‘It just looked apocalyptic’: Crew members describe final flights out of Kabul
LA TimesIt looked like a zombie apocalypse. “It just looked apocalyptic,” said Air Force Lt. Col. Braden Coleman, who was in charge of monitoring the outside of his aircraft for artillery fire and other threats. You could see the cockpit was there, and the whole rest of the plane looked like the skeleton of a fish.” In interviews Wednesday with the Associated Press, members of the Air Force’s 816th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron who flew out on the last military flights detailed their final fraught hours of what has been a dark, emotional and divisive U.S. exit from a war that now leaves Afghanistan in the hands of the same Taliban enemy it once ousted from power. “I had my NVGs on, my night-vision goggles, and I had a Raven behind me following me out, making sure that I was, you know, safe,” said Coleman, referring to a member of the specially trained security forces who protect Air Force aircraft. They were all incredibly tired.. You could tell that they were just relieved to be out of there and that their mission was accomplished.” As the last C-17 cleared Kabul airspace, Pelbath delivered a welcome message: “MAF Safe” — shorthand for saying that the Mobility Air Forces were out of harm’s way.
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‘It looked apocalyptic': Crew describes Afghan departure
Associated Press
Air Force commander details final hours before last US planes left Afghanistan
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