![]() ![]() “We honestly had no idea what we were going to do,” Helgestad said of those heading to Afghanistan, “and by that what I mean is, I moved to the airport on Saturday the 14th in Kuwait and stayed down there with the first 200 people … And we literally just stayed there because we didn’t know when our plane would show up.” ![]() ![]() His task force members in Kuwait assisted with processing the evacuees’ move to the U.S. ![]() Of the roughly 1,000 guardsmen under his command, Helgestad took 425 forward to Afghanistan, 75 were on a mission in Syria, another 100 were on a separate mission in Kuwait and 400 remained at Camp Behring, Kuwait. “It kind of became organized chaos, where everybody went in different directions … and then we just started working everything,” Helgestad said. The following morning the task force was notified. 12, he was woken up to the news that he needed to be in Afghanistan in 24 hours. Helgestad’s unit originally deployed to the Middle East, though he said planning began in July in the event they would be tasked with going to Afghanistan.Īt 11:22 p.m. “I was able to go to a dignified transfer when they put the 13 caskets into the plane … It’s one of those things I will never forget,” he said, referencing the 13 service members who died in the bombing. Later, his task force was asked if any had served as a Marine. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |