Welcome to Episode 42 of The Afghanistan Project Podcast, where hosts Beth Bailey and Mikael Cook highlight the struggles of Afghans living under Taliban rule, and the efforts of individuals from a variety of backgrounds and political affiliations who have stepped up to provide support to the people of Afghanistan in the chaos that followed the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Today’s guest, Will Yeske, is the author of Damn the Valley, which tells about his experience in 1st Platoon, Bravo Company of the 2nd Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment in the 82nd Airborne Division during a deployment in Kandahar’s Arghandab River Valley.

We talk about Will’s impetus for writing the book, including the role that Wall Street Journal writer Ben Kesling’s book, 'Bravo Company,' played in spurring him into action to write about the Arghandab deployment from the perspective of the paratroopers who witnessed it firsthand.

We also discuss the lessons that the U.S. failed to learn from previous engagement in the area, which ultimately led to Bravo Company being tasked with taking on the Arghandab after a Stryker brigade combat team faced too many difficulties with maneuvering and building a force in the area.

We talk about mental health battles Bravo Company members faced when returning home, and difficulties with transition. Most importantly, we talked about how important it is to get stories down on paper and to talk about memories of war to preserve them for future generations.

Our story this week comes from an Afghan teen who is secretly helping his father try to get his special immigrant visa processed. Just a small portion of his story is included in this episode, but you can find his full story in a special bonus episode for the week entitled The Afghanistan Project Podcast: Story of an Afghan Teen.

About William Yeske and Damn the Valley:

Follow Will on:

Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/williamyeske/

Twitter : https://twitter.com/WYeske

LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/williamyeske/

Find Damn the Valley on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Damn-Valley-Airborne-Arghandab-Afghanistan/dp/1636243657/

Learn more about the book on:

Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/damnthevalleybook/

Website: https://damnthevalleybook.com/

About the hosts:

Beth Bailey worked in support of Afghanistan operations as a civilian intelligence analyst for the Department of the Army between 2010 and 2013. She is a freelance contributor to Fox News Digital and the Washington Examiner. Follow her on Instagram @BWBailey85 or Twitter @BWBailey85.

Mikael Cook was an Army non-commissioned officer and veteran of the war in Afghanistan. He was an active member of the #DigitalDunkirk movement to evacuate our Afghan allies in August of 2021. You can follow his Instagram @Mikaelcook89.

For Afghan listeners:

If you would like to have your story considered for a future episode, please send us a letter about your experiences to our show e-mail address, [email protected]. Please include as much detail as possible, and let us know if you would like us to give you a pseudonym to protect your identity.