In this episode, we discuss:

*Alpha/1/8’s deployment prior to heading to Hamid Karzai International Airport (HKIA) including the training it did in preparation for the non-combatant evacuation operation (NEO)

*Sam’s reaction to the news that his company was heading to HKIA and how his Marines were informed

*Sam’s use of TDGs set at HKIA in preparation of the NEO

*His understanding of the situation on the ground before arriving at HKIA

*A/1/8’s first day at HKIA, 14 August 2021

*The events of 15-16 August and A/1/8’s struggle to clear the airfield of civilians

*Sam’s reaction to learning that the Taliban would assist with the evacuation and how he messaged this news to his Marines

*The mental, moral, and physical state and morale of the company around this time

*A/1/8’s time manning the North Gate and what gate operations looked like

*Some of the concepts and tools from MCDP-1 and MCDP 1-3 that Sam used during the evacuation 

*Alpha/1/8's operations at HKIA from 20-22 August

*The VBIED threat at HKIA

*What A/1/8 was doing on 26 August, the day G/2/1 got hit by a suicide bomber

*A/1/8's operations after the bombing and before it left the airport

*What Sam observed in his Marines after leaving HKIA and his advice to leaders on helping their teammates deal with severe trauma

*What it was like returning to Camp Lejeune, North Carolina

*The effect that Marines' personal cell phones and access to social media had on operations at HKIA

*The role of discipline in A/1/8's operations and how Sam and his leaders sought to maintain it

*The role exhaustion played during the NEO and how A/1/8's leaders sought to overcome or mitigate it

*A/1/8's logistics during the NEO

*The most rewarding aspect of the NEO

*What it was like watching Marines bring rejected civilians back out to the crowd

*Those actions of Sam's Marines that make him proudest

*The role and value of decision games in training and preparing for missions like the HKIA NEO

*The Marine Corps History Division's interviews of BLT 1/8 Marines about HKIA

*The one thing Sam would like Marines and other US service members to know about what A/1/8 did at HKIA

Links

US Central Command's "Findings and Recommendations—Attack Against U.S. Forces Conducting NEO at Hamid Karzai International Airport on 26 August 2021"