One of these pics is quite ugly due to an injury sustained while fighting against the Taliban. The one picture is of myself, LTC Gum and SSG Paul Mainville with our interpreter Mohammed. He is now fighting for his life against the Taliban and has sustained a pretty nasty wound to his arm while fighting. He does not have the ability to pull away from the fight because everywhere he turns he finds either enemy opposition or those who would eagerly turn him in to the Taliban due to the $20,000 bounty on the heads of anyone who served as interpreters for the Americans. Mohammed is highly intelligent and was working as a professor before he bought into the story that he could work for the Americans and help his country win their freedom and safety from the oppressive regime of the Taliban. Sadly, when we pulled out of that area we had no plans or programs to assist those who went out with us on operations and were ready to fight side by side with us at a moments notice. I cannot express how much this hurts me in my stomach when I think about how close we became with these men who only wanted a better life, the ability to educate their children and the chance to get out of an area that is known as the poorest place on earth. A few of our interpreters made it out by also working with the New Zealand Forces who chose to return to NZ with all of their interpreters to enroll them in a 5 year program that will end with all of them becoming New Zealand citizens. One of my interpreters actually made it to Ohio but his brother is in Mongolia and is getting ready to be sent back to Afghanistan because his visa is about to expire. His village knows that he worked for us and if there is no plan in place, it could be devastating as soon as he returns because the temptation for anyone in the poorest country in the world to work with the Taliban to turn in an interpreter for $20,000 is just too tempting for people who average a annual wage of around $100 US Dollars. I pray for Mohammed, Sayeed, Ali Reza and Sayeed who are still in Afghanistan with no hope in sight. As a Soldier we are told to never leave a man behind………….I feel as if we have walked away from this creed.
Posted on: Thu, 18 Sep 2014 21:22:10 +0000
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