{"id":709671,"date":"2021-09-02T11:06:01","date_gmt":"2021-09-02T15:06:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=709671"},"modified":"2021-09-02T11:06:03","modified_gmt":"2021-09-02T15:06:03","slug":"we-will-keep-going-as-long-as-we-can-former-special-forces-operator-describes-ongoing-afghanistan-evacuation-mission","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/we-will-keep-going-as-long-as-we-can-former-special-forces-operator-describes-ongoing-afghanistan-evacuation-mission\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018We Will Keep Going As Long As We Can\u2019: Former Special Forces Operator Describes Ongoing Afghanistan Evacuation Mission"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">36<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fwe-will-keep-going-as-long-as-we-can-former-special-forces-operator-describes-ongoing-afghanistan-evacuation-mission%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=709671&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p><span>On Thursday, Travis Dale Peterson spoke with the Daily Wire\u2019s \u201cMorning Wire\u201d about the awe-inspiring effort by a group of former U.S. Special Forces personnel who are now organizing a massive rescue effort of Afghan allies from Afghanistan.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Peterson is a retired Air Force Master Sergeant and a board&nbsp;<\/span><span>member with&nbsp;<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/arksalus.org\/\"><span>Ark Salus<\/span><\/a><span>, \u201ca group of private American citizens and former U.S. Special Operations advisors with unique expertise,\u201d driven by a \u201cmoral obligation to assist and protect the Afghans who assisted and protected\u201d them during the War in Afghanistan.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cMyself and two others developed it about three weeks ago prior to the fall of Kabul,\u201d Peterson said, explaining the origins of the Ark Salus organization.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cOur goal was to evacuate the families of the commandos,\u201d Peterson continued, \u201cso the commandos could stay and fight and stand for Kabul.\u201d Unfortunately, Kabul fell to the Taliban \u201ca lot quicker than anticipated,\u201d so the mission of the organization changed from getting the families of the commandos to safety to getting both the commandos and their families to safety.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Peterson explained that he has \u201cbeen with these guys for over a decade,\u201d on counter-drug and counter-terrorism missions. The initial intent behind this mission was to save the families of these commandos so they did \u201cnot have to worry about their families while they fought.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Their biggest concern, Peterson said, was \u201cget my families to another country and we are going to fight and fight and fight.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cThey\u2019re the most dedicated people I\u2019ve ever seen,\u201d Peterson noted. However, despite \u201ccommandos holding cities that would go in and take out the Taliban,\u201d a lack of support from the \u201clower echelon of troops\u201d meant that Afghan special forces were fighting for days without backup.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Peterson then explained the experience he and his colleague Jariko Denman experienced when they arrived in Afghanistan during the final weeks of the U.S. withdrawal. Peterson described the \u201cabsolute culture shock\u201d they faced, witnessing \u201cabsolute destruction\u201d of special mission facilities and aircraft, driven by a \u201cmob mentality\u201d of unstructured Taliban fighters, some of whom are as young as 13-years-old.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cUnfortunately, everything was destroyed,\u201d Peterson said. \u201cIt was absolute destruction. I\u2019ve done so many things in my life and been so many different places. It just took me, it took my breath away, to be honest with you.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_282723\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" readability=\"32\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-282723\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-282723\" src=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Damaged-Equipment-768x576.jpg\" alt=\"Damaged Equipment in Afghanistan\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dw-wp-production.imgix.net\/2021\/09\/Damaged-Equipment-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dw-wp-production.imgix.net\/2021\/09\/Damaged-Equipment-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/dw-wp-production.imgix.net\/2021\/09\/Damaged-Equipment-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/dw-wp-production.imgix.net\/2021\/09\/Damaged-Equipment-2048x1536.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-282723\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>Image Courtesy of Travis Peterson<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><span>When asked why the Biden administration is seemingly intent on \u201ctrusting\u201d the Taliban, despite the havoc they\u2019ve wreaked in the region, Peterson\u2019s response was clear.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cFor our administration to even think of trusting the Taliban is absolutely ridiculous,\u201d Peterson said.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>According to Peterson, his team has been able to rescue around 200 to 300 people, all people who are exposed and on the Taliban\u2019s enemy list.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cAll of my commandos, all my commandos and all my pilots and flight engineers. That\u2019s what I\u2019m doing this for, was for those guys specifically, and then it just kind of turned into a massive evacuation of anybody that we could grab,\u201d Peterson said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Asked whether an end is in sight for this mission, Peterson said that they \u201cwill keep going as long as we can for as many as we can.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cThere\u2019s still 500 American citizens in Kabul right now. American citizens that cannot get out and our government left them behind. Now, multiply that with all of the Afghans that helped us for the last 20 years that fought side-by-side with me,\u201d Peterson explained. \u201cSaved my life numerous times, countless times, and I owe them this and I\u2019m talking to them daily, hourly, by the minute, from their command structure, all the way down to their lowest guy, trying to come for them.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cThey know that death is coming for them,\u201d Peterson added. \u201cThey know it\u2019s the very next day, or the hour. They know their children, their wives are going to be burned alive. They know what\u2019s happening and it\u2019s disgusting.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Peterson concluded by noting that, despite rhetoric from the Biden administration that has placed blame for the collapse of the country at the feet of Afghan military forces, resistance efforts are going to continue.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cThey\u2019re not going to go down,\u201d Peterson said. \u201cThey\u2019re not going to give up. They would rather die than ever choose that life.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Peterson then explained what can be done to help those who remain behind.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_282725\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" readability=\"32\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-282725\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-282725\" src=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Airport-768x576.jpg\" alt=\"Kabul Airport\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dw-wp-production.imgix.net\/2021\/09\/Airport-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dw-wp-production.imgix.net\/2021\/09\/Airport-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/dw-wp-production.imgix.net\/2021\/09\/Airport-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/dw-wp-production.imgix.net\/2021\/09\/Airport-2048x1536.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-282725\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>Image Courtesy of Travis Peterson<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><span>\u201cThere\u2019s so many things that can be done, if this administration would just get off their ass and do something about it,\u201d Peterson explained. \u201cIt\u2019s this simple, we need a couple borders opened up with safe passage. They give them safe passage into these borders. I can get them in, get them out to another country that has already accepted asylum procedures for these guys.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cWe\u2019ve coordinated with Bahrain, Sri Lanka, Czech Republic, numerous countries that will take these people in,\u201d Peterson added. \u201cAll we need to do is get them out of Afghanistan. It\u2019s that freaking simple.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cWhat I tell all of my guys, all the commandos is that we\u2019re with them. The world is with them,\u201d Peterson said. \u201cEverybody\u2019s watching, and it\u2019s just going to take time.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cOur window of opportunity closed last night, when that C-17 left,\u201d Peterson said while noting the end of the U.S. withdrawal, adding that the focus is now going to be \u201ca whole lot more mission planning\u201d with more complicated stakes.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>When asked whether Peterson and the other Special Forces soldiers working to evacuate Americans and their allies had permission from the active duty military, his response epitomized Ark Salus\u2019 mission.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cUs in this community are known for our resources, resourcefulness of getting things done. And that, that includes not asking for permission.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Travis Peterson spoke with Daily Wire\u2019s Editor in Chief John Bickley on the latest episode of the <a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/morning-wire\/id1576594336?i=1000534081783\">Morning Wire<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Learn more about Ark Salus, and donate towards their mission, on their website, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/arksalus.org\/\"><span>arksalus.org<\/span><\/a><span>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span>The Daily Wire is one of America\u2019s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a<\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/subscribe\"><i><span> member<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span>.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On Thursday, Travis Dale Peterson spoke with the Daily Wire\u2019s \u201cMorning Wire\u201d about the awe-inspiring effort by a group of former U.S. Special Forces personnel who are now organizing a &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-709671","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/709671","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=709671"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/709671\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=709671"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=709671"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=709671"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}