ST. LOUIS — “It's just a country that all they know is war and struggle,” said a retired military officer, talking to 5 On Your Side from his truck somewhere in Missouri. We’ve chosen to identify him only as such because he doesn’t want to share anything that could compromise what he’s trying to do. As he shared on the phone call, lives are on the line.
“I went over as a combat adviser to Afghanistan,” he said. This was in 2010. “We would go out and I would take four Afghanistan army colonels with me. I used them as my interpreters.”
He says they'd often pass intel to help the American cause—often helping root out corruption in the Afghan ranks. They’d also stand beside American troops in battle.
The officer is speaking to 5 On Your side to share his own views and perspective. He is quick to point out that he does not speak for the U.S. Military or anyone else besides himself.
One of those interpreters became a Facebook friend to the officer. Over the last decade, little more than the occasional holiday well-wish was shared, but they connected over their very real-world experiences together.
“Who I’m trying to get over here, let's just say we have been attacked many times together. We've been through a few explosions. We have lost people over there that, you know, some of these people that would give us information were killed two weeks after they'd given us information. I mean, it was a very real threat there.”
Several weeks ago, the Facebook friendship became a lifeline.
“My colonel reached out and he said--I think I'm in very good danger now. And they are assassinating some people,” he said. He advised the colonel to pack his bags. As he saw the situation unfolding, he knew he had to do more. “I said, ‘Colonel, yes, I won't rest until we can get you to some sort of safety.”
That goes for the colonel and the rest of his family—eight people in total, who he says might need to separate to escape. However, the officer says it’s important to him that the whole families of those who helped U.S. troops are brought to safety, so they can’t be captured and used against them.
He says it was a confusing and difficult task to figure out how to help—but now he's serving as a contact between the colonel and the state department.
“Brothers in arms share a common bond. And when you bleed and fight together and you save each other's lives, that kind of goes to the end of time,” he said.
He says he understands the national security concerns that come with bringing Afghan citizens to the United States right now. It’s why he says his main goal is to get his friend out of harm’s way, before going through the proper process.
“I just want to get them in [the] system so [they] can vet them. And then I want to get out of the way because I trust what our state department and our department of defense does. So I haven't known this guy for ten years side by side. Now, would I trust my life to him again if I were back in Afghanistan? You can darn well bet I would be looking him up immediately,” he added.
The officer thinks now, the colonel and his family have a chance.
“This would give some form of closure. I was able to give something back to eight people that gave so much. I put my life on the line over there for one year. He's had his life on the line ever since he started helping the U.S.,” he said.