Holding the Line:

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DEMILITARIZATION

On the morning of Aug. 27, explosive ordnance disposal Marines conducted a post-blast analysis. They concluded the bomber utilized a suicide vest or backpack containing 20 pounds of explosives and hundreds of ball bearings. He detonated the device from the canal wall opposite the Marines outside the gate, only 20 feet away. 

At noon, U.S. servicemembers gathered on the runway at the ramp of a C-17. One by one, pallbearers escorted 13 flag-draped caskets onto the aircraft. The lives claimed by the attack ranked as one of the highest numbers of U.S. fatalities in a single incident from the entire 20-year war in Afghanistan.

Marines spent the final days before the Aug. 31 deadline preparing to leave. Many engaged in the “demilitarization” of the airport. The intent was to deny the Taliban use of any military equipment. Hundreds of vehicles, aircraft, weapons, computers, radios, and every other type of gear imaginable would be left at HKIA. Commanders tasked the Marine and U.S. Army units with destroying all of it. Marines dropped thermite grenades through engine blocks, slashed tires, and smashed control panels to pieces. Sledgehammers, halligan bars, axes, and anything else they could find replaced rifles as their chosen weapons of opportunity. However, the “demil” order originated, the expectation of what should be destroyed swiftly expanded in its translation down to those carrying it out. At the gates, Marines were often left on their own to make life and death decisions for civilians. Now, throughout the airport, Marines were left on their own to decide what items warranted destruction.

“The Turkish military left their barracks, and we were standing in their living quarters,” remembered Cpl Markland. “We just thought OK, if we aren’t going to be here to use it, then certainly not the Taliban. We were going to do everything we could to make it uninhabitable for them. We were going to take away the amenities that anyone would appreciate.”

Marines smashed TVs and refrigerators. They broke apart tables and chairs. They forced open every locked door and demolished anything found on the other side. Across the airport, Marines everywhere unleashed nearly two weeks of pent-up anxiety and aggression. They felt helpless in the face of ongoing horror outside the gates. They thirsted for revenge in the wake of the attack that killed 13 of their brothers and sisters. Every window begged to be smashed. Every blank wall space looked naked without “F--K ISIS” in spray paint. Before them lay an entire base full of cathartic opportunity.

HKIA reserved a final bad memory for many Marines. In their last hours on the ground, Marines were ordered to police call the airport and clean up the destruction just completed. They were told that they took the order too far. They returned to specific areas to pick up the pieces and flip vehicles back onto shredded tires. Some unlucky few were stuck policing the areas where civilians waited in groups to board aircraft. Without adequate facilities, civilians defecated in whatever container they had or directly on the ground. Trash and filth of every kind imaginable remained. The police call seemed a fitting end to their time in Afghanistan.

The final American aircraft lifted out of HKIA before midnight on Aug. 30, completing the largest NEO airlift in U.S. history. Officially known as Operation Allies Refuge (OAR), 800 military or civilian aircraft evacuated nearly 125,000 civilians over a 17-day period. 

EPILOGUE: A MORAL INJURY

The impressive numbers did little to assuage the feelings of the Marines who endured HKIA. Now two years later, the memories are ever-present, and reminders are constant. Tyler Vargas-Andrews, the Reaper 2 team member severely wounded by the blast, gave a compelling testimony before Congress in March, highlighting the questions and concerns about the operation echoed by many Marines. As recently as April, the Taliban announced they killed one of the key ISIS-K players who planned the bombing at Abbey gate.

In August 2022, on the one-year anniversary of the attack at Abbey Gate, Cpl Joe Laude worked through the contact list on his phone, checking in with everyone he knew from HKIA. Laude served as a machine-gunner with Echo Co, 2/1, working at Abbey Gate and rushing 100 meters to the scene of the attack to evacuate casualties after the bomb went off. An idea arose; rather than contacting everyone individually, what if he created a hub where everyone could come for community when they needed it?

“At that one-year anniversary, I already knew OAR veterans had a lot of unanswered questions, a lot of guilt and shame about their service,” Laude said. “I needed to do something.”

He formulated a plan and worked with others to develop the idea. The group founded a 501(c)(3) called OAR Foundation with the mission to provide a community for OAR veterans, preserve the history of the evacuation, and explore the operation’s “moral injury” on the those who were there. 

“Moral injury is a guilt or shame-based ailment,” Laude explained. “It can be co-occuring with post-traumatic stress, but I think the biggest difference is the guilt. I think many times, the guilt is what can more quickly lead someone toward suicide. We are slowly researching all of these things and recently brought on a psychologist into the organization to help us build up that research.”

As the vast majority of OAR veterans leave the Corps or move on to different commands, they try to decipher how that horror-packed two weeks will fit into the rest of their lives. Even for veterans with combat deployments prior to August 2021, HKIA held experiences unlike anything they had ever seen before. OAR Foundation hopes to play a key role in finding answers and accountability, while providing a forum for veterans to share their experience. As they forge ahead, those stories will shape the legacy of the Marines and Navy corpsmen whose lives were changed at HKIA and preserve the memories of the 13 servicemembers killed in action.

The lessons learned from this tragedy remain in infancy, even two years later. Most will only be revealed as more truth comes to light. When something horrific occurs, the duality of man emerges. The evacuation of HKIA brought out the worst that humanity has to offer. It also brought out the best. No matter how bad it gets, no matter how completely evil holds the day, there will always be someone willing to act for good, even in the face of chaos and utter exhaustion. Someone will always be willing to hold the line. At HKIA, Marines held.

Author’s note: For the Marines who served at HKIA, thank you for allowing me to share a glimpse into your experience. Each and every one of you has a story worth telling. I encourage you to do so. It would be impossible to capture everything that happened there in one story. I hope my efforts have done you justice. For more information on OAR Foundation, visit www.operationalliesrefugefoundation.org.

Originally Published in Leatherneck magazine, August 2023.

While in Afghanistan with 1/8, Mike Markland recorded over 50 hours of video. 

Below is a compilation that helps bring his experience of the evacuation at HKIA to life.

THE FALLEN

We honor the 13 servicemembers killed in action on Aug. 26, 2021, while conducting noncombatant evacuation operations in Afghanistan. They were brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, and parents. They were soldiers, Sailors, and Marines. They went to Afghanistan not in the name of combat, but to help their fellow man. They held the line, in the face of chaos and danger, and sacrificed their lives so that others might experience peace. We honor their memory, and offer our most sincere condolences to their loved ones. May we uphold their legacy and cherish the freedoms they protected. Until we meet again, Semper Fidelis.

SSgt Darin T. Hoover

USMC, Echo Co, 2/1, age 31

Sgt Johanny Rosario Pichardo

USMC, JTF-CR (TF 51-5th MEB),

age 25

Sgt Nicole L. Gee

USMC, CLB-24, 24th MEU, age 23

Cpl Daegan W. Page

USMC, Golf Co, 2/1, age 23

Cpl Humberto A. Sanchez

USMC, Golf Co, 2/1, age 22

Cpl Hunter Lopez

USMC, Golf Co, 2/1, age 22

LCpl David L. Espinoza

USMC, Golf Co, 2/1, age 20

LCpl Dylan R. Merola

USMC, Golf Co, 2/1, age 20

LCpl Jared M. Schmitz

USMC, Golf Co, 2/1, age 20

LCpl Kareem M. Nikoui

USMC, Golf Co, 2/1, age 20

LCpl Rylee J. McCollum

USMC, Golf Co, 2/1, age 20

HM3 Maxton W. Soviak

USN, Golf Co, 2/1, age 22

SSG Ryan C. Knauss

USA, Bravo Co, 9th PSYOPS Bn,

age 23