Mr. Kirby good afternoon, everybody. I am sure you heard from my colleague at the State Department, the president ordered the reduction of Civilian Personnel at our embassy in kabul, and the acceleration of evacuation of special visa applicants from the country. The secretary of defense directed the department to position temporary enabling capabilities to ensure the security of u. S. Civilian partners and personnel. I will break this down real quick. The first movement will consist of three infantry italians in the central Command Area of responsibility. They will move to Hamid Karzai international airport in kabul within the next 2448 hours. Two of the battalions are u. S. Marines and one is an army battalion. The next move will consist of a joint u. S. Armyair Force Support Element of around 1000 personnel to facilitate the processing of siv applicants. Initial elements of this will arrive in qatar and cutting day incoming days. The third movement is to deploy one Infantry Brigade C
The taliban control 2 3 of that country after capturing three Provincial Capitals in afghanistan, including kandahar, in just the past 24 hours. They are terrorists who swept through the south, the region where american, british and allied nato forces fought. Some of the bloodiest battles in the past quarter century. One republican lawmaker warned this way. What it means is that the basically the ability of the afghan government to resist the taliban is near zero. The resources that were at kandahar were significant. Both from the Air Force Capability and army capability, the special operations forces capability. If they have taken kandahar city i think were talking about the demise of the country within weeks. Harris whats unfolding with our race to get to our people in kabul is triggering memories and comparisons to the dramatic Rooftop Rescue of american diplomats in saigon. President biden leaving the white House Today still for vacation scoffed as you may remember last month when
OKLAHOMA CITY – Spc. Johnson Holcomb, a Tahlequah resident, represented the Oklahoma Army National Guard during the U.S. National Guard Region V Best Warrior Competition in Nebraska, May 13-16.