I didn't serve in Afghanistan. My connection starts with 9/11 and voluntarily getting mobilized by my Reserve unit that first night for "just 2 weeks" that led to another 9 years of service and 3 Iraq tours. I lost interpreters, local partners, and friends in that time.
My own mental health collapsed years after I took off the uniform. I saw death, loss, joy, triumph and pain but it led to so much. I've made a post-service life of continued service. I've been able to help fellow veterans and work to save our democracy.
My feelings today are decidedly mixed. I believe it was time to end this 20 year war. I am frustrated with the chaotic departure. I am sad knowing so many will suffer under the Taliban and we could have done more for our interpreters and partners for the last decade.
But, let's be clear. Staying was never the right choice. This week 13 servicemembers were killed and almost 200 Afghans. That would be the largest terrorist attack in the US since 9/11, in Afghanistan it was another day. To stop another attack we rightly killed a terrorist...
...and 10 innocent civilians including several children. See, that's modern war. It's not being stationed in Germany or Japan. Its death from a drone 10,000 feet up. It's "collateral damage" of children. It's the calculus that one life is more valuable than another.
We didn't "lose" the Afghan war. It's just over. At some point we stop killing people. For those that haven't lived this war as a military family its been a distant idea. For our all-volunteer military it's been the constant background music to every moment for a generation.
Even if you didn't go, many of us joined because of 9/11. We charged off to 'defend the nation.' But those that saw war know the smell of death; the visceral moment as they read the roll call and your buddy doesn't answer; hovering over casualty reports as your kids sleep;...
...the dissonance of being proud your kid is following your footsteps into the Army but the terror knowing they could get killed in the dirt of a country on the other side of the world because they did. I have watched so many of my fellow vets in agony this last 2 weeks.
In the end...after it all...the war is simply over. Now we heal those who are broken. We help those in need. We settle those who escaped. We free those still trapped. Our mission continues but the scars will linger for so many. Even if we didn't get them in Afghanistan.
If you're a veteran...please reach out. Don't suffer alone. Don't let it get dark. There is light. There is new. life. I know. I found it when I thought I was done. I'm not done yet. Neither are you. If you are one of those still saying we should have killed more people....
...just shut up. For once...just stop talking. A mentor I had once said "in an industrial strength insurgency, when you kill one...you create three more." He was right. It's an endless cycle. That mentor is on TV now singing a different tune. For us soldiers its time to move on.
My new mission is to help those who my peers help save with their tireless work. I'm starting right here in St. Louis and anywhere I can. Let's #WelcomeThemHere and fulfill our promises. If we stayed for 20 years to help the Afghan people then let's not stop now. Let's help here.
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