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the early withdrawl afghan left soldiers depressed - Charon - 08-31-2024
Afghanistan withdrawal takes toll on US veterans’ mental health: retired lieutenant colonel
Over 775,000 American service members deployed to Afghanistan from 2001 through 2021
Jasmine Baehr By Jasmine Baehr Fox News
Published August 31, 2024 4:00am EDT
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Veterans face mental health crises after Afghanistan withdrawal: 'Not the outcome that any of us wanted'
Three years after the deaths of 13 American service members at Abbey Gate during the hasty withdrawal from Afghanistan, veterans are voicing their opinions about the toll that experience has taken on them.
Mission Roll Call CEO and retired Lt. Col. Jim Whaley gave an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital to honor those service members' sacrifices.
Mission Roll Call is a national nonprofit whose mission is to "gather and deliver the unfiltered, unbiased, and apolitical voice of veterans and their supporters across America, advocating for meaningful improvements and ensuring their concerns and ideas are heard at the highest levels of policy-making," according to its website.
A poll of veterans nationwide from Mission Roll Call found that 70% believe the 2021 Afghanistan withdrawal "negatively affected the way they view America’s legacy on the Global War on Terror and their service more broadly."
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US soldiers Abbey Gate Afghanistan
U.S. soldiers stand guard behind barbed wire as Afghans sit on a roadside near the military part of the airport in Kabul Aug. 20, 2021, hoping to flee from the country after the on Taliban's military takeover of Afghanistan. (Wakil Kohsari/AFP via Getty Images)
Over 775,000 U.S. service members have deployed to Afghanistan since 2001. Many veterans carry uncertainty about the purpose of their sacrifice, according to Mission Roll Call.
"Unfortunately, after the Afghanistan withdrawal, there was, you know, a spike in emergency calls from veterans, suffering from anxiety and PTSD. We know that the vast majority of veterans feel betrayed from the withdrawal. It has spiked a lot of emotions," said Lt. Col. Whaley.
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According to the National Center for PTSD, 7 out of every 100 veterans live with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The same center discovered that veterans who have deployed are three times as likely to develop PTSD than their domestic counterparts.
"Our poll shows, through Mission Roll Call, that 72% of veterans believe the Taliban's advance into Afghanistan was a reason, for their personal reflection [or] sadness. [The] vast majority of our veterans, 83%, are not satisfied with the level of accountability among senior leaders and civilians due to the withdrawal," said Whaley.
Trump lays a wreath at Arlington National Cemetery
Former President Trump participated in a wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery on the third-year anniversary of the Abbey Gate bombing that killed 13 U.S. service members during the Afghanistan withdrawal. (Pool)
"So, when you think about the sacrifices that veterans and their families made for two decades, in the fight against terrorism, and then to have the withdrawal happen the way it did, you can understand why this causes mistrust, causes anxiety and causes a general feeling of why did I do all that? Why such a sacrifice?" he added.
Thirteen American service members, mostly Marines, lost their lives during the withdrawal while aiding in evacuation efforts on Aug. 26, 2021.
Taliban afghanistan
A Taliban member checks an explosion site near the Kabul airport in Afghanistan Aug. 27, 2021. (Saifurahman Safi/Xinhua via Getty Images)
September is Suicide Prevention Month in the U.S., and Mission Roll Call seeks to meet veterans where they are regarding mental health issues, including those related to the Afghanistan withdrawal.
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"We know that on any given day, we lose 22 veterans. So, that number is extraordinarily high," Whaley said. "A great embarrassment for our country. We need to get that number to zero. We need to strive as a nation to drive suicides among veterans to zero
"We've lost more veterans to suicide than we have for the entire war against terror. And that, to me, seems a tragedy."
If you or a loved one is having suicidal thoughts, dial 988 to reach the suicide hotline.
Jasmine is a writer at Fox News Digital and a military spouse based in New Orleans. Stories can be sent to jasmine.baehr@fox.com
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wysiwyg87
13 hours ago
I would not understand anyone in uniform voting the regimen back in, it is a hardship to tolerate the current state of affairs from a regimen that is willing to sacrifice our lives for their oligarch ways, and to continue to put in power the very same people that tend to throw us under the bus and ...See more
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merelyaman
12 hours ago
We didn't learn much from Vietnam other then to honor and treat our returning military with respect..The political games are always a problem..If you fight a war, step aside, give the Generals the go ahead and let us win..you can't win limited wars and political intervention
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willie108357
11 hours ago
To this day, neither Biden nor Harris has taken any responsibility for the excess spending that even some liberal economists warned would ignite price inflation. Worse, Harris has begun her campaign by spinning out even more spending programs which she maintains will curb rising prices. Harris want...See more
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vetsop1
11 hours ago
I served 21 years and my son is now on his 8th year, he started his career under Trump and said the difference between Trump and now that's so lobsided and out of place it's not funny. instead of concentrating on lethality and being prepared, they have to go into meetings once a month so they can m...See more
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spartacus311
12 hours ago
That Afghanistan Withdrawal fiasco was really something. Hard to understand the generals going along with it.
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WhatNow527
14 hours ago
The ones left behind by Biden/Harris paid an even bigger price, and their families were given a life sentence of pain and suffering. Meanwhile, the Dems who could not be found at Arlington complained because Trump was there.
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DarenG.
11 hours ago
It was a tragedy. I never served in the military but the Afghanistan ?? withdrawal still seems surreal. Just like I want the memory of President Trumps assassination to dissappear from my brain, the Afghanistan withdrawal is seared into my brain forever. All I can do about it is vote against the...See more
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diverdownmaui437
13 hours ago
This is the major reason why this cowardly act of the progressive democrats needs to be investigated and the people responsible held accountable. This was a deliberate act to undermine the work of the previous administration and this was one of the unintended consequences. There needs to be accou...
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waynepeterkin
11 hours ago
NEVER trust a democrat. They will reverse positions and abandon any friend or ally for a political purpose.
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michelleobamaisaman
13 hours ago
Biden is entirely accountable for the Afghanistan withdrawal.
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