Five years after the fall of Kabul, veterans of the 2021 evacuation reflect on the moral burden placed on young service members during the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Five years have passed since the fall of Kabul and the subsequent Operation Allies Refuge, the largest noncombatant evacuation in U.S. history. Conducted in August 2021, the operation placed the burden of executing a complex withdrawal on young service members. Many of those tasked with managing the airport gates were teenagers who had not yet been born when the war in Afghanistan began.

The Burden of Execution

The evacuation was marked by intense chaos as thousands of civilians pressed against airport gates for two weeks. Service members, many of whom were 19 or 20 years old, faced the difficult task of managing the crowds while operating in extreme heat and under significant pressure. The author, a captain who served as an aide-de-camp during the planning, notes that the moral weight of the withdrawal fell on these individuals rather than the officials who scripted the policy in Washington and Doha.

Policy and Oversight Failures

The withdrawal was shaped by agreements made by both the Trump and Biden administrations. The Trump administration signed an agreement with the Taliban in 2020 that included the release of 5,000 prisoners. The Biden administration subsequently oversaw the full withdrawal despite warnings from military leaders like Gen. Mark Milley and Gen. Frank McKenzie, who had recommended keeping 2,500 troops in the country. A State Department after-action review later cited a lack of senior-level consideration for worst-case scenarios.

Ongoing Legislative Stagnation

The author highlights a continued failure to support Afghan allies, noting that the Afghan Adjustment Act has failed to pass in three consecutive Congresses. Furthermore, the Trump administration has suspended visas for Afghan nationals, and the State Department reports that no Special Immigrant Visas have been issued in 2026. Currently, over 23,000 approved principal applicants remain in limbo while the Afghanistan Temporary Protected Status Act of 2026 awaits legislative action.