Soldiers and Volunteers Testify to ‘Rushed and Chaotic Withdrawal from Afghanistan’

Stories of suffering, courage, and the ongoing search for justice echoed in the House chambers on March 8, as those on the frontline of the United States’ August 2021 departure from Afghanistan spoke out.
Emotional testimony in the House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing underscored a bitter truth: many who served in Afghanistan feel they and their local Afghan allies have been hung out to dry, fueling a pervasive sense of despair.
That was driven home during an exchange between Rep. Brian Mast (R-Fla.), one of many military veterans on the committee, and Marine Sergeant Tyler Vargas-Andrews.
Vargas-Andrews’ Marine Corps Scout sniper team was sent to what was then Hamid Karzai International Airport (HKIA) in Kabul, where he described a scene of chaos and horror as tens of thousands of Afghans descended on the airport, seeking to flee the Taliban….}