Thread by @ChuckNadd

THREAD: My name is Chuck Nadd. I deployed twice to Afghanistan as a US Army Aviator. Last Wednesday, as the situation in Kabul was deteriorating, like so many other vets, I looked for ways to help. (1/16)

There is a pretty robust group of West Point grads on Facebook that helps each other out with career and networking asks. (2/16)

Early last week, I noticed a huge influx of requests on the group to help American citizens and Afghans, mostly interpreters, who had been instrumental in helping West Point grads during their deployments over two decades of war. (3/16)

There is no question about the loyalty of this incredible group. They put everything on the line to help US forces, despite the grave danger to them and their families. In return, the US promised freedom and security should the Taliban return to power. (4/16)

As more and more postings came onto the West Point group asking for help, we noticed a level of detail being discussed better suited for an encrypted platform, so I launched a WhatsApp chain for USMA grads facilitating Kabul departures. (5/16)

More and more grads joined, followed by an influx of others from the larger military and veteran community. (6/16)

By Friday, our modest “Kabul Departures” group had surpassed WhatsApp’s 256 participant limit, so we migrated to Signal (1000 participant limit) and continued to grow with more military personnel, Capitol Hill staffers, @StateDept personnel, and others. (7/16)

Critically, everyone was operating in an unofficial capacity, volunteering their time, energy, and knowledge. There are other groups out there (@n1leftbehind, Evacuate Our Allies, @AlliedAirlift21, Humans First, Great Campaign, etc) doing so much good work. (8/16)

As “Kabul Departures” has always been focused on sharing information, we are not seeking to raise any funds, but others are. We are working to create a consolidated listing at digitaldunkirk.com. (9/16)

The sheer magnitude of the results, which is a story better told by someone else at a later time, has been nothing short of a miracle from God. (10/16)

I have been hesitant to share this for a number of reasons, but I decided to do so now, one week into this work, because Americans need to regain faith in each other. (11/16)

The world has been through an incredibly difficult past couple years and it often seems like the forces that seek to divide us are stronger than those that unite us. Good will always eventually triumph. (12/16)

I’ve always been an optimist, but after seeing what this incredible group has been able to accomplish with such few resources, in such little time, my faith in America’s future is renewed. (13/16)

We live in the greatest country in the world, and there’s a generation of combat-tested leaders that recognize the work that lies ahead. (14/16)

The situation in Kabul is dire, but there are thousands working behind the scenes to bring all Americans home and to fulfill our nation’s sacred promises. (15/16)

Keep the faith! As we said after those terrible attacks twenty years ago, #UnitedWeStand.

Life is Beautiful,
Chuck

(16/16) // END