Welcome to Episode 53 of The Afghanistan Project Podcast, featuring Beau Lendman, a former Senior Vice President at Anham whose support to the company’s 5,000 Afghan special immigrant visa applicants led him to create AfghanHire, a remote hiring platform that links skilled Afghans with lucrative jobs.

Beau and I discussed the effort of supporting so many SIV applicants in the days after the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, and the journey to understand how to successfully help applicants navigate the program. We also talked about a problematic development in December 2023, when a series of applicants were denied SIV in what appeared to be a batched manner, and some applicants who had achieved Chief of Mission approval and sometimes were preparing for flights to the U.S. had that COM approval revoked. We addressed the mental load that the latest devastating turn of events has added for Beau, who feels he has been party to malfeasance.

Finally, we talked about the development of AfghanHire, and how Beau hopes the company can make a difference around the world in the future.

About AfghanHire:

Follow AfghanHire on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/afghan-hire/about/ or visit their website: https://teams.afghanhire.org/

About the hosts:

Beth W. 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 his Instagram @Mikaelcook89.

For listeners in Afghanistan:

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.

Welcome to Episode 52 of The Afghanistan Project Podcast, featuring Amy Sins, a master of all trades and dynamic disaster relief professional. Amy is a chef and owner of Langlois, a traveling culinary showcase in her hometown of New Orleans, Louisiana. Amy is also the founder and executive director of Fill the Needs, a nonprofit organization through which she and her team provide immediate assistance within the first two weeks of natural or man-made disasters.

Amy was the focus of TAPP’s second episode, where she talked about the case that found her pivoting into the world of Afghanistan evacuations. Today, we talk about the changes that have occurred in more than a year since we last spoke. Amy reported that all of the families whose cases she has been involved in have safely departed Afghanistan, and she shared the story of visiting one of those families overseas to share a hug – and some excellent Afghan cooking.

Amy also talked about the expansion of her disaster relief

About Amy Sins and Fill the Needs:

Follow Fill the Needs on Instagram @filltheneedsorg or visit their website, http://www.filltheneeds.org.

Episode 2 of TAPP: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRUMpvOmjkM&t=4s

About the hosts:

Beth W. Bailey worked in support of Afghanistan

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 listeners in Afghanistan:

If you would like to have your story considered for a future

Welcome to Episode 51 of The Afghanistan Project Podcast. Today’s guest, Mike No Go Zones, is a YouTuber and independent journalist who takes his viewers to the places around the country and world that we’re often urged to avoid.

In March 2021, Mike traveled to Kabul, Afghanistan, capturing some of the last moments of relative freedom the inhabitants of the city experienced before the country came under Taliban rule just five months later.

Mike and I talk about his trip, getting into some of the

Mike and I also talk about the other YouTubers who have

Mentioned in the episode:

Mike No Go Zones visits Kabul:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkaPDTtT5UQ

ASEEL App, where listeners can send aid to Afghans: https://aseelapp.com/do-good

About Mike No Go Zones:

Follow Mike on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@mikenogozones

on X:  https://www.twitter.com/mnogozones

About the hosts:

Beth Bailey worked in support of Afghanistan operations

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

For Afghan listeners:

If you would like to have your story considered for a future

Welcome to Episode 50 of The Afghanistan Project Podcast. Today’s guest, James Powers, is an Operation Iraqi Freedom veteran and advocate for veterans causes, and another American swept into the morass of post-withdrawal Afghanistan.

Today, James and Beth talk about how he got pulled into the volunteer effort to assist vulnerable Afghans in the days before and during the August 2021 withdrawal. He also discusses his subsequent efforts to advocate for the Afghan Adjustment Act, which would increase eligibility for the special immigrant visa program to additional endangered groups of allies. We also talk about the impact of moral injury on the veteran population.

About James Powers:

Follow James on X at https://twitter.com/Justavet11

About the hosts:

Beth Bailey worked in support of Afghanistan operations

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

Today’s guest, Sean Carberry, is a journalist and author whose detailed first-hand reporting on Afghanistan has long enabled him to question the overarching narrative of the West’s ability to provide lasting success in Afghanistan through the programs and efforts it established during nearly two decades of presence there.

Sean discusses some of the overzealous programs he bore witness too, as well as some of the more effective efforts. We talk about his efforts to speak truth to power, his time in Afghanistan as NPR’s last Kabul-based correspondent from 2012-2014, and his time with the DOD Inspector General between 2017 and 2021.

We conclude with a look at the impact that Sean’s war correspondent career had as he wrote about the experience in his memoirs, Passport Stamps: Searching the World for a War to Call Home, while the U.S. withdrawal was taking place.

About Sean Carberry:

Follow Sean on X at https://twitter.com/sdcarberry17

Find Sean’s book, Passport Stamps: Searching the World for a War to Call Home, on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Passport-Stamps-Searching-World-Call/dp/1956440550/

Referenced in the episode:

Find Sean’s opinion piece from The Hill about the Afghanistan withdrawal here: https://thehill.com/opinion/national-security/567967-afghanistans-collapse-shows-the-failure-to-create-a-country-worth/

For the “counterinsurgency spaghetti” infographic showing all the interlinked factors that would link to success in Afghanistan, follow the link here: https://metasd.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/COIN-Afghan.jpg

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]. 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.

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].

Welcome to a special episode of The Afghanistan Project Podcast about March 19th hearing before the House Foreign Affairs Committee in which retired General McKenzie, former CENTCOM Commander, and retired General Milley, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, testified about the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Joining me, and having watched nearly the entire four-hour affair, was recently retired Air Force Lt. Col. Will Selber, who offered excellent insights on the politicization of the hearing and the lack of meaningful answers that might help us regain honor for those who served, and ensure that the mistakes made during 20 long years of war are not repeated in the future.

For those who don’t want to listen to the whole shebang, Will has covered it well. You can also find the article he references in the podcast, asking President Biden to finally publicly talk about Afghanistan, at the link here: https://plus.thebulwark.com/p/president-biden-should-talk-about-afghanistan

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.

Will Selber is a retired Middle East Foreign Area Officer who spent 4 1/2 years in Iraq and Afghanistan. He was an active member of Operation Sacred Promise and has helped relocate 100+ Afghans. He is currently the Millitary Affairs Fellow at the Bulwark. You can follow him on X at @AggieWill00

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].

Welcome to Episode 47 of The Afghanistan Project Podcast. Today’s guests are familiar to longtime listeners. Andrew Sullivan, Director of Advocacy for No One Left Behind, and Shawn VanDiver, President of the #AfghanEvac coalition, joined me to discuss new moves within the House and Senate that would authorize 12,000 additional special immigrant visas. This development follows a frenzied effort to save the program from running out of the 8,000 currently available visas in September 2024.

Shawn and Andy talk about their and other advocates’ efforts to impress upon Congressional staff the importance of continuing the SIV program, which ultimately led to the inclusion of aforementioned language in upcoming funding bills, though these bills must pass both House and Senate.

Andy and Shawn also talked about all that remains to be done for our Afghan allies, including passing the Afghan Adjustment Act, the Afghan Allies Protection Act, and language from a former National Security bill that would have expanded USRAP protection to Afghan prosecutors. They also mentioned a plethora of ways in which listeners can take it upon themselves to support Afghan allies through programs within No One Left Behind, #AfghanEvac, or the Welcome Corps.

Find No One Left Behind via:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/n1leftbehind

Website: http://nooneleft.org/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/no-one-left-behind/

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

Follow #AfghanEvac via:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/afghanevac

Website: https://afghanevac.org/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/afghanevac

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

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]. 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.

Welcome to Episode 46 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 episode was intended to be a short discussion that several Afghans asked me to host about their special immigrant visa and humanitarian parole cases with recently retired Air Force Lt. Col. Will Selber, and Kate Kovarovic, the former Director of Resilience Programming for the #AfghanEvac coalition.

What happened when we started recording was unexpected, but pretty incredible. Three stories became over a dozen as Will, Kate, and I started regurgitating some of the most difficult cases we’ve handled in the last two and a half years.

This is an important episode. If you’re someone who questions what possesses people to devote so much time and energy to the causes of our Afghan allies, watch this episode.

If you’re a volunteer with a loved one who doesn’t understand the work you’re undertaking, I encourage you to watch this with them, and tell them your own stories.

Something struck me about three-quarters of the way into recording this one, and I eventually give it voice. The fact that Will and Kate and I (and any other person who has gotten wrapped up in this effort) can recall these humans we’ve supported through the unthinkable in such detail is a testament to the impression that work has made on us. This issue has become marrow-deep for volunteers. They won’t give up.

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.

Will Selber is a retired Middle East Foreign Area Officer who spent 4 1/2 years in Iraq and Afghanistan. He was an active member of Operation Sacred Promise and has helped relocate 100+ Afghans. He is currently the Military Affairs Fellow at the Bulwark. You can follow him on X at @AggieWill00

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].

Welcome to Episode 45 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 special guest host, Will Selber, is a recently retired Air Force Lt. Col. who has appeared in prior episodes to discuss the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, and moral injury.

Today’s guest, Trevor Beaman, is an active-duty Master

Trevor also shares some new insights near the end of the

Throughout this episode, Trevor notes the importance of

About Trevor Beaman:

Follow Trevor on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/trevor_a_beaman/

Find more about Trevor, including his incredible talks on

About the hosts:

Beth Bailey worked in support of Afghanistan operations

Will Selber is a retired Middle East Foreign Area Officer

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].