Air Force commander details final hours before last US planes left Afghanistan

Washington CNN — The Air Force commander who helped oversee the final withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan detailed the historic experience on Thursday, explaining how forces spent a mere three hours swiftly loading up several military planes during the last mission of America’s longest war. Lt. Col. Alex Pelbath, the mission commander of the final five US military planes out of Afghanistan, told CNN in an interview that there were a total of 18 missions executed during the chaotic exit from the country and that he was on-board the final plane that left Afghanistan on Monday, when the US fully withdrew troops from the country. “My particular jet was on the ground only for about an hour and 15 minutes, maybe an hour and a half.” The comments from Pelbath provide fresh insight into the final hours of the US’ 20-year war and come as officials grapple with how exactly they’re going to scrutinize the dramatic last days of the conflict, in which US forces rushed to evacuate Americans and Afghan allies in a nearly month-long episode that turned violent when a terrorist attack at Kabul’s airport killed 13 US service members. Pelbath, who graduated from the Air Force Academy shortly before the 9/11 attacks and said his career has revolved around Afghanistan, described the evacuation missions as the “hardest three weeks of everybody’s lives.” Afghan evacuees board a C-17 at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan.