50,685
how impressive

335
00:12:50,686 --> 00:12:51,936
everybody was,

336
00:12:51,937 --> 00:12:55,064
how hard everybody was working,

337
00:12:55,065 --> 00:12:57,151
and then how bad it was on the ground.

338
00:12:57,234 --> 00:12:59,612
Like, the media is not doing it justice.

339
00:13:00,196 --> 00:13:01,738
I mean, the humanity of it.

340
00:13:01,739 --> 00:13:05,034
Like, you know, kids are
sleeping on the ground.

341
00:13:05,493 --> 00:13:08,621
There's... there's, you know, literally

342
00:13:09,538 --> 00:13:11,790
piss and shit everywhere.

343
00:13:11,791 --> 00:13:13,542
There's very little food.

344
00:13:14,919 --> 00:13:15,419
There's

345
00:13:15,420 --> 00:13:18,964
just mounds of plastic bottles.

346
00:13:19,048 --> 00:13:21,801
Nick hops in a side by side with Seaspray

347
00:13:21,842 --> 00:13:22,967
to start going

348
00:13:22,968 --> 00:13:23,636
and helping

349
00:13:23,637 --> 00:13:25,470
these people load onto this aircraft

350
00:13:25,471 --> 00:13:26,554
and start documenting

351
00:13:26,555 --> 00:13:27,889
what is happening on the ground.

352
00:13:27,890 --> 00:13:31,227
And I'm off to go do work.

353
00:13:31,560 --> 00:13:33,436
You know, I open the door to this up

354
00:13:33,437 --> 00:13:35,146
armored Land Cruiser.

355
00:13:35,147 --> 00:13:36,231
The four guys that end up being

356
00:13:36,232 --> 00:13:38,608
there are Seaspray, Dave,

357
00:13:38,609 --> 00:13:40,193
Sean G, and myself.

358
00:13:40,194 --> 00:13:42,571
So our team was comprised of

359
00:13:43,113 --> 00:13:43,864
some of the best

360
00:13:43,864 --> 00:13:44,573
in the business

361
00:13:44,574 --> 00:13:46,241
in terms of special operations

362
00:13:46,242 --> 00:13:47,992
and extraction professionals.

363
00:13:47,993 --> 00:13:50,871
I flew over to Abu Dhabi.

364
00:13:51,288 --> 00:13:52,664
I speak French, Russian, Arabic.

365
00:13:52,665 --> 00:13:54,707
I'm a former Special Forces guy

366
00:13:54,708 --> 00:13:55,708
and I'm a former Army

367
00:13:55,709 --> 00:13:56,960
strategist and planner.

368
00:13:56,961 --> 00:13:58,503
So I thought I'd be in Abu Dhabi

369
00:13:58,504 --> 00:14:00,548
in an operation center helping out to plan.

370
00:14:00,840 --> 00:14:03,341
So I found myself on the runway with

371
00:14:03,342 --> 00:14:05,301
Sean and Seaspray for a couple of days,

372
00:14:05,302 --> 00:14:08,931
and then we had Tim Kennedy roll in.

373
00:14:09,181 --> 00:14:10,640
Sean G's first question is,

374
00:14:10,641 --> 00:14:11,850
"What do you need?"

375
00:14:11,851 --> 00:14:13,351
I need a gun,

376
00:14:13,352 --> 00:14:15,019
I need some local comms,

377
00:14:15,020 --> 00:14:17,063
and I need to know what we're doing.

378
00:14:17,064 --> 00:14:19,148
Sean G and Seaspray

379
00:14:19,149 --> 00:14:20,316
who are already on the evac team

380
00:14:20,317 --> 00:14:22,485
and man, immediately

381
00:14:22,486 --> 00:14:23,445
I think Tim was on the ground

382
00:14:23,446 --> 00:14:25,071
and walking and getting briefed

383
00:14:25,072 --> 00:14:26,614
and walking out of the wire.

384
00:14:26,615 --> 00:14:28,116
The military was not allowed to

385
00:14:28,117 --> 00:14:29,869
go outside the wire, period.

386
00:14:31,161 --> 00:14:33,163
That was the rules of engagement.

387
00:14:33,205 --> 00:14:34,164
They were not allowed

388
00:14:34,165 --> 00:14:36,834
to go outside of the wire.

389
00:14:37,501 --> 00:14:40,129
The way the White House set this up,

390
00:14:40,170 --> 00:14:41,546
they took the NEO operation,

391
00:14:41,547 --> 00:14:42,922
the noncombatant evacuation

392
00:14:42,923 --> 00:14:43,507
operation away

393
00:14:43,508 --> 00:14:44,883
from the Department of Defense

394
00:14:44,884 --> 00:14:46,426
and gave it to the State Department,

395
00:14:46,427 --> 00:14:48,721
which is not the way

396
00:14:49,013 --> 00:14:50,263
things are supposed to be done.

397
00:14:50,264 --> 00:14:51,514
And so when that happened,

398
00:14:51,515 --> 00:14:52,474
the State Department

399
00:14:52,475 --> 00:14:55,977
treated the NEO operation in the airport

400
00:14:55,978 --> 00:14:56,896
like an embassy.

401
00:14:56,897 --> 00:14:59,522
So now the US military can only support

402
00:14:59,523 --> 00:15:00,482
what's inside.

403
00:15:00,482 --> 00:15:01,442
They can't go outside

404
00:15:01,443 --> 00:15:02,942
and help people. Americans.

405
00:15:02,943 --> 00:15:04,319
Something can happen
right in front of them.

406
00:15:04,320 --> 00:15:05,695
They can't go outside and help.

407
00:15:05,696 --> 00:15:07,823
They can't go outside and get interpreters.

408
00:15:07,865 --> 00:15:09,616
They have to control that airport.

409
00:15:09,617 --> 00:15:11,784
The way that you wage war.

410
00:15:11,785 --> 00:15:13,661
You have kind of four different elements

411
00:15:13,662 --> 00:15:14,787
you have diplomatic, information,

412
00:15:14,788 --> 00:15:15,997
military, and economic.

413
00:15:15,998 --> 00:15:17,540
On the ground in Afghanistan,

414
00:15:17,541 --> 00:15:19,792
all of those are currently being controlled

415
00:15:19,793 --> 00:15:20,835
by the Taliban.

416
00:15:20,836 --> 00:15:22,922
The Taliban now control the airport.

417
00:15:23,088 --> 00:15:26,424
You'll hear people say
that the U.S. military did.

418
00:15:26,425 --> 00:15:27,176
Anybody who knows

419
00:15:27,177 --> 00:15:28,384
military strategy knows that

420
00:15:28,385 --> 00:15:29,469
whoever controls the outside

421
00:15:29,470 --> 00:15:31,472
perimeter, controls that ground space.

422
00:15:31,722 --> 00:15:33,598
So anybody inside of that perimeter

423
00:15:33,599 --> 00:15:34,016
was there

424
00:15:34,016 --> 00:15:34,975
only because the Taliban

425
00:15:34,976 --> 00:15:36,309
allowed them to be there.

426
00:15:36,310 --> 00:15:38,519
Who's coming on to bases?

427
00:15:38,520 --> 00:15:40,855
How the military is going to be screening?

428
00:15:40,856 --> 00:15:43,232
Who's coming on? Who's taking passports?

429
00:15:43,233 --> 00:15:45,443
Like, that's happening by the Taliban.

430
00:15:45,444 --> 00:15:46,694
A lot of people were murdered

431
00:15:46,695 --> 00:15:49,657
right outside of the wire by the Taliban

432
00:15:51,033 --> 00:15:52,451
to show that they could do it.

433
00:16:03,504 --> 00:16:06,215
Soldiers used to shoot...
shoot with their guns

434
00:16:06,382 --> 00:16:08,425
to avoid the crowd. But in between,

435
00:16:08,926 --> 00:16:11,052
I saw people dying over there.

436
00:16:11,053 --> 00:16:12,929
They got hit by the bullets.

437
00:16:12,930 --> 00:16:14,389
I saw them dying there.

438
00:16:14,390 --> 00:16:16,349
The ground was full of blood.

439
00:16:16,350 --> 00:16:19,310
I saw children crying over their mothers.

440
00:16:19,311 --> 00:16:20,311
Worried that the time

441
00:16:20,312 --> 00:16:21,479
to take care of their kids,

442
00:16:21,480 --> 00:16:22,730
their small babies.

443
00:16:22,731 --> 00:16:24,775
I saw some of the
babies fell on the ground.

444
00:16:25,067 --> 00:16:27,318
People were running on them.

445
00:16:27,319 --> 00:16:30,239
That was the most horrible part.

446
00:16:35,828 --> 00:16:37,745
Another team had a woman

447
00:16:37,746 --> 00:16:39,038
put on the hood of their car

448
00:16:39,039 --> 00:16:40,540
and as the Taliban looked right at them,

449
00:16:40,541 --> 00:16:42,417
they just executed the woman on the hood

450
00:16:42,418 --> 00:16:43,960
just to try to elicit a response.

451
00:16:43,961 --> 00:16:44,837
Just to be like,

452
00:16:44,838 --> 00:16:46,462
just so we're super clear

453
00:16:46,463 --> 00:16:48,047
about who is in charge here,

454
00:16:48,048 --> 00:16:49,048
I'm going to murder this woman

455
00:16:49,049 --> 00:16:50,091
right in front of you.

456
00:16:50,092 --> 00:16:50,676
And there's nothing

457
00:16:50,677 --> 00:16:52,135
that you can do about it.

458
00:16:52,136 --> 00:16:54,346
This is the Taliban I know.

459
00:16:54,513 --> 00:16:55,555
And this is the Taliban

460
00:16:55,556 --> 00:16:57,516
that is outside the gates of HKIA.

461
00:17:23,125 --> 00:17:23,792
It was probably one

462
00:17:23,793 --> 00:17:25,293
of the more traumatic things

463
00:17:25,294 --> 00:17:25,711
I've been through.

464
00:17:25,712 --> 00:17:27,962
I've been in

465
00:17:27,963 --> 00:17:30,590
six or so conflicts, in two wars.

466
00:17:30,591 --> 00:17:32,425
I have two combat infantry badges.

467
00:17:32,426 --> 00:17:34,136
I've seen a lot of stuff.

468
00:17:34,261 --> 00:17:36,555
Refugees are innocent civilians.

469
00:17:37,056 --> 00:17:38,514
So when something happens to them

470
00:17:38,515 --> 00:17:39,932
intentionally,

471
00:17:39,933 --> 00:17:40,559
you know, yes,

472
00:17:40,560 --> 00:17:42,060
you have collateral damage in a war,

473
00:17:42,061 --> 00:17:44,062
but something happens
to them intentionally.

474
00:17:44,063 --> 00:17:45,813
It really hits home hard.

475
00:17:45,814 --> 00:17:49,026
It's impossible to explain the

476
00:17:50,694 --> 00:17:54,156
the level of desperation that people felt.

477
00:17:54,490 --> 00:17:56,741
I mean if you just think
about the first couple of days

478
00:17:56,742 --> 00:17:57,950
when people were trying

479
00:17:57,951 --> 00:18:00,204
to hang on to the bottom of C-17s.

480
00:18:03,457 --> 00:18:04,540
That's desperation

481
00:18:04,541 --> 00:18:06,167
that Americans... like Americans

482
00:18:06,168 --> 00:18:08,169
don't understand that level of desperation.

483
00:18:08,170 --> 00:18:10,756
I don't... I don't understand.

484
00:18:11,006 --> 00:18:12,006
Yeah, I think...

485
00:18:12,758 --> 00:18:14,133
I don't think the news captured it.

486
00:18:14,134 --> 00:18:14,843
And I don't think people

487
00:18:14,844 --> 00:18:16,427
could really comprehend

488
00:18:16,428 --> 00:18:18,221
the environment of HKIA.

489
00:18:18,222 --> 00:18:20,681
So many guys that I know

490
00:18:20,682 --> 00:18:22,683
that have tremendous amount

491
00:18:22,684 --> 00:18:24,185
of experience in combat

492
00:18:24,186 --> 00:18:25,269
and special operations

493
00:18:25,270 --> 00:18:26,938
and seeing horrific things,

494
00:18:26,939 --> 00:18:28,731
all describe it as one of the most chaotic

495
00:18:28,732 --> 00:18:30,983
and horrific things they have ever seen.

496
00:18:30,984 --> 00:18:34,112
I've never seen desperation

497
00:18:34,113 --> 00:18:36,198
like what I saw

498
00:18:36,448 --> 00:18:40,119
in Kabul, what I saw in HKIA.

499
00:18:40,953 --> 00:18:42,411
You know, the Afghans knew

500
00:18:42,412 --> 00:18:43,663
that we would take children.

501
00:18:43,664 --> 00:18:44,914
So if it was an infant,

502
00:18:44,915 --> 00:18:46,207
we would take the infant.

503
00:18:46,208 --> 00:18:48,501
Not that the troops were trying to.

504
00:18:48,502 --> 00:18:49,294
But if somebody, like,

505
00:18:49,295 --> 00:18:51,129
climbed up the wall and handed,

506
00:18:51,130 --> 00:18:53,172
you know, a Marine or one of the 82nd

507
00:18:53,173 --> 00:18:54,967
Airborne guys, an infant, they were taken.

508
00:18:56,260 --> 00:18:57,260
Well...

509
00:19:00,180 --> 00:19:02,098
people got desperate

510
00:19:02,099 --> 00:19:02,724
and...

511
00:19:02,725 --> 00:19:03,891
so that you understand

512
00:19:03,892 --> 00:19:07,688
it's like people were crowd surfing babies.

513
00:19:08,230 --> 00:19:09,730
They were passing babies

514
00:19:09,731 --> 00:19:11,315
so that the babies would get up front

515
00:19:11,316 --> 00:19:13,234
so that they could then, you know,

516
00:19:13,235 --> 00:19:15,361
hand them to troops.

517
00:19:15,362 --> 00:19:17,321
And this was their best hope

518
00:19:17,322 --> 00:19:19,115
that that child might live,

519
00:19:19,116 --> 00:19:20,283
that their best hope was

520
00:19:20,284 --> 00:19:21,659
that they could beach ball

521
00:19:21,660 --> 00:19:23,828
a child forward into the crowd

522
00:19:23,829 --> 00:19:25,163
and that some soldier

523
00:19:25,164 --> 00:19:27,206
or Airman or Marine

524
00:19:27,207 --> 00:19:28,083
on top of this wall

525
00:19:28,084 --> 00:19:30,293
could reach down, pull this child up,

526
00:19:30,294 --> 00:19:32,378
and this child would have a better chance

527
00:19:32,379 --> 00:19:37,176
at life than staying in Afghanistan.

528
00:19:37,509 --> 00:19:39,511
These troops down on that wall,

529
00:19:40,220 --> 00:19:44,099
just having people beg all day, all night,

530
00:19:44,141 --> 00:19:45,349
please get them out.

531
00:19:45,350 --> 00:19:46,684
And... and,

532
00:19:46,685 --> 00:19:47,561
you know,

533
00:19:47,561 --> 00:19:48,395
if they don't get in,

534
00:19:48,396 --> 00:19:50,730
they're probably going to die.

535
00:19:50,731 --> 00:19:51,981
And then some people,

536
00:19:51,982 --> 00:19:52,900
you know, I don't...

537
00:19:52,901 --> 00:19:54,650
I don't know what level of desperation

538
00:19:54,651 --> 00:19:56,152
you need to be at to do this.

539
00:19:56,153 --> 00:19:59,031
But there were people that threw the babies

540
00:19:59,656 --> 00:20:00,656
over the wall

541
00:20:00,657 --> 00:20:03,118
when Americans didn't take them.

542
00:20:03,368 --> 00:20:05,704
This is like a frail, small Afghan woman

543
00:20:06,580 --> 00:20:08,080
taking her infant child

544
00:20:08,081 --> 00:20:10,625
and throwing this child as hard

545
00:20:10,626 --> 00:20:12,335
and as high as she could

546
00:20:12,336 --> 00:20:13,045
in the hopes

547
00:20:13,046 --> 00:20:15,379
that somebody might catch this baby.

548
00:20:15,380 --> 00:20:17,924
Not realizing that on the other side of

549
00:20:17,925 --> 00:20:20,260
the wall was concertina.

550
00:20:21,803 --> 00:20:22,429
So like there were

551
00:20:22,430 --> 00:20:24,096
some babies that,

552
00:20:24,097 --> 00:20:25,223
you know, that bled out

553
00:20:25,224 --> 00:20:27,266
on the concertina wire.

554
00:20:27,267 --> 00:20:28,267
Um...

555
00:20:30,854 --> 00:20:32,021
And that's...

556
00:20:32,022 --> 00:20:33,023
That's...

557
00:20:33,315 --> 00:20:35,775
That's the desperation that you...

558
00:20:35,776 --> 00:20:37,152
that you can't...

559
00:20:37,903 --> 00:20:39,612
you can't put that on TV.

560
00:20:39,613 --> 00:20:40,489
You know, you don't...

561
00:20:40,490 --> 00:20:43,784
you don't see that anywhere.

562
00:20:44,284 --> 00:20:47,120
And as I'm moving past these gates,

563
00:20:48,747 --> 00:20:51,041
whether it's Black Gate or Abbey Gate or,

564
00:20:52,793 --> 00:20:54,335
you know, the U.N. gate,

565
00:20:54,336 --> 00:20:57,213
those babies are still
in the concertina wire

566
00:20:57,214 --> 00:20:59,423
and those women are still stuck out there

567
00:20:59,424 --> 00:21:01,927
screaming. The nightmares and like the...

568
00:21:04,972 --> 00:21:07,474
So everything that
was outside of that lane,

569
00:21:08,016 --> 00:21:09,600
you know, like I'm focused on this

570
00:21:09,601 --> 00:21:10,685
with everything

571
00:21:10,686 --> 00:21:13,562
I'm trying to save a
woman and her children,

572
00:21:13,563 --> 00:21:15,983
but off to like five feet away from me

573
00:21:16,775 --> 00:21:18,901
is a... is a dead child.

574
00:21:18,902 --> 00:21:21,363
You know, is... is a
smoldering, burning body.

575
00:21:21,905 --> 00:21:24,533
And having smelled bodies

576
00:21:24,908 --> 00:21:26,617
my whole entire adult life,

577
00:21:26,618 --> 00:21:29,036
but then seeing it's a small one.

578
00:21:29,037 --> 00:21:31,290
And that's a burning body of a child

579
00:21:31,748 --> 00:21:34,000
that was lit by the Taliban.

580
00:21:34,001 --> 00:21:34,793
There's nothing I could do about...

581
00:21:34,794 --> 00:21:36,795
That's already gone. But I'm still here.

582
00:21:38,130 --> 00:21:39,840
But it was just...

583
00:21:41,675 --> 00:21:42,884
everywhere.

584
00:21:52,769 --> 00:21:53,186
The only way

585
00:21:53,187 --> 00:21:55,689
to effectively evacuate

586
00:21:55,856 --> 00:21:56,606
those who were the most

587
00:21:56,607 --> 00:21:59,066
vulnerable was to go out and get them.

588
00:21:59,067 --> 00:22:01,320
I'll just say special units.

589
00:22:03,363 --> 00:22:05,489
And so our ground team was essentially

590
00:22:05,490 --> 00:22:07,199
one of those special units

591
00:22:07,200 --> 00:22:09,118
that were allowed to go outside the wire.

592
00:22:09,119 --> 00:22:11,454
We were targeting specific individuals

593
00:22:11,455 --> 00:22:13,664
that were passport and SIV holders

594
00:22:13,665 --> 00:22:15,082
that were external to the base

595
00:22:15,083 --> 00:22:17,127
and needed to get on in a safe way.

596
00:22:17,586 --> 00:22:18,586
Couldn't necessarily

597
00:22:18,587 --> 00:22:20,672
go through the Taliban checkpoints

598
00:22:21,089 --> 00:22:23,007
because they had been working

599
00:22:23,008 --> 00:22:24,467
with the United States.

600
00:22:24,468 --> 00:22:25,968
The Taliban knew

601
00:22:25,969 --> 00:22:28,304
which women were educated and could read.

602
00:22:28,305 --> 00:22:29,472
The Taliban knew

603
00:22:29,473 --> 00:22:30,681
who the Christians were like,

604
00:22:30,682 --> 00:22:31,807
"These are all the targets."

605
00:22:31,808 --> 00:22:33,017
And back in the JOC,

606
00:22:33,018 --> 00:22:33,310
you know,

607
00:22:33,311 --> 00:22:35,728
we were communicating with these targets

608
00:22:35,729 --> 00:22:37,856
before we would pass them on to the guys.

609
00:22:38,398 --> 00:22:39,565
And, you know,

610
00:22:39,566 --> 00:22:41,317
we put target packages together

611
00:22:41,318 --> 00:22:42,943
and we'd be talking to them

612
00:22:42,944 --> 00:22:44,153
and sending the information

613
00:22:44,154 --> 00:22:45,364
down to the ground team.

614
00:22:46,365 --> 00:22:49,368
But a lot of these targets would go dark.

615
00:22:56,083 --> 00:22:57,208
Looking at this problem set,

616
00:22:57,209 --> 00:22:59,378
you know, it's really no different

617
00:23:00,003 --> 00:23:02,004
than any other situation,

618
00:23:02,005 --> 00:23:05,092
you know, that involves a mass movement.

619
00:23:05,884 --> 00:23:07,802
It's a logistic challenge,

620
00:23:07,803 --> 00:23:08,136
you know,

621
00:23:08,137 --> 00:23:10,180
but it's based on the same framework

622
00:23:10,972 --> 00:23:12,056
of any NEO.

623
00:23:12,057 --> 00:23:14,351
So we go out to do a

624
00:23:15,477 --> 00:23:18,814
recon of a potential evacuation site.

625
00:23:19,106 --> 00:23:21,983
As we approach the first spot,

626
00:23:22,734 --> 00:23:24,652
I see some Taliban overwatch positions

627
00:23:24,653 --> 00:23:27,405
on top of a few two, three story buildings,

628
00:23:27,406 --> 00:23:29,323
and those observation

629
00:23:29,324 --> 00:23:31,618
positions can clearly see

630
00:23:32,119 --> 00:23:33,744
pretty much everything in that area.

631
00:23:33,745 --> 00:23:34,912
We start exploring a couple

632
00:23:34,913 --> 00:23:36,580
more evacuation spots.

633
00:23:36,581 --> 00:23:38,667
I clamber up to this gate and

634
00:23:39,835 --> 00:23:40,794
I realize really

635
00:23:40,795 --> 00:23:43,170
quickly that there's just one single bolt

636
00:23:43,171 --> 00:23:44,463
on the inside of this gate,

637
00:23:44,464 --> 00:23:45,132
keeping this gate

638
00:23:45,133 --> 00:23:47,217
closed from the outside of the Taliban

639
00:23:47,509 --> 00:23:50,261
and access to this big empty parking lot.

640
00:23:50,262 --> 00:23:52,430
That just has a bunch of these buses

641
00:23:52,431 --> 00:23:53,014
lined up.

642
00:23:53,015 --> 00:23:54,056
And the buses were perfect

643
00:23:54,057 --> 00:23:55,599
because it provides cover.

644
00:23:55,600 --> 00:23:57,351
And then immediately adjacent to that

645
00:23:57,352 --> 00:23:58,727
were these

646
00:23:58,728 --> 00:24:00,020
retention, I don't know

647
00:24:00,021 --> 00:24:02,356
if they're oil or water tanks,

648
00:24:02,357 --> 00:24:04,150
maybe a kilometer of them,

649
00:24:04,151 --> 00:24:07,611
and then moved into this urban, albeit

650
00:24:07,612 --> 00:24:09,113
very poor

651
00:24:09,114 --> 00:24:12,909
suburb, and that seemed mostly vacant.

652
00:24:13,034 --> 00:24:16,872
This was a not observed portion of our

653
00:24:17,372 --> 00:24:19,206
perimeter for HKIA.

654
00:24:19,207 --> 00:24:20,000
Nobody would notice

655
00:24:20,001 --> 00:24:22,168
some people moving through there

656
00:24:22,169 --> 00:24:22,794
and there were people

657
00:24:22,795 --> 00:24:24,753
kind of constantly moving through there.

658
00:24:24,754 --> 00:24:25,505
So it looked awesome.

659
00:24:25,506 --> 00:24:28,091
They were just

660
00:24:28,675 --> 00:24:30,342
pulling targets through the wire

661
00:24:30,343 --> 00:24:32,803
all night, nonstop,

662
00:24:32,804 --> 00:24:34,638
and they were coming back in the wire

663
00:24:34,639 --> 00:24:36,682
around the time the sun came up.

664
00:24:36,683 --> 00:24:38,642
Before leaving UAE,

665
00:24:38,643 --> 00:24:39,519
we kind of set up

666
00:24:39,520 --> 00:24:41,520
the five W's for initial linkup.

667
00:24:41,521 --> 00:24:42,897
What proves to be

668
00:24:42,898 --> 00:24:44,398
the most difficult thing in

669
00:24:44,399 --> 00:24:46,443
the evacuation is linkup.

670
00:24:46,651 --> 00:24:47,444
So we start building

671
00:24:47,445 --> 00:24:48,777
these packages of people

672
00:24:48,778 --> 00:24:50,905
with information to validate who they were,

673
00:24:50,906 --> 00:24:52,990
and that would build manifest.

674
00:24:52,991 --> 00:24:55,284
And those manifest would get...

675
00:24:55,285 --> 00:24:57,077
Will get sent to the Joint Chiefs

676
00:24:57,078 --> 00:24:58,162
to get approved.

677
00:24:58,163 --> 00:24:59,371
There were some lists

678
00:24:59,372 --> 00:25:01,499
that were DOD approved,

679
00:25:01,500 --> 00:25:02,791
but not DOS approved.

680
00:25:02,792 --> 00:25:03,627
There were some lists

681
00:25:03,628 --> 00:25:04,752
that were DOS approved,

682
00:25:04,753 --> 00:25:06,337
but not DOD approved.

683
00:25:06,338 --> 00:25:07,671
There were some lists

684
00:25:07,672 --> 00:25:09,716
that were Pentagon approved.

685
00:25:09,925 --> 00:25:11,634
DOD, Pentagon, DOS

686
00:25:11,635 --> 00:25:13,762
approved, but not Taliban approved.

687
00:25:22,103 --> 00:25:23,188
So night looks like this:

688
00:25:24,856 --> 00:25:26,398
sun goes down.

689
00:25:26,399 --> 00:25:30,820
I pre-position at a linkup location

690
00:25:31,446 --> 00:25:33,280
where I say, at the corner

691
00:25:33,281 --> 00:25:35,909
of this outside of this gate at this time,

692
00:25:36,910 --> 00:25:39,870
you're going to do a far recognition.

693
00:25:39,871 --> 00:25:41,080
And then once they get close

694
00:25:41,081 --> 00:25:42,790
they have to do the near security check.

695
00:25:42,791 --> 00:25:45,334
Maybe it's a proword, maybe it's

696
00:25:45,335 --> 00:25:46,335
a secret phrase,

697
00:25:46,336 --> 00:25:47,254
maybe it's a word

698
00:25:47,255 --> 00:25:48,963
that you have to slip into a sentence.

699
00:25:48,964 --> 00:25:49,964
And there were lots of different

700
00:25:49,965 --> 00:25:51,173
far and near recognition

701
00:25:51,174 --> 00:25:52,424
signals that we were using

702
00:25:52,425 --> 00:25:54,218
and we were changing them every few hours.

703
00:25:54,219 --> 00:25:56,972
Once we had that near recognition signal,

704
00:25:57,722 --> 00:26:00,516
then I need to confirm that

705
00:26:00,517 --> 00:26:02,393
the documents that you digitally sent to us

706
00:26:02,394 --> 00:26:03,061
were the documents

707
00:26:03,062 --> 00:26:04,562
that you physically have in hand.

708
00:26:04,563 --> 00:26:05,771
Basically the places

709
00:26:05,772 --> 00:26:07,439
where nobody would actually want to go,

710
00:26:07,440 --> 00:26:09,233
that's how they were bringing people in.

711
00:26:09,234 --> 00:26:10,110
And they had...

712
00:26:10,111 --> 00:26:12,696
They had four different good rat lines

713
00:26:13,280 --> 00:26:14,780
into the complex.

714
00:26:14,781 --> 00:26:18,742
Even preplanned routes,
as I'm like looking at a map,

715
00:26:18,743 --> 00:26:21,078
and I'm having to go
from point A to point B,

716
00:26:21,079 --> 00:26:23,539
I might set up one, two, three, four, five

717
00:26:23,540 --> 00:26:24,915
different routes to get there.

718
00:26:24,916 --> 00:26:27,376
Well, my life and the life of
these people that we're trying

719
00:26:27,377 --> 00:26:28,497
to get out is on the line...

720
00:26:28,628 --> 00:26:29,921
And... um...

721
00:26:30,589 --> 00:26:33,132
Figuring out multiple
ways to get right back

722
00:26:33,133 --> 00:26:37,303
onto HKIA proves...
um... to be pretty important.

723
00:26:37,304 --> 00:26:39,972
They were crawling through sewage,

724
00:26:39,973 --> 00:26:42,934
ditches, gross... you
know, literally through crap

725
00:26:44,060 --> 00:26:47,897
under... under concertina and barbed wire.

726
00:26:49,024 --> 00:26:50,483
Digging holes.

727
00:26:58,283 --> 00:27:00,784
Sneaking past Taliban checkpoints

728
00:27:00,785 --> 00:27:03,705
and then sneaking onto the airbase

729
00:27:03,955 --> 00:27:07,333
and then through the airstrip to our hangar

730
00:27:07,334 --> 00:27:09,419
to be manifested for the next flight out.

731
00:27:09,669 --> 00:27:11,504
Let's say each of those takes

732
00:27:12,756 --> 00:27:14,882
45 minutes to 90 minutes.

733
00:27:14,883 --> 00:27:17,176
Multiply that by the ten,

734
00:27:17,177 --> 00:27:19,596
11 hours of darkness.

735
00:27:19,846 --> 00:27:21,931
That's the night.

736
00:27:23,058 --> 00:27:24,391
We slept maybe an hour a day

737
00:27:24,392 --> 00:27:25,101
and just some moving...

738
00:27:25,102 --> 00:27:26,685
it became a blur.

739
00:27:26,686 --> 00:27:28,520
The second day, we got 800 people out

740
00:27:28,521 --> 00:27:30,190
and then again it became a blur.

741
00:27:53,338 --> 00:27:54,963
My phone would die like three

742
00:27:54,964 --> 00:27:56,675
times in a 24 hour period.

743
00:27:57,634 --> 00:27:59,343
I knew that I lost my voice

744
00:27:59,344 --> 00:28:00,386
probably like around

745
00:28:00,387 --> 00:28:02,764
August 19th, temporarily,
just because I had...

746
00:28:03,181 --> 00:28:04,723
I just didn't stop talking.

747
00:28:04,724 --> 00:28:06,642
I didn't stop collecting information.

748
00:28:06,643 --> 00:28:08,143
Sean G is off

749
00:28:08,144 --> 00:28:09,978
talking to thousands of people

750
00:28:09,979 --> 00:28:11,230
on his seven different phones

751
00:28:11,231 --> 00:28:12,272
that he's using.

752
00:28:12,273 --> 00:28:13,482
If you have the ability to help someone,

753
00:28:13,483 --> 00:28:14,067
you help someone.

754
00:28:14,068 --> 00:28:15,150
And like I've always

755
00:28:15,151 --> 00:28:17,111
I've always believed that so strongly.

756
00:28:17,112 --> 00:28:19,321
And so I was willing to use

757
00:28:19,322 --> 00:28:24,326
any ounce of political capital or anything

758
00:28:24,327 --> 00:28:25,828
I had to throw it at this problem

759
00:28:25,829 --> 00:28:26,579
knowing that, like,

760
00:28:26,580 --> 00:28:28,247
maybe this is like my one favor

761
00:28:28,248 --> 00:28:29,581
I'm ever going to ask of this person

762
00:28:29,582 --> 00:28:30,375
in my lifetime.

763
00:28:30,376 --> 00:28:32,585
And now this is what I've been waiting for.

764
00:28:32,752 --> 00:28:35,170
Like this is the time
to use it and to do it.

765
00:28:35,171 --> 00:28:36,714
I'm able to make a far recognition,

766
00:28:36,715 --> 00:28:37,590
near recognition.

767
00:28:37,591 --> 00:28:39,091
Their paperwork aligns with the paperwork

768
00:28:39,092 --> 00:28:40,051
that are sent digitally.

769
00:28:40,052 --> 00:28:41,385
They were vetted, it's approved.

770
00:28:41,386 --> 00:28:42,636
I'm able to bring them in

771
00:28:42,637 --> 00:28:43,721
and behind them,

772
00:28:43,722 --> 00:28:45,931
as I'm bringing in these four people,

773
00:28:45,932 --> 00:28:48,183
behind them was another 40 people

774
00:28:48,184 --> 00:28:50,269
that those four people had told

775
00:28:50,270 --> 00:28:50,854
they're going to be able

776
00:28:50,855 --> 00:28:52,938
to get onto the base and maybe get out.

777
00:28:52,939 --> 00:28:53,898
And then I have to look at those

778
00:28:53,899 --> 00:28:55,316
other 40 people and be like,

779
00:28:57,861 --> 00:29:00,613
No, bro, like, I can't
do anything with you.

780
00:29:01,531 --> 00:29:02,740
Yeah, we're making differences.

781
00:29:02,741 --> 00:29:04,491
We're picking up pieces of sand

782
00:29:04,492 --> 00:29:05,410
and you pick up enough of them,

783
00:29:05,411 --> 00:29:06,411
you'll eventually have a bucket.

784
00:29:06,411 --> 00:29:07,411
But...

785
00:29:07,871 --> 00:29:10,038
I'm looking at a beach,

786
00:29:10,039 --> 00:29:12,291
you know, and I'm moving a grain of sand

787
00:29:12,292 --> 00:29:13,126
at a time.

788
00:29:13,127 --> 00:29:17,212
We're so focused on what we had to do that

789
00:29:17,213 --> 00:29:19,173
every one of those

790
00:29:19,174 --> 00:29:21,717
pieces of sand was a life.

791
00:29:21,718 --> 00:29:24,052
A life that fought for us, and a life

792
00:29:24,053 --> 00:29:25,721
that deserved

793
00:29:25,722 --> 00:29:27,473
to live and a life that deserved

794
00:29:27,474 --> 00:29:28,891
a better opportunity than

795
00:29:28,892 --> 00:29:31,770
what the Taliban was going to give them.

796
00:29:33,813 --> 00:29:36,064
You know, we're a drop in the bucket.

797
00:29:36,065 --> 00:29:37,025
And every life

798
00:29:37,026 --> 00:29:38,192
that has moved off that beach

799
00:29:38,193 --> 00:29:40,277
and into a bucket is a life that is

800
00:29:40,278 --> 00:29:41,362
that is saved from...

801
00:29:43,406 --> 00:29:45,825
indescribable acts.

802
00:30:05,637 --> 00:30:07,471
Now it's how many people can we get out

803
00:30:07,472 --> 00:30:08,223
in the little bit of time

804
00:30:08,224 --> 00:30:10,474
that we have before, ultimately,

805
00:30:10,475 --> 00:30:12,142
that base crumbles.

806
00:30:12,143 --> 00:30:12,852
Finally, as things were
starting to get tight,

807
00:30:12,853 --> 00:30:15,145
New Caption

808
00:30:15,146 --> 00:30:17,105
that a whole lot of government agencies

809
00:30:17,106 --> 00:30:19,442
had their people still out there by name.

810
00:30:19,859 --> 00:30:21,777
We knew we were getting close to the end.

811
00:30:21,778 --> 00:30:24,155
So we... our team

812
00:30:24,906 --> 00:30:28,201
physically bought seven buses.

813
00:30:28,493 --> 00:30:30,995
We had a location for 300 orphans.

814
00:30:31,204 --> 00:30:35,291
We had a location for about 100 Christians.

815
00:30:35,834 --> 00:30:37,584
And then we had

816
00:30:37,585 --> 00:30:39,086
several high value

817
00:30:39,087 --> 00:30:41,129
individuals that were requested

818
00:30:41,130 --> 00:30:43,842
by government entities for us to pick up.

819
00:30:44,509 --> 00:30:47,303
And then we also had the families of

820
00:30:49,305 --> 00:30:52,684
the crews that had been
flying the charter airplanes.

821
00:30:53,226 --> 00:30:56,937
We send out buses to multiple places

822
00:30:56,938 --> 00:30:58,021
throughout the city.

823
00:30:58,022 --> 00:31:00,900
The most elite intelligence agencies

824
00:31:01,651 --> 00:31:02,734
in the world

825
00:31:02,735 --> 00:31:04,820
have their people on these buses.

826
00:31:04,821 --> 00:31:07,406
Afghan Special Forces commandos,

827
00:31:07,407 --> 00:31:10,535
interpreters, Christians, orphans.

828
00:31:10,827 --> 00:31:12,870
All of these on these buses.

829
00:31:12,871 --> 00:31:14,413
The guys worked all night

830
00:31:14,414 --> 00:31:17,165
and then filled those buses

831
00:31:17,166 --> 00:31:19,835
with those individuals.

832
00:31:19,836 --> 00:31:20,587
We thought we could

833
00:31:20,588 --> 00:31:22,797
we could just get one
big, big lump through.

834
00:31:22,839 --> 00:31:24,089
We had this great little gate

835
00:31:24,090 --> 00:31:24,799
that we had arranged

836
00:31:24,800 --> 00:31:26,008
ahead of time with the Marines.

837
00:31:26,009 --> 00:31:27,676
We have five of them

838
00:31:27,677 --> 00:31:29,845
lined up at this

839
00:31:29,846 --> 00:31:31,972
at this one gate; Black Gate.

840
00:31:31,973 --> 00:31:33,265
I got a SAT call.

841
00:31:33,266 --> 00:31:35,309
Hey, we got

842
00:31:35,310 --> 00:31:37,312
300 orphans, 100 Christians,

843
00:31:37,937 --> 00:31:41,607
the HVT's, and the families of about

844
00:31:41,608 --> 00:31:43,943
half the crew through the gate.

845
00:31:44,235 --> 00:31:45,319
We danced a jig.

846
00:31:45,320 --> 00:31:47,696
Like we were like, you know, fuck yeah.

847
00:31:47,697 --> 00:31:50,366
Like... one of the happiest moments

848
00:31:50,700 --> 00:31:53,244
that we had during the whole event.

849
00:31:53,453 --> 00:31:54,745
Nick and I,

850
00:31:54,746 --> 00:31:55,746
as the call came in

851
00:31:55,747 --> 00:31:56,788
that they were approaching the gate

852
00:31:56,789 --> 00:31:57,956
and that they were
getting ready to come in,

853
00:31:57,957 --> 00:31:59,875
were high fiving

854
00:31:59,876 --> 00:32:01,168
and kind of jumping around.

855
00:32:01,169 --> 00:32:02,628
And it's 3:00 in the morning,

856
00:32:02,629 --> 00:32:04,296
there's nobody else around.

857
00:32:04,297 --> 00:32:06,924
And we're doing as much as we can

858
00:32:06,925 --> 00:32:08,133
as fast as we can.

859
00:32:08,134 --> 00:32:09,968
But we can't make mistakes.

860
00:32:09,969 --> 00:32:10,178
You know,

861
00:32:10,179 --> 00:32:12,220
we can't let one person

862
00:32:12,221 --> 00:32:14,724
through that shouldn't have gotten through.

863
00:32:15,183 --> 00:32:17,602
And so we're being thorough.

864
00:32:17,852 --> 00:32:20,647
And we were talking to one of the

865
00:32:21,314 --> 00:32:22,607
government representatives

866
00:32:23,942 --> 00:32:25,108
who is the regional

867
00:32:25,109 --> 00:32:27,027
representative for that agency.

868
00:32:27,028 --> 00:32:28,904
Calls are going up chains of command,

869
00:32:28,905 --> 00:32:30,698
and ultimately

870
00:32:31,115 --> 00:32:32,157
the full bird Colonel

871
00:32:32,158 --> 00:32:35,244
who is in charge of the base arrives on...

872
00:32:36,037 --> 00:32:38,164
on scene at Black Gate.

873
00:32:46,130 --> 00:32:48,799
And he just makes the call,

874
00:32:48,800 --> 00:32:50,592
"Turn everybody around...

875
00:32:50,593 --> 00:32:52,260
put everybody back out...

876
00:32:52,261 --> 00:32:53,679
I don't care who they are."

877
00:32:53,680 --> 00:32:55,514
Tim calls on the SAT phone.

878
00:32:55,515 --> 00:32:56,974
He's like, they're kicking them out.

879
00:32:56,975 --> 00:32:58,350
They're going to kick them all out.

880
00:32:58,351 --> 00:32:59,518
I got a message from Sean Lee

881
00:32:59,519 --> 00:33:02,145
that says a colonel from the 82nd

882
00:33:02,146 --> 00:33:03,230
is seriously about to kick out

883
00:33:03,231 --> 00:33:05,190
300 orphans

884
00:33:05,191 --> 00:33:07,652
and Christians and American citizens.

885
00:33:27,755 --> 00:33:30,048
G... tried to talk sense into them.

886
00:33:30,049 --> 00:33:32,551
Can we at least go through all these people

887
00:33:32,552 --> 00:33:33,511
and make sure we pull out

888
00:33:33,512 --> 00:33:34,761
the American citizens

889
00:33:34,762 --> 00:33:36,513
and the green card holders?

890
00:33:36,514 --> 00:33:37,473
Pump the brakes here.

891
00:33:37,474 --> 00:33:39,234
Let's talk about this.
And he's like, "Nope.

892
00:33:40,435 --> 00:33:41,060
It's my decision.

893
00:33:41,060 --> 00:33:41,561
It's a command."

894
00:33:41,562 --> 00:33:44,104
Like, well, I'm not in the military.

895
00:33:44,105 --> 00:33:45,856
I'm not here for the military.

896
00:33:45,857 --> 00:33:47,900
And that's not really a lawful order.

897
00:33:47,942 --> 00:33:49,318
Let's talk about this.

898
00:34:07,086 --> 00:34:08,587
Like, is this an unlawful order

899
00:34:08,588 --> 00:34:11,424
or is he just a terrible human being?

900
00:34:11,591 --> 00:34:12,591
What is happening?

901
00:34:12,675 --> 00:34:16,053
From his perspective,
even though Tim wasn't

902
00:34:16,054 --> 00:34:16,971
the team leader,

903
00:34:16,972 --> 00:34:18,973
Tim was the only guy that he knew.

904
00:34:24,312 --> 00:34:26,898
He thought, "This is some fuckin' guy

905
00:34:28,274 --> 00:34:31,444
that's just showing up in Afghanistan

906
00:34:32,070 --> 00:34:34,071
running seven buses in,

907
00:34:34,072 --> 00:34:34,447
you know,

908
00:34:34,448 --> 00:34:36,656
fuck this guy, I want to kick him out."

909
00:34:36,657 --> 00:34:38,992
These were people that fought

910
00:34:38,993 --> 00:34:41,120
and had their relatives die for us.

911
00:34:41,370 --> 00:34:42,829
They lost their limbs for us.

912
00:34:42,830 --> 00:34:45,500
They lost their adult lives and youth and

913
00:34:46,042 --> 00:34:47,627
their innocence for us.

914
00:34:48,127 --> 00:34:49,461
Yes, they're fighting for Afghanistan.

915
00:34:49,462 --> 00:34:50,837
Yes, they're fighting for their people.

916
00:34:50,838 --> 00:34:52,672
But they are fighting with us.

917
00:34:52,673 --> 00:34:53,633
That's who... that's who

918
00:34:53,634 --> 00:34:55,342
we're trying to save here.

919
00:34:55,343 --> 00:34:57,887
From our perspective,

920
00:34:58,471 --> 00:35:01,849
this was possibly the most valuable load

921
00:35:02,058 --> 00:35:06,104
of people we had brought in thus far.

922
00:35:11,901 --> 00:35:13,527
I said, Hey, look, I'm

923
00:35:13,528 --> 00:35:14,278
a West Pointer too.

924
00:35:14,279 --> 00:35:15,403
I've been to your school.

925
00:35:15,404 --> 00:35:15,988
Trust me on this.

926
00:35:15,989 --> 00:35:17,447
We have the manifest for you.

927
00:35:17,448 --> 00:35:19,528
He said, "I don't care
where you've been to school".

928
00:35:23,329 --> 00:35:24,538
But the next decision he made

929
00:35:24,539 --> 00:35:26,081
was just unconscionable.

930
00:35:26,082 --> 00:35:28,375
It embarrassed me for the Army.

931
00:35:28,376 --> 00:35:29,960
If I have somebody with a blue passport,

932
00:35:29,961 --> 00:35:30,670
if I have an American

933
00:35:30,671 --> 00:35:32,295
hold up a blue passport,

934
00:35:32,296 --> 00:35:33,755
can that person get on a bus?

935
00:35:33,756 --> 00:35:35,090
If I have somebody hold up

936
00:35:35,091 --> 00:35:36,383
an SIV,

937
00:35:36,384 --> 00:35:37,884
a special immigration visa,

938
00:35:37,885 --> 00:35:39,678
can that person get back on the bus?

939
00:35:39,679 --> 00:35:41,722
If I have a P1, if I have a green card,

940
00:35:42,223 --> 00:35:44,141
I have a spouse of an American citizen...

941
00:35:44,142 --> 00:35:45,976
can these people get
back on these buses?

942
00:35:45,977 --> 00:35:47,978
"No, I don't care who they are.

943
00:35:47,979 --> 00:35:49,104
You get back on those buses

944
00:35:49,105 --> 00:35:50,897
and those buses go back into Kabul.

945
00:35:50,898 --> 00:35:51,940
Get them off this base."

946
00:35:51,941 --> 00:35:53,943
Can we just keep the blue passport holders?

947
00:35:54,110 --> 00:35:55,152
Tim yells.

948
00:35:55,153 --> 00:35:56,486
And he says,

949
00:35:56,487 --> 00:35:58,530
"Everybody goes back on these buses

950
00:35:58,531 --> 00:36:00,700
and I want them escorted
back off the base."

951
00:36:01,409 --> 00:36:03,452
And the colonel said, kick them out.

952
00:36:52,627 --> 00:36:53,877
Whoever just made the decision

953
00:36:53,878 --> 00:36:54,754
to turn his bus around

954
00:36:54,755 --> 00:36:56,004
essentially just killed...

955
00:36:56,005 --> 00:36:57,714
Just murdered... these people.

956
00:36:57,715 --> 00:37:00,009
And by the way, some of those people

957
00:37:00,885 --> 00:37:01,968
are children

958
00:37:01,969 --> 00:37:03,261
and some of these people were women.

959
00:37:03,262 --> 00:37:05,096
But some of these people are Americans

960
00:37:05,097 --> 00:37:07,642
that we just sent back to the Taliban.

961
00:37:08,100 --> 00:37:09,684
Whoever got killed by the Taliban

962
00:37:09,685 --> 00:37:10,811
because of that decision,

963
00:37:11,854 --> 00:37:13,813
that decision was on him.

964
00:37:13,814 --> 00:37:16,483
And I called Senator Tillis.

965
00:37:16,484 --> 00:37:19,903
Senator Tillis called multiple generals.

966
00:37:19,904 --> 00:37:21,780
Those generals called to the ground.

967
00:37:21,781 --> 00:37:22,864
But by the time

968
00:37:22,865 --> 00:37:24,157
the generals connected

969
00:37:24,158 --> 00:37:26,868
with the colonel to stop it,

970
00:37:26,869 --> 00:37:30,206
he had already kicked the buses off.

971
00:37:31,832 --> 00:37:34,085
And we... we did not see them again.

972
00:37:35,044 --> 00:37:37,004
Every Taliban

973
00:37:37,380 --> 00:37:38,546
around the airport

974
00:37:38,547 --> 00:37:40,590
saw them come through the gate

975
00:37:40,591 --> 00:37:42,843
on a bus with Americans

976
00:37:43,719 --> 00:37:46,846
and now every Taliban member

977
00:37:46,847 --> 00:37:49,432
at the gate was going to see them leave

978
00:37:49,433 --> 00:37:51,017
and go back into Kabul.

979
00:37:51,018 --> 00:37:52,602
And that's heart wrenching.

980
00:37:52,603 --> 00:37:55,730
There's not enough emotional capacity left

981
00:37:55,731 --> 00:37:58,734
in my soul to be able to mourn

982
00:37:59,402 --> 00:38:02,113
four busloads of people
that are about to die.

983
00:38:03,531 --> 00:38:06,533
Because the time spent in anguish

984
00:38:06,534 --> 00:38:08,285
and mourning, is time

985
00:38:08,286 --> 00:38:09,494
that could have been spent

986
00:38:09,495 --> 00:38:10,912
trying to save other people.

987
00:38:10,913 --> 00:38:12,414
We continued to do what we had to do

988
00:38:12,415 --> 00:38:12,957
because we knew these

989
00:38:12,957 --> 00:38:13,791
people were counting on us.

990
00:38:13,792 --> 00:38:15,834
We knew that the guys,

991
00:38:15,835 --> 00:38:16,752
our friends

992
00:38:16,753 --> 00:38:18,461
who were at HKIA trying to help

993
00:38:18,462 --> 00:38:20,464
people needed us to do this work.

994
00:38:21,007 --> 00:38:23,425
The Afghans trying to get into HKIA

995
00:38:23,426 --> 00:38:24,551
needed us to do this work.

996
00:38:24,552 --> 00:38:27,178
So we put it behind us and put our noses

997
00:38:27,179 --> 00:38:29,180
the grindstone and continued working.

998
00:38:29,181 --> 00:38:30,933
And we worked for the rest of that day.

999
00:38:51,996 --> 00:38:53,789
The guys,

1000
00:38:54,123 --> 00:38:56,542
unwilling to quit,

1001
00:38:56,792 --> 00:38:58,919
tripled their efforts and worked

1002
00:39:00,046 --> 00:39:03,382
and pulled out hundreds
more people that night.

1003
00:39:15,811 --> 00:39:18,856
Everything is starting to collapse on HKIA.

1004
00:39:19,440 --> 00:39:20,648
People are breaking down,

1005
00:39:20,649 --> 00:39:22,192
people are loading up,

1006
00:39:22,193 --> 00:39:23,777
they're taking bulldozers

1007
00:39:23,778 --> 00:39:25,320
and driving them over night vision.

1008
00:39:25,321 --> 00:39:26,946
You see Marines with sledgehammers

1009
00:39:26,947 --> 00:39:28,156
going into aircraft

1010
00:39:28,157 --> 00:39:30,951
and starting to smash
control panels to aircraft.

1011
00:40:04,985 --> 00:40:06,653
Like, everything is starting to crumble

1012
00:40:06,654 --> 00:40:09,532
and fall back to like this last Alamo.

1013
00:40:09,782 --> 00:40:12,283
The only thing staying out is security.

1014
00:40:12,284 --> 00:40:13,868
And one of those security checkpoints

1015
00:40:13,869 --> 00:40:15,328
is at the Abbey Gate.

1016
00:40:15,329 --> 00:40:15,996
And the Abbey Gate

1017
00:40:15,997 --> 00:40:18,790
was one of the few places where

1018
00:40:18,791 --> 00:40:20,376
if you had all the documentation,

1019
00:40:21,627 --> 00:40:23,461
the American government would

1020
00:40:23,462 --> 00:40:24,963
vet and proof you there.

1021
00:40:24,964 --> 00:40:26,506
And if you were on their list,

1022
00:40:26,507 --> 00:40:28,133
you could come through that gate.

1023
00:40:28,134 --> 00:40:30,093
There are offshoots,

1024
00:40:30,094 --> 00:40:32,095
factions of the Taliban.

1025
00:40:32,096 --> 00:40:33,388
Name them whatever you want.

1026
00:40:33,389 --> 00:40:35,014
ISIS-K. I don't care what you call them.

1027
00:40:35,015 --> 00:40:37,226
It's the Taliban. It's just factions.

1028
00:40:37,518 --> 00:40:39,394
They're pragmatically organized.

1029
00:40:39,395 --> 00:40:42,481
So the Taliban sent in a suicide bomber

1030
00:40:43,023 --> 00:40:45,693
to that gate, an IED, and... um...

1031
00:40:48,696 --> 00:40:49,780
blew it up.

1032
00:40:57,788 --> 00:40:59,998
The attack took place at Hamid Karzai

1033
00:40:59,999 --> 00:41:02,585
International Airport
in Kabul, Afghanistan.

1034
00:41:02,960 --> 00:41:04,586
As a result of this attack,

1035
00:41:04,587 --> 00:41:07,756
13 of our nation's best and brightest,

1036
00:41:08,424 --> 00:41:09,674
our heroes

1037
00:41:09,675 --> 00:41:11,426
paid the ultimate sacrifice

1038
00:41:11,427 --> 00:41:12,552
in an effort to save the lives

1039
00:41:12,553 --> 00:41:14,053
of American citizens

1040
00:41:14,054 --> 00:41:15,930
and thousands of Afghans

1041
00:41:15,931 --> 00:41:18,517
during the Non Combatant
Evacuation of HKIA.

1042
00:43:04,415 --> 00:43:06,499
There's so much of their life

1043
00:43:06,500 --> 00:43:09,252
that is left to be lived.

1044
00:43:09,253 --> 00:43:11,004
So many things they haven't experienced.

1045
00:43:11,005 --> 00:43:12,380
So many things they don't know.

1046
00:43:12,381 --> 00:43:14,424
They haven't been married,
they haven't had children.

1047
00:43:14,425 --> 00:43:15,800
They haven't traveled the world.

1048
00:43:15,801 --> 00:43:16,801
They haven't,

1049
00:43:17,344 --> 00:43:19,972
you know, found what they're good at.

1050
00:43:20,306 --> 00:43:22,308
They... there's so much they don't know.

1051
00:43:22,891 --> 00:43:23,891
And... uh...

1052
00:43:24,602 --> 00:43:25,893
you know, and now they're gone.

1053
00:43:25,894 --> 00:43:28,647
And they were all kids, 13 kids, you know.

1054
00:43:28,981 --> 00:43:30,898
You know, they were out there

1055
00:43:30,899 --> 00:43:35,112
helping people, you
know, giving people aid,

1056
00:43:35,821 --> 00:43:37,906
helping people get through the wire,

1057
00:43:38,699 --> 00:43:41,367
trying to do the right thing,

1058
00:43:41,368 --> 00:43:44,787
trying to represent, you know, themselves,

1059
00:43:44,788 --> 00:43:45,581
the country,

1060
00:43:45,582 --> 00:43:47,915
the military in the
best way possible, like,

1061
00:43:47,916 --> 00:43:48,959
you know, just

1062
00:43:49,710 --> 00:43:52,421
absolute heroes.

1063
00:44:04,642 --> 00:44:05,975
We knew that we would not be able

1064
00:44:05,976 --> 00:44:07,435
to send another flight in

1065
00:44:07,436 --> 00:44:08,270
and we wouldn't be able

1066
00:44:08,271 --> 00:44:09,646
to get anybody else out.

1067
00:44:09,647 --> 00:44:12,650
When the last airplane lifted out of HKIA

1068
00:44:13,025 --> 00:44:15,319
at the end of August. That was their hope.

1069
00:44:16,320 --> 00:44:17,904
The United States ended its

1070
00:44:17,905 --> 00:44:20,157
20 year war in Afghanistan today

1071
00:44:20,366 --> 00:44:21,325
with the conclusion

1072
00:44:21,326 --> 00:44:23,076
of the largest noncombatant

1073
00:44:23,077 --> 00:44:24,952
airlift in American history.

1074
00:44:24,953 --> 00:44:28,289
I remember at one point Sean G

1075
00:44:28,290 --> 00:44:31,250
was still sending me names

1076
00:44:31,251 --> 00:44:32,711
and this was like

1077
00:44:32,795 --> 00:44:35,171
right around the time we were learning that

1078
00:44:35,172 --> 00:44:36,631
this would not be possible any more.

1079
00:44:36,632 --> 00:44:37,966
And he said,

1080
00:44:38,801 --> 00:44:40,927
"We have to keep making a list.

1081
00:44:40,928 --> 00:44:43,638
And this is going to
be a list of the people

1082
00:44:43,639 --> 00:44:45,556
that we were forced to leave behind."

1083
00:44:45,557 --> 00:44:48,102
And it just felt so haunting to

1084
00:44:49,061 --> 00:44:51,771
put their names in these spreadsheets,

1085
00:44:51,772 --> 00:44:54,400
knowing that we would have all kept going

1086
00:44:55,067 --> 00:44:56,109
as long as we were able.

1087
00:44:56,110 --> 00:44:57,777
And the choice was taken away.

1088
00:44:57,778 --> 00:44:59,696
And we just thought, we had more time.

1089
00:44:59,697 --> 00:45:00,656
We're waiting on the ramp.

1090
00:45:00,657 --> 00:45:02,365
The four of us are at the very back

1091
00:45:02,366 --> 00:45:03,616
with the air crew.

1092
00:45:03,617 --> 00:45:05,702
And as the ramp closes

1093
00:45:05,703 --> 00:45:07,705
and the last little bit of light

1094
00:45:09,248 --> 00:45:11,749
from Afghanistan finally

1095
00:45:11,750 --> 00:45:13,335
closes out,

1096
00:45:13,585 --> 00:45:14,585
it's...

1097
00:45:16,922 --> 00:45:19,883
It's like this resounding gong of failure.

1098
00:45:20,426 --> 00:45:22,677
I'm surrounded by hundreds of people.

1099
00:45:22,678 --> 00:45:23,262
We had a...

1100
00:45:23,263 --> 00:45:26,014
we had a woman that started fainting.

1101
00:45:26,765 --> 00:45:28,725
Is there a doctor here?

1102
00:45:28,726 --> 00:45:30,893
14 people stand up.

1103
00:45:30,894 --> 00:45:33,104
All of them speak perfect English.

1104
00:45:33,105 --> 00:45:34,064
All of them have worked

1105
00:45:34,065 --> 00:45:36,149
for the Americans as doctors,

1106
00:45:36,150 --> 00:45:37,859
orthodontists, dentists,

1107
00:45:37,860 --> 00:45:39,235
and orthopedic surgeons

1108
00:45:39,236 --> 00:45:40,570
and open heart surgeons,

1109
00:45:40,571 --> 00:45:42,155
like they're on this plane.

1110
00:45:42,156 --> 00:45:43,740
That's who's on these planes.

1111
00:45:43,741 --> 00:45:45,241
These were amazing,

1112
00:45:45,242 --> 00:45:46,993
educated, hard working people

1113
00:45:46,994 --> 00:45:48,953
that worked and fought with Americans.

1114
00:45:48,954 --> 00:45:50,037
What our government did,

1115
00:45:50,038 --> 00:45:51,914
the decisions our government did

1116
00:45:51,915 --> 00:45:53,916
cost American lives.

1117
00:45:53,917 --> 00:45:54,917
They cost the lives of innocent

1118
00:45:54,918 --> 00:45:55,836
Afghan people.

1119
00:45:55,837 --> 00:45:57,587
And it made the world

1120
00:45:57,588 --> 00:45:59,338
a lot less safe of a place.

1121
00:45:59,339 --> 00:46:01,174
I didn't have to go pull a baby

1122
00:46:01,175 --> 00:46:02,216
out of the concertina wire.

1123
00:46:02,217 --> 00:46:03,301
But I saw it.

1124
00:46:03,302 --> 00:46:04,844
You know, I didn't
have to go and try to pull

1125
00:46:04,845 --> 00:46:07,598
baby up and over the wall. But I saw it.

1126
00:46:07,681 --> 00:46:08,307
You know, I didn't...

1127
00:46:08,515 --> 00:46:10,475
I didn't have to go pick a baby off

1128
00:46:10,476 --> 00:46:11,976
that was floating atop the crowd,

1129
00:46:11,977 --> 00:46:14,104
but I saw it. I was too busy.

1130
00:46:14,688 --> 00:46:16,355
And... and that hurts, too.

1131
00:46:16,356 --> 00:46:17,857
Like, I was too busy, you know?

1132
00:46:17,858 --> 00:46:19,567
Like did that life not value

1133
00:46:19,568 --> 00:46:20,277
more than this life,

1134
00:46:20,278 --> 00:46:21,278
especially with this life.

1135
00:46:21,279 --> 00:46:22,445
This mission got failed

1136
00:46:22,446 --> 00:46:23,613
or this mission got botched

1137
00:46:23,614 --> 00:46:24,947
or the Taliban interdicted

1138
00:46:24,948 --> 00:46:26,199
this group that's trying to link up with

1139
00:46:26,200 --> 00:46:27,283
and I never was able to make a link up

1140
00:46:27,284 --> 00:46:28,618
and I just lost 90 minutes of time

1141
00:46:28,619 --> 00:46:30,411
and had to flex off to another operation.

1142
00:46:30,412 --> 00:46:31,496
When I finally get there,

1143
00:46:31,497 --> 00:46:33,581
I link up and it's the wrong person,

1144
00:46:33,582 --> 00:46:34,749
or they brought too many people

1145
00:46:34,750 --> 00:46:35,626
and I have to tell those people

1146
00:46:35,626 --> 00:46:36,418
they can't stay. Like,

1147
00:46:36,419 --> 00:46:37,543
"You either come

1148
00:46:37,544 --> 00:46:39,879
and they stay or you don't come."

1149
00:46:39,880 --> 00:46:40,380
Like those are...

1150
00:46:40,380 --> 00:46:41,089
Those are calls

1151
00:46:41,090 --> 00:46:42,381
I shouldn't have to have had to make,

1152
00:46:42,382 --> 00:46:43,800
but those are the calls that we had to do

1153
00:46:43,801 --> 00:46:45,092
at that time, in that moment.

1154
00:46:45,093 --> 00:46:47,094
And that was just unfair.

1155
00:46:47,095 --> 00:46:48,346
It was kind of a bittersweet moment.

1156
00:46:48,347 --> 00:46:49,139
We were like,

1157
00:46:49,140 --> 00:46:50,848
okay, we got this many people out.

1158
00:46:50,849 --> 00:46:52,601
But we all knew at that moment

1159
00:46:54,061 --> 00:46:56,479
that as the United States military left,

1160
00:46:56,480 --> 00:46:59,190
we knew for a fact that there
were Americans still there.

1161
00:46:59,191 --> 00:47:01,234
And despite what the news was saying,

1162
00:47:01,235 --> 00:47:02,819
that there was 100 Americans,

1163
00:47:02,820 --> 00:47:04,195
we knew there was many more.

1164
00:47:04,196 --> 00:47:06,698
I'm feeling as if

1165
00:47:06,782 --> 00:47:07,907
a bit conflicted,

1166
00:47:07,908 --> 00:47:08,659
certainly,

1167
00:47:08,660 --> 00:47:09,784
because you can't

1168
00:47:09,785 --> 00:47:12,245
go into something like that

1169
00:47:12,246 --> 00:47:13,246
and think that you're going

1170
00:47:13,247 --> 00:47:15,039
to be 100% successful.

1171
00:47:15,040 --> 00:47:16,333
That's just the reality.

1172
00:47:43,235 --> 00:47:44,402
Everybody brought
something different to the table.

1173
00:47:44,403 --> 00:47:47,197
This perfect scenario.

1174
00:47:47,239 --> 00:47:48,781
People all came together

1175
00:47:48,782 --> 00:47:50,533
and converged at one moment.

1176
00:47:50,534 --> 00:47:51,909
It really is terrible

1177
00:47:51,910 --> 00:47:52,786
to get those messages, because

1178
00:47:52,787 --> 00:47:55,038
I feel like the world has quickly

1179
00:47:55,539 --> 00:47:58,041
tried as fast as they could
to forget these people.

1180
00:47:58,709 --> 00:48:01,878
You know, it's not okay.

1181
00:48:01,879 --> 00:48:03,254
I remember a member of Congress

1182
00:48:03,255 --> 00:48:05,048
saying to me,

1183
00:48:05,507 --> 00:48:06,507
"What's going to happen?

1184
00:48:06,508 --> 00:48:08,092
Like, we're going to be here

1185
00:48:08,093 --> 00:48:09,594
and they're going to still be messaging us

1186
00:48:09,595 --> 00:48:10,803
and we can't help them."

1187
00:48:10,804 --> 00:48:12,054
At the end of the day,

1188
00:48:12,055 --> 00:48:13,306
when you're getting

1189
00:48:13,307 --> 00:48:15,308
hundreds of texts from people

1190
00:48:15,309 --> 00:48:17,226
still pleading and begging

1191
00:48:17,227 --> 00:48:19,813
and asking for help to get out.

1192
00:48:20,814 --> 00:48:22,607
Well, you feel as though

1193
00:48:22,608 --> 00:48:24,108
maybe you didn't accomplish

1194
00:48:24,109 --> 00:48:25,735
quite as much as you might have.

1195
00:48:25,736 --> 00:48:26,570
We're still at it.

1196
00:48:26,571 --> 00:48:28,947
I mean, I can say we're...

1197
00:48:28,989 --> 00:48:30,615
we're not abandoning

1198
00:48:30,616 --> 00:48:32,533
our allies in Afghanistan. We can't.

1199
00:48:32,534 --> 00:48:32,993
It was sort of like

1200
00:48:32,994 --> 00:48:34,368
we've got to just get back to work

1201
00:48:34,369 --> 00:48:35,870
and figure out what comes next.

1202
00:48:35,871 --> 00:48:37,038
So just to throw ourselves

1203
00:48:37,039 --> 00:48:37,664
into, like, we're

1204
00:48:37,665 --> 00:48:38,831
still going to figure out

1205
00:48:38,832 --> 00:48:40,124
how to keep getting people out,

1206
00:48:40,125 --> 00:48:42,168
even if it's slowly.

1207
00:48:42,169 --> 00:48:45,212
And also we're going to make a difference

1208
00:48:45,213 --> 00:48:47,299
and really set the example for a welcoming

1209
00:48:47,591 --> 00:48:49,551
our Afghan allies to America.

1210
00:49:19,790 --> 00:49:20,915
Regardless of what they believe,

1211
00:49:20,916 --> 00:49:22,083
regardless of where they came from

1212
00:49:22,084 --> 00:49:23,167
and who they are,

1213
00:49:23,168 --> 00:49:25,294
it was just humans helping other humans.

1214
00:49:25,295 --> 00:49:27,546
You know, everyone came together.

1215
00:49:27,547 --> 00:49:28,714
There were some kids

1216
00:49:28,715 --> 00:49:30,216
that were on one of the flights

1217
00:49:30,217 --> 00:49:31,509
that I took out.

1218
00:49:31,510 --> 00:49:33,553
The first time I saw them heads down.

1219
00:49:34,763 --> 00:49:37,349
No eye contact, very quiet

1220
00:49:37,683 --> 00:49:39,809
fear in their eyes, wondering,

1221
00:49:39,810 --> 00:49:41,477
you know, who are these Americans?

1222
00:49:41,478 --> 00:49:44,481
And you know, who are these UAE folks?

1223
00:49:45,107 --> 00:49:46,941
Are they going to hurt us?

1224
00:49:46,942 --> 00:49:50,278
And then three days
later, I see them again,

1225
00:49:50,529 --> 00:49:52,113
you know, at the refugee camp.

1226
00:49:52,114 --> 00:49:53,823
And now they're all running around and

1227
00:49:53,824 --> 00:49:55,282
laughing and giggling

1228
00:49:55,283 --> 00:49:57,743
in this, like, beautiful grass

1229
00:49:57,744 --> 00:49:59,871
in Albania on the ocean.

1230
00:50:08,130 --> 00:50:09,464
And it was like, man, like

1231
00:50:10,173 --> 00:50:12,425
these kids would still be in

1232
00:50:12,426 --> 00:50:14,010
Afghanistan right now.

1233
00:50:14,011 --> 00:50:16,929
But because of our group

1234
00:50:16,930 --> 00:50:19,766
here they are about to have

1235
00:50:20,434 --> 00:50:23,103
a totally healthy, normal life.

1236
00:50:33,780 --> 00:50:34,989
The seventh time was the first time

1237
00:50:34,990 --> 00:50:36,323
we were able to get into the airport.

1238
00:50:36,324 --> 00:50:38,284
And that was the time that

1239
00:50:38,285 --> 00:50:39,493
my whole life changed.

1240
00:50:39,494 --> 00:50:41,120
Finally, I can say being in

1241
00:50:41,121 --> 00:50:43,122
America is like staying

1242
00:50:43,123 --> 00:50:46,375
in a very nice place. Like, it is free.

1243
00:50:46,376 --> 00:50:48,127
You can do anything you want.

1244
00:50:48,128 --> 00:50:50,129
It's a place full of opportunities.

1245
00:50:50,130 --> 00:50:51,297
You can find what you want.

1246
00:50:51,298 --> 00:50:52,924
You can do what you want.

1247
00:50:54,176 --> 00:50:56,219
There is nothing going to stop you in here.

1248
00:50:56,636 --> 00:50:58,137
There's too much to say about it.

1249
00:50:58,138 --> 00:51:00,514
Like I cannot express my whole feelings

1250
00:51:00,515 --> 00:51:02,308
about staying in America.

1251
00:51:02,309 --> 00:51:06,062
I have never been more proud

1252
00:51:06,063 --> 00:51:09,149
to be an American in terms of more proud of

1253
00:51:09,274 --> 00:51:11,067
my fellow Americans

1254
00:51:11,068 --> 00:51:13,320
and maybe less proud of my government...

1255
00:51:14,905 --> 00:51:16,447
all at the same time.

1256
00:51:16,448 --> 00:51:18,115
Every person

1257
00:51:18,116 --> 00:51:20,659
had an obligation to do something about,

1258
00:51:20,660 --> 00:51:21,994
even if they didn't
know what that was, like,

1259
00:51:21,995 --> 00:51:23,537
pick up the phone. Call your senators.

1260
00:51:23,538 --> 00:51:24,622
I mean, the number of times

1261
00:51:24,623 --> 00:51:26,248
I was just copying and pasting saying

1262
00:51:26,249 --> 00:51:26,875
when people are like,

1263
00:51:26,876 --> 00:51:28,794
I don't know what to do.

1264
00:51:28,835 --> 00:51:30,962
Call your senators, call the White House,

1265
00:51:31,213 --> 00:51:32,254
make your voice heard.

1266
00:51:32,255 --> 00:51:34,298
Like, you know, this is

1267
00:51:34,299 --> 00:51:35,883
people's lives are at stake.

1268
00:51:35,884 --> 00:51:36,884
People were saying,

1269
00:51:37,803 --> 00:51:39,136
you know, I'll go to Afghanistan,

1270
00:51:39,137 --> 00:51:40,805
I'll send my plane.

1271
00:51:40,806 --> 00:51:42,849
I will sponsor a family, I'll do whatever.

1272
00:51:43,100 --> 00:51:45,059
The generosity of the American

1273
00:51:45,060 --> 00:51:46,936
people was inspiring

1274
00:51:46,937 --> 00:51:48,187
and just something that I do

1275
00:51:48,188 --> 00:51:49,230
hope stays in my heart.

1276
00:51:49,231 --> 00:51:50,523
And I remember forever.

1277
00:51:50,524 --> 00:51:51,358
I mean, I can't name

1278
00:51:51,359 --> 00:51:53,234
everybody that was on the team.

1279
00:51:53,235 --> 00:51:54,485
Obviously, it was

1280
00:51:54,486 --> 00:51:56,113
it was really, really

1281
00:51:56,238 --> 00:51:57,696
inspiring

1282
00:51:57,697 --> 00:51:58,739
to be with those people

1283
00:51:58,740 --> 00:52:00,699
and to feel like we
could make a difference.

1284
00:52:00,700 --> 00:52:02,201
I'm as proud of it

1285
00:52:02,202 --> 00:52:03,953
as I am about anything

1286
00:52:03,954 --> 00:52:05,037
that I've done in the military

1287
00:52:05,038 --> 00:52:06,497
or since the military.

1288
00:52:06,498 --> 00:52:07,790
I'm angry

1289
00:52:07,791 --> 00:52:10,251
(because A) it didn't have to be like this.

1290
00:52:10,252 --> 00:52:13,046
(But B) even after we got them out,

1291
00:52:13,797 --> 00:52:15,631
nobody wants to help them anymore.

1292
00:52:15,632 --> 00:52:17,883
It's not in the news anymore.

1293
00:52:17,884 --> 00:52:19,969
It's not in the stream of consciousness.

1294
00:52:19,970 --> 00:52:22,054
We owe the people of Afghanistan

1295
00:52:22,055 --> 00:52:23,556
more than we've given them.

1296
00:52:23,557 --> 00:52:25,475
The people who were left in Afghanistan.

1297
00:52:29,521 --> 00:52:32,148
I don't think we can ever repay

1298
00:52:32,149 --> 00:52:34,191
what they've done, because they've...

1299
00:52:34,192 --> 00:52:35,818
They're left with the problem.

1300
00:52:35,819 --> 00:52:38,155
It's a broken world, a chaotic place

1301
00:52:38,947 --> 00:52:40,614
where there's always going to be

1302
00:52:40,615 --> 00:52:42,366
people in harm's way.

1303
00:52:42,367 --> 00:52:44,660
And when governments don't respond,

1304
00:52:44,661 --> 00:52:45,620
there's going to be a need

1305
00:52:45,621 --> 00:52:48,081
for good men and women to step in and help.

1306
00:52:48,582 --> 00:52:51,042
This crossed all lines. It didn't matter.

1307
00:52:51,084 --> 00:52:53,962
Race, color, creed, religion. Nobody cared.

1308
00:52:54,421 --> 00:52:55,880
Everybody came together and said,

1309
00:52:55,881 --> 00:52:58,049
this is the right thing to do for humanity

1310
00:52:58,425 --> 00:53:00,801
and this is what we're
going to do together.

1311
00:53:00,802 --> 00:53:03,179
What made you leave your family behind

1312
00:53:03,180 --> 00:53:04,931
and go do this?

1313
00:53:05,182 --> 00:53:06,683
Yeah. You know,

1314
00:53:07,767 --> 00:53:10,770
America is supposed to stand for something.

1315
00:53:11,521 --> 00:53:14,107
A lot of people

1316
00:53:14,191 --> 00:53:16,734
took huge risks

1317
00:53:16,735 --> 00:53:20,822
to try to make their
country more like ours.

1318
00:53:20,989 --> 00:53:23,365
We think about risk here.

1319
00:53:23,366 --> 00:53:26,119
And we're talking about financial risk.

1320
00:53:26,786 --> 00:53:28,704
We're talking about pride.

1321
00:53:28,705 --> 00:53:29,872
We're talking about

1322
00:53:29,873 --> 00:53:31,625
what other people might think.

1323
00:53:33,710 --> 00:53:34,669
And these people are

1324
00:53:34,670 --> 00:53:36,670
talking about their lives.

1325
00:53:36,671 --> 00:53:39,049
I was either going to
be sitting on my couch

1326
00:53:39,799 --> 00:53:40,966
tweeting about how

1327
00:53:40,967 --> 00:53:43,220
this is all fucked up,
or I was going to be,

1328
00:53:44,596 --> 00:53:45,347
you know,

1329
00:53:45,348 --> 00:53:46,764
one of the 12 people

1330
00:53:46,765 --> 00:53:49,600
that was making it a little less fucked up

1331
00:53:49,601 --> 00:53:52,270
and a little more American.

1332
00:53:54,022 --> 00:53:57,442
What America is supposed to be.

1333
00:54:00,737 --> 00:54:02,989
So I just felt like I had to go.

1334
00:59:32,986 --> 00:59:35,737
Did you ever get to see all the guys that

1335
00:59:35,738 --> 00:59:36,905
rescued you and your family?

1336
00:59:36,906 --> 00:59:39,032
Did you ever get to meet them all?

1337
00:59:39,033 --> 00:59:40,367
Not all of them.

1338
00:59:40,368 --> 00:59:42,911
I met most of them, but not all of them.

1339
00:59:42,912 --> 00:59:44,121
I didn't get a chance to.

1340
00:59:44,122 --> 00:59:46,456
If they were all standing here right now,

1341
00:59:46,457 --> 00:59:48,625
what would you want to say to them?

1342
00:59:48,626 --> 00:59:52,797
I would stand up and hug them each one

1343
00:59:53,423 --> 00:59:54,965
and I would tell them,

1344
00:59:54,966 --> 00:59:57,802
thank you very much for saving my life.

1345
00:59:58,219 --> 00:59:59,970
And I owe

1346
00:59:59,971 --> 01:00:00,888
each one of them

1347
01:00:00,889 --> 01:00:03,641
my life and my family's life forever.