The Afghan Airlift by USAF 2021
On 30 August 2021 United States Air Force (USAF) announced the completion of the afghan airlift mission. It was the first major test for Biden administration after taking over office and one of the largest evacuation missions in history. The evacuees were taken to temporary Safe haven locations across Europe and the Middle East.
Post 9/11 USA-Led “Operation Enduring Freedom” Carried Out in Afghanistan
In retaliation of the twin tower attack by Al-Qaida on 11 September 2001, the USA-led allied forces carried out “Operation Enduring Freedom” from 2001-2014 in Afghanistan. The USA asked the world, either you are with us or against us. Similarly, 49 countries have undertaken a task under the umbrella of NATO under the name of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), as required by America’s war against terrorism strategy. ISAF was established by the UN Security Council in December 2001 by Resolution 1386.
The USA-led Coalition removed the Taliban from power and temporarily drove out Al-Qaeda. To achieve this more than 3,500 foreign troops and over 10,00,000 civilians have been killed in this war. The cost of this 20-year military and security engagement has been astronomically high – in lives, in livelihoods, and money. The estimated financial cost to the US taxpayer is close to a staggering US$8 trillion. Twenty years on, the country is still not at peace. Trump administration wanted to stop the loss in Afghanistan issue, they advocated that the country is in a better place than it was in 2001, and the Taliban have become more open-minded.
According to the Taliban’s agreement with the Trump administration, all foreign armed forces were supposed to leave Afghanistan by 1 May 2021. However, the Biden administration extended this period until September 11 and they declared that the withdrawal would be completed on the symbolic day of 9/11. But in a dramatic offensive Taliban soldiers took control of Kabul on 15 August 2021. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and most of his cabinet members fled from the country. Afghanistan came under the Taliban’s control after long 20 years.
After the fall of Kabul, the major task of the United States was to evacuate Military and Civil components from Afghanistan. Moreover, the USA was committed to rescuing the interpreters and Afghan citizens who helped the USA force during their 20 years of stay. Hamid Karzai airport, Kabul was the only operational airport used to evacuate this huge number of passengers. The evacuees were taken to temporary Safe haven locations across Europe and the Middle East.
USAF Airlift 2021
The US Air Force pushed an average of 16 flights a day through there, which was probably the biggest evacuation air operation in the world. The U.S. Air Force airlifted personnel and supplies in and out of Kabul from 15 Aug to 30 Aug 2021. Around 150,000 Americans, Afghans, and other allies had been moved out of Kabul without any major aircraft mishap or accident, which was a great achievement considering the crowded airspace and limited air traffic control (ATC) facilities over Kabul.
The Afghanistan Airlift Challenges
The USA pilots have been flying in and out of Afghanistan since the beginning of the conflict for the last 20 years, but the mission to evacuate thousands of civilians in a short amount of time presented unique challenges for the pilots. Especially when crews were cramming as many people as possible into the aircraft and the runway was filled with people trying to get on board. The pilots were unaware of the exact number of passengers and weight loads. People were on the runway, so how long the runway could be used for take-off was also unknown.
The Kabul airport is located in a bowl-like valley surrounded by hazardous mountains, so the need for a lift is even more urgent because otherwise, those mountains will get very personal very quickly.
Taliban fighters occupied the nearby city of Kabul airport. While the Taliban have ended hostilities with the United States, there was still small arms fire going off in the city, there was also the constant threat of shoulder-mounted man-portable air-defense systems (MANPAD) and it was impossible to know whether some of that might go in the aircraft’s direction. There was an intelligence report of a physical attack and suicidal attack in the aircraft on the runway by ISIS.
A Nameless Massive Mission
There was no official name for this evacuation mission. The U.S. Air Force operated an average of 16 flights a day to airlift around 9,000 people a day out of Afghanistan. The military worked overtime to ferry troops, refugees, and supplies in and out of Kabul. The USAF was committed with its more than 230 aircraft to the effort, including C-17 Globemaster III, C-17s, C-5 Galaxies, KC-10, KC-135, and KC-46 tankers, and C-130 turboprop transports.
The bravery, professionalism, and adaptability displayed by the USA aircrew were unique.
The U.S. Air Force was not the only one flying refugees out of Kabul. The effort was joined by commercial airliners and military pilots from other countries including the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, India, Hungary, and 17 other countries
AirBorne Babies
Three babies, including the baby born on the C-17, were born during the evacuation efforts. All three babies are doing well at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, a U.S. Army hospital in Germany.
On 21 Aug 2021, the onboard Afghan woman’s contractions got heavier and she progressed further into labor during Qatar to Germany flight. The aircraft’s commander decided to decrease altitude, which increased the air pressure inside the plane. Once the flight landed at Ramstein Air Base, additional U.S. troops boarded the plane and delivered the baby in the plane’s cargo bay.
On 23 August 2021, another pregnant Afghan woman evacuated from Afghanistan, she delivers a baby aboard a C-7 Globemaster III aircraft. The Afghan baby was named after the plane “Reach”, which was the call sign of the C-17 aircraft.
A Mission of Hope
The airlift by United States Air Force (USAF) demonstrated America’s innovative spirit, efficiency, perseverance, and leadership. It also highlighted the value of cooperation, commitment, and the need to have allies to accomplish tasks that one country simply can’t do alone.
Writer: Squadron Leader (Rtd) Sadrul Ahmed Khan, Member, Bangladesh Awami League, Finance and Planning Affairs Sub-Committee.