Welcome to Episode 48 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, Michael DeSerio, is an active-duty member of the U.S. Army, and currently the Operations NCOIC at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. More than a decade ago, he was deployed as an infantryman to Afghanistan, with one tour between 2010 and 2011 in Uruzgan and Kandahar provinces, and a second tour in Wardak province in 2013.

While listeners may expect to hear that Michael’s 2010-2011 deployment was more kinetic, given the well-documented terrors of other RC-S deployments during the surge, Michael’s Uruzgan and Kandahar deployment was relatively calm, with a focus on supporting the development of the Afghan National Police and winning hearts and minds of the local populace.

His deployment during 2013 was a different story. RC-E was controlled by the Haqqani Network, and though much of Afghanistan was seemingly becalmed while the U.S. began pursuing peace talks with the Taliban, Michael’s unit faced a highly kinetic atmosphere, filled with massive IEDs and firefights.

Michael’s descriptions of both battlefields are vivid and intense. We hope you strap in for a hell of a ride in this episode.

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 or X ⁠@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 him on Instagram or X ⁠@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].