Afghanistan Gains Will Be Lost Quickly After Drawdown, US Intelligence Estimate Warn

[Ryan Ruck]

CH-46 involved in the evac of Saigon, involved in the evac of Kabul.

[Ryan Ruck]

Another day begins in Kabul, a sea of people rushing into the Kabul airport terminal. #AFG pic.twitter.com/UekpGJ2MWd

— Jawad Sukhanyar (@JawadSukhanyar) August 16, 2021

[Ryan Ruck]

��NEW, thread: Pentagon confirms to me the Department of Defense is preparing to house thousands of Afghan refugees on American military installations, immediately including Fort McCoy in Wisconsin and Fort Bliss in Texas.

— Jacqui Heinrich (@JacquiHeinrich) August 16, 2021

[Ryan Ruck]

It is chaos at Kabul airport. Planes are taking off and landing and people are running across the runway. pic.twitter.com/kKrg667AQB

— Sowaibah Hanifie (@SowaibahH) August 16, 2021

[Ryan Ruck]

U.S. military dogs in Kabul evacuated from the city’s airport among other officials as Taliban takes control of Afghanistan. https://t.co/ggx5Xgk0lG pic.twitter.com/Q371CU38of

— ABC News (@ABC) August 16, 2021

[Ryan Ruck]

New high-res #satellite imagery (10:36 am local time, August 16) of the chaotic scene underway at #Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport in #Afghanistan as thousands of people converged on the tarmac & airport runways as countries attempt to evacuate personnel from the city. pic.twitter.com/L6lhlVms54

— Maxar Technologies (@Maxar) August 16, 2021

[Ryan Ruck]

#Afghanistan: Things are so out of control at Kabul airport that two apaches are clearing the runway. pic.twitter.com/lQGwNSyXaA

— Ahmer Khan (@ahmermkhan) August 16, 2021

[Ryan Ruck]

[Ryan Ruck]

China already taking full advantage of the optics.

#环球时报Editorial: From what happened in Afghanistan, those in Taiwan should perceive that once a war breaks out in the Straits, the island’s defense will collapse in hours and US military won’t come to help. As a result, the DPP will quickly surrender. https://t.co/ZUrZmcsSWf pic.twitter.com/wFG4vrHbTo

— Global Times (@globaltimesnews) August 16, 2021

[Ryan Ruck]

[Ryan Ruck]

[Ryan Ruck]

[Ryan Ruck]

[Ryan Ruck]

[Ryan Ruck]

Contractor at Hamid Karzai International Airport detailing everything left behind at the airport. pic.twitter.com/YfsETu1NcN

— Doge (@IntelDoge) August 17, 2021

[Ryan Ruck]

[Ryan Ruck]

[Ryan Ruck]

Should have been put in the Dayton Air and Space Museum or Smithsonian.

From Saigon To Kabul, The Tragically Ironic Tale Of The “Little Sea Knight That Could”



August 16, 2021

As US forces withdraw and panicked allies flee a newly Taliban-controlled Afghanistan in one of the most humiliating moments of recent memory, one grizzled veteran -who has seen such a departure before- will be left behind to fall into enemy hands.

A plucky CH-46 Sea Knight, serial number 154038, is believed to have previously participated in the evacuation of Americans and South Vietnamese from Saigon as the North Vietnamese military took the city near the end of the Vietnam War.

Known as “Operation Frequent Wind,” the mission was to evacuate American civilians and “at-risk” Vietnamese from the collapsing country, which had been swept by the North Vietnamese after the US withdrew for political reasons.

Participating in the operation was 154038, which was first issued to the US Marine Corps in 1967. During Frequent Wind, the 154038 was photographed aboard the USS Hancock, immortalizing her presence during this chapter of history.

Old 154038 would change hands many times until 2011, when records obtained by [url=https://www.helis.com/database/cn/8983/]Helis.com[/ur] indicates that it was transferred to the US State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics on December 5.

From 2015 to 2020, the venerable ex-Marine workhorse would operate in Afghanistan under its dubious new master before being handed over to Red Air Transport, who decided to keep the helicopter in-country.

Flash forward to August 15, 2021, when 154038 was spotted evacuating US personnel from Afghanistan alongside Chinook helicopters.

In response to a post by the Barstool Operators Facebook page, which featured images of the veteran warbird, an individual wishing to remain anonymous claimed to be the son of the man flying 154038.

“That 46 was being flown by my father,” the poster stated, noting that 154038 was the only DoS CH-46 “up and running all day today, in an out of the embassy.”

The individual went on to state that “After [his father] landed for the last time, they disabled everything they could on that bird and are leaving it there at the airport.”

And thus, it seems, is the end of 154038, which will not join the husked remains of abandoned war equipment of the United States, Soviet Union, and other nations which found humility in the mountainous region that seemingly cannot be conquered.

A loyal workhorse to the very end, the “little Sea Knight that could.”

Rest in peace, 154038. You were not just a good Sea Knight- you were one of the best.

[Ryan Ruck]

[Ryan Ruck]