Ohio combat veterans rescue 150 Afghan allies
Plain Local teacher, Army comrades use Facebook
Three U.S. Army combat veterans from Ohio who served in Afghanistan helped 150 Afghan allies escape the country last month by using a social media messaging app.
The fleeing allies were Afghanistan interpreters, hired by the Hungarian government, to help the soldiers communicate during their tour of duty.
One of the veterans is a middle school social studies teacher at the Plain Local School District.
“I couldn’t sit by and do nothing, they were stranded. I was reaching out all over social media and asked the government for help, but everyone told me this was going to be an impossible task,” Matt Carpenter, 39, of Wadsworth, told The Canton Repository.
Carpenter took to Facebook searching for help from others who served in Afghanistan.
The small group of veterans, one who did not want to be named, worked closely with two “foreign heroes” over the span of two weeks, utilizing Facebook Messenger to accomplish their unsanctioned mission, Carpenter said.
They worked with maps, sources and current military members to navigate the families around Taliban blockades to Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport.
On Aug. 23, Afghan allies reported to Carpenter they had all made it to the airport.
Over the span of three days and numerous flights, the last of the allies were flown to Hungary on Aug. 26, the same day a suicide bomb killed 13 U.S. service members and dozens of Afghans.
The Afghan allies were granted temporary asylum by the Hungarian government, which expires in November, Carpenter said.
Operation Mentor Liaison Team
Following the terrorist attacks on U.S. soil on Sept. 11, 2001, former president George W. Bush launched airstrikes in Afghanistan almost immediately, striking al-qaeda and Taliban forces.
The war had begun and Operation Enduring Freedom was underway.
In December 2002, the Afghanistan National Army (ANA) was re-conceived at an international conference in Germany.
The Ohio Army National Guard entered into a partnership with the Hungarian government, Rick Stockburger, 37, of Warren, said.
“Operation Mentor Liaison Team or OMLT’S mission was to train the Afghan National Army alongside the Hungarian
Army’s special operation forces, live on the ANA’S base for a year or so, training, advising and assisting the ANA in combat situations,” Stockburger said.
The mission operated under the Hungarian government’s command.
“We are combat experts, and we helped plan offensives that the ANA had to be on the forefront of, showing their presence. We provided a safety blanket because the U.S. had more combat power... we had more advanced weapons,” Carpenter added.
The group of combat veterans worked with about 30 interpreters during their time overseas. The interpreters helped both U.S. and Hungarian soldiers communicate with the Afghan National Army while training for combat and working in the field against the Taliban.
“The interpreters were there because of what America was promising, which was at the end of this, they’d have human rights, they’d be able to vote, their daughters could grow up and go to school,” Stockburger said.
“The interpreters served our nation in war, wearing an American uniform and flag, who were as much a part of the American war as we were,” Carpenter added.
Carpenter said he wouldn’t be alive today without their help.
What happened to the interpreters?
In the weeks leading up to President Joe Biden’s Aug. 31 deadline for the complete withdraw of the U.S. military presence in Afghanistan, the men worked around the clock to get their allies safely out of the country.
The small group started holding daily briefings and assigning one another to monitor Facebook Messenger for nearly 24 hours a day. The time difference was challenging, Carpenter said.
“It started with a couple names of interpreters we had kept in contact with over the years, then the list grew bigger and bigger,” Carpenter recalled.
The group of 150 Afghan allies were mostly women and children, members of the interpreters’ families.
Carpenter said he and his comrades called in every favor they had, to any remaining contact they had overseas, to help get them out of Afghanistan.
Carpenter served seven years as an infantryman and staff sergeant, and Stockburger served seven years as an infantryman and corporal.
The pair met while deployed in Kosovo where they served 18 months in 2007.
Carpenter said he was frustrated, saddened and angered by the U.S. government’s messy withdrawal, leaving hundreds of people behind, including their interpreters and their families.
The frustrated veterans had a common goal.
“The messages I received from the interpreters asking for help is what motivated me most,” Carpenter said, citing that one of text messages mentioned the Taliban had gone to an interpreter’s home and threatened to kill his son.
Was America’s withdrawal successful?
“Mainstream media is sugarcoating everything ... How could you say that was a success?” Carpenter asked.
“I can’t think of a crueler fate than what the U.S. gave them... They are gonna go back to the Stone Age. They went all in on us, and we built a military based on western technology and the U.S. government pulled the rug out from underneath them.”
Stockburger, CEO and founder of BRITE Energy Innovators, agrees.
“I joined the military because America was the moral high ground. We have the role of big brother and big sister. We are supposed to be there for those who need our help,” Stockburger said.
Carpenter said the Afghanistan National Army, even after the presence and assistance of the U.S. military for 20 years, is still a baby in grand scheme of things.
“They were brave, but they didn’t know what to do... The Taliban are experts at guerrilla warfare,” Carpenter said.
Ohio combat veterans continue to help
The same group of combat veterans who helped rescue their 150 Afghan allies have now set up a Gofundme account.
The account was organized by Stockburger and Carpenter, with the goal of reaching $5,000 to be split among the interpreters and their families. As of Thursday morning, more than 70 donors had contributed over $10,000.
To donate to the Afghanistan ally interpreter families effort, visit https://gofund.me/b2d2405b.
Reach Cassandra at cnist@gannett.com; Twitter @Cassienist