The United States military leadership sat before the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives last week and answered questions about the failed exit strategy of Afghanistan. There was one line of questioning that really stood out for me. When General Milley was questioned about whether or not he thought that Afghanistan would fall as quickly as it did into the hands of the Taliban, he said he did not. Really? When the military saw how quickly the other territories fell after the U.S. military withdrew, he didn’t think that would continue to happen? We won’t know, but what we do know is that at the same time that those provinces were falling into the hands of the Taliban within days of U.S. military exit, he was testifying before the House of Representatives about being “woke.” View here.
To our active duty military and veterans, we will remember those 20 years encompassing Operation Enduring Freedom (October 2001-December 2014) and Operation Freedom’s Sentinel (January 2015-August 30, 2021). Operation Enduring Freedom suffered with total military deaths of 2,349, of which 1,845 were “hostile” actions. The Army lost 1,328 Soldiers, the Navy lost 85 Sailors, the Marines lost 378, and the Air Force lost 54 Airmen. Of the 504 non-hostile deaths, 22% were by suicide. There were 20,149 wounded. The highest fatalities were E1-E4 (1,121), and 85% of them identified as white. Operation Freedom’s Sentinel saw 77 hostile action deaths which included the 13 service members killed at the Kabul airport in August 2021. Of the 30 non-hostile deaths, nearly half of the Army deaths were suicide. Total fatalities in Operation Freedom’s Sentinel was 107 with 604 wounded. The statistics prior to the Kabul attack show the rank most affected was E5-E9, with 71% identified as white. U.S. contractor fatalities are estimated at 3,850, and NATO service members at 1,144. General Milley, if you want to understand “white rage,” you should speak with the families of your fallen service members.
The U.S. military trained and outfitted an estimated 66,000 Afghan police and soldiers. The majority of them have been killed since they took over the fighting in 2015. Up until 2015, it is estimated that 21,000 Afghans had perished in the fighting. Exact figures will never be known.
We are grateful for the service of our military. To the Afghans who fought by your side, we will keep them in our thoughts. While the Biden Administration attempts to stifle the voices of our military members, the Republican Party will fight for a strong defense led by strong men and women who know the sacrifice, understand the fight, and support our troops. We will elect a President in 2024 who will support you, love you and your families, and ensure the strength of America on the world stage once again.
Join me as we fight to make America strong again.