Operation Allies Welcome, an airman’s retrospective

Photo By Staff Sgt. Mikaley Kline | A U.S. Air Force Airman unloads luggage after Afghan guests arrived for in-processing at Liberty Village, Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey, Dec. 5, 2021. The Department of Defense, through U.S. Northern Command, and in support of the Department of Homeland Security, is providing transportation, temporary housing, medical screening, and general support for at least 50,000 Afghan evacuees at suitable facilities, in permanent or temporary structures, as quickly as possible. This initiative provides Afghan personnel essential support at secure locations outside Afghanistan. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Mikaley Kline)  

MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, AL, UNITED STATES

12.31.2021

Story by Staff Sgt. Lauren Silverthorne 

Air University Public Affairs

MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. – This was it, it was finally ending. The news proclaimed that the twenty-year war in Afghanistan was over and that there would be a 100% pull-out of all U.S. personnel by the end of August 2021, which at the time was in roughly two weeks.

My U.S. Army veteran husband and I poured over articles and news links as this began to unfold. We read about our Afghan allies fighting to make it out of the country because they knew it was only a matter of time until the Taliban would take over. We sat, bewildered as we heard the news of people rushing the airfield gates desperate to get onto a plane, and we felt what a lot of veterans and active service members felt… completely helpless.

That feeling changed when I received a late-night text from my leadership, asking for volunteers for a short-notice tasker. They needed people to help process Afghan refugees during Operation Allies Welcome at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey, and before I knew it, I was on the phone asking for more information. Upon hanging up, without having to say a word, my husband asked, “Where and when do I drop you off?” because he knew this was my chance to help and he knew that I would take it.

Within two days, I was in the Garden State, fighting to adjust to my new nightshift schedule and doing my best to learn every useful word in Dari and Pashto that I could. I was one in a group of roughly twenty others from Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama, joined by hundreds of other volunteers from bases across the U.S., surging the area to assist with our new guests.

I was assigned to the Joint Reception Center, where we would in-process our Afghan allies, make sure they had what they needed and get them into temporary lodging that would serve as their home until they were able to make more permanent arrangements.

The first few nights were the most challenging. It was nonstop motion. Nonstop problem solving and coming up with more efficient ways to get people processed. A mission like this, especially on this scale had never been done before and we were figuring it out as it was happening.

Each family presented unique challenges. Large families arrived with nothing but a plastic bag of toiletries they’d collected along the way. Children came with no shoes on their feet and scratches on their faces, all of which paled in comparison to the broken limbs others nursed as a result of fighting through the masses to get on the plane that eventually brought them to me and my team. They had lost everything. They had left their homes, cultures, families and friends, literally everything they’d ever known.

Now it was up to us to make them feel as safe and welcome as possible. The kids were easy; we’d play games or color with them and they were sold. Their faces would light up whenever they saw a U.S. service member. The adults on the other hand were understandably apprehensive.

At first, they’d leave the dining facilities carrying extra to-go boxes stuffed with food, either not trusting or not wanting to risk that there wouldn’t be enough to go around at the next mealtime. They worried about having enough formula or diapers for their babies and clothing for their growing children. Winter was quickly approaching and they asked about coats and shoes daily. We assured them that donations were pouring in and that they would get more supplies as soon as they were available.

Unfortunately, some turned that worry into action. Some people began resource hoarding and guarding. It was up to us as their hosts to assure them that each family would have what they needed, that there was indeed enough to go around.

Each day brought more difficult situations and each day we worked together to overcome them. There was friction between the various tribes, most of which have differing cultures and traditions, who were now forced to live in close quarters. Their gender roles and everything they understood about social norms had been turned on its head. In Afghanistan, it’s not uncommon for women to be subservient to the patriarch of the family. We were now asking these men and women to respect and adhere to rules given by service members and other authorities, regardless of their gender.

Although it had already been a long and arduous trip for the nearly 10,000 Afghans who arrived during my time at JB MDL, their real journey is about to begin. Once they have been processed, they will go out into this great melting pot of a country we live in and they’ll need communities that will welcome them. Communities that will respect their cultural differences while simultaneously building connections because of our similarities. Just like any other American family, these parents have dreamed of a home that is safe, where their children can grow and thrive and where they will be able to make a living to support themselves.

I’ll never forget the challenging lessons learned during my time as part of the reception center staff during OAW. Nor will I take for granted the opportunities I’ve been afforded as a young woman in America. I’ll be forever moved by the way we were able to come together to build entire villages to house thousands of families practically overnight. I’m humbled by the simple things I’ll never take for granted again, and I’m grateful for my selfless brothers and sisters in arms.

This mission has changed every part of me and I truly believe that it’s been for the better. I’ve learned that the human spirit is more resilient than I had ever imagined and that when it comes down to it, we must take care of each other. Regardless of our differences, we are all the same at our core. We are all human beings, regardless of origin, with the same human needs and we cannot afford to lose sight of that.

Whether it was helping mothers bathe their children in the bathroom sinks or helping elderly guests get from one place to another, these people will always be with me. I don’t remember many of their names and they don’t remember mine, but that doesn’t matter. We will all look back on the night they arrived in America, a place where they and their families would be safe, where their daughters would be afforded the same opportunities as their sons, and they’ll know that we truly cared for them and their families.

• Date Taken: 12.31.2021
• Date Posted: 12.31.2021 19:49
• Story ID: 412283
• Location: MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, AL, US