A hearing will be held by Congress on Wednesday, March 8, 2023 on the non-combatant evacuation operation (NEO) conducted by the Department of State and Department of Defense during the month of August 2021. For two weeks the U.S. Air Force scrambled to evacuate U.S. Embassy employees, U.S. contractors, American citizens, Lawful Permanent Residents (LPRs), and holders of Special Immigrant Visas (SIV) from the Kabul International Airport.
Despite the Department of Defenses best efforts and the bravery and hard work of U.S. servicemembers not all American citizens, LPRs, and SIVs were evacuated before the NEO concluded. Numerous private volunteer organizations consisting of veterans, humanitarians, and ordinary citizens stepped in to do the job the Department of State failed to do.
The Foreign Affairs Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives will be holding a hearing about the Kabul NEO. Witnesses include:
- Francis Q. Hoang, Executive Chairman, Allied Airlift 21
- Lt. Col. (Ret.) David Scott Mann (SF), Founder, Task Force Pineapple
- Aidan Gunderson, Specialist, U.S. Army
- Peter Lucier, Team America Relief, former Marine
- Camille Mackler, Esq., Executive Director, Immigrant ARC
- Tyler Vargas-Andres, Sergeant, U.S. Marine Corps
For more information and to view the webcast click on the link below:
https://foreignaffairs.house.gov/hearing/during-and-after-the-fall-of-kabul-examining-the-administrations-emergency-evacuation-from-afghanistan/
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Photo: A Danish coalition service member holds up a Danish flag to identify families during an evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport, Kabul, Afghanistan, Aug. 21. U.S. service members and coalition forces are assisting the Department of State with a non-combatant evacuation operation (NEO) in Afghanistan. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Staff Sgt. Victor Mancilla)