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This is Undaunted Life of Man's Podcast.
0:51
I'm your host Kyle Thompson.
0:53
Let's get into it.
0:54
All right, guys, we're going to continue our botching Afghanistan series with Brian Andrews
0:58
and Jeffrey Wilson, otherwise known as Andrews and Wilson.
1:01
They are the best-selling team of a lot of different series of books.
1:05
So the Sons of Aller in the tier one series and some more series that we're going to
1:08
be talking about later because they've never been on this podcast, but they are going to
1:12
be on very, very soon.
1:13
So we're going to have a proper long episode with them.
1:15
But both of these guys are Navy veterans and I was just so excited to talk to them about
1:20
their perspective because they kind of were in different parts of the Navy.
1:23
They didn't exactly do the same types of jobs, but they had some great opinions on this whole
1:27
situation going on in Afghanistan.
1:29
So without further ado, let's get into it.
1:32
All right, Brian Andrews and Jeffrey Wilson, thanks for coming back on just to give us
1:35
a little bit more content because right now everything's crazy right now in the Middle
1:39
East.
1:40
And both of you have spent time as members of the military and you've spent time in this
1:44
area and you've spent time with people that have spent a lot of time in this area.
1:46
And it's been heartbreaking for a lot of folks, but I love the fact that we have another two
1:50
veterans that can kind of give us their perspective because there's a lot of pundits on line
1:54
right now that are kind of giving their perspective and it's not really providing a lot of value.
1:58
So Jeff, I guess we'll start with you.
2:00
Just kind of give us your overall thoughts as to the situation in Afghanistan and just
2:04
go go at it in whatever way you feel possible or necessary.
2:08
Absolutely.
2:09
Thank you.
2:10
We appreciate you giving us the opportunity.
2:11
I'll tell you, you know, what we're not going to do is get into a big political tirade because
2:15
there's enough of that as you pointed out.
2:17
You can find someone who's going to talk about exactly what you do or don't support online
2:23
right now.
2:24
But what our concern is, as Andrews and Wilson, as military veterans and as someone who served
2:29
in Afghanistan, is our fellow veterans.
2:32
And that's who we would like to deliver our message to.
2:35
There's a lot of folks.
2:36
I've been in communication with a lot of my friends over the last few days, obviously,
2:40
as all of us have been, who are really struggling now with these questions of was it worth it,
2:44
you know, things are worse than they were before we got there and all that.
2:48
And the message I want to share is this.
2:51
We need as veterans of the Afghan war to be proud of what we did.
2:55
We answered America's call.
2:57
We were given a job to do and we did it and we did it superbly.
3:02
We were not there to change Afghanistan.
3:04
We were there for America that we got to help Afghanis and a lot of us have relationships
3:09
with a lot of Afghanis from our time there was a privilege and an honor, but our mission
3:16
was to keep America safe and we did that.
3:20
We were able to route Al Qaeda very quickly.
3:22
We were able to push the Taliban back.
3:24
Yes, that's changing now, but we were given a job.
3:27
We answered the call and we did what needed to be done.
3:30
If you're struggling right now, I would beg you, please reach out to your brothers and
3:34
sisters, reach out to veterans organizations, but be in community with one another.
3:39
Our strength comes from community.
3:41
So, my biggest concern is that is just the people that are struggling right now with
3:46
these questions about, you know, was my service worth it?
3:48
Was my loss worth it?
3:50
We all lost friends there and it's really hard to see things spiraling into chaos and
3:55
not think about those people and wonder if that blood was filled for nothing.
4:00
The answer is no.
4:01
We went there with a purpose and we fulfilled that purpose.
4:04
What happens next is up to the politicians and the Afghanis and lots of other outside
4:10
forces, but we should be proud of what we did in Afghanistan.
4:14
And if you are feeling any other way, please reach out to someone.
4:17
Reach out to us if you need to, but please reach out to someone.
4:21
Thanks for that, Jeff.
4:22
What about you, Brian?
4:23
I don't have a whole lot to add.
4:25
I think Jeff covered the topic very well.
4:29
I would only say that, you know, I think it's natural to look back and say, you know, did
4:36
it make a difference?
4:38
And I think anytime you help someone, you've touched somebody's life, you've made a difference.
4:45
So it's easy to clump everything into these baskets and sort of make blanket generalizations.
4:52
It was all for nothing.
4:54
We changed nothing.
4:55
We did nothing.
4:56
I don't think that's true and I think the Afghanis who American servicemen and women
5:02
helped, I think they would agree with that.
5:06
This is not our country, it's not our culture.
5:10
Our job was never to reorganize their culture and change their country to be how we wanted
5:19
it to be.
5:20
So just keep that in mind, I think, as you try to find peace with our service and our
5:29
role over there.
5:30
Right.
5:31
I know we're on borrowed time right now, but I do want to ask one quick follow up for you,
5:34
Jeff.
5:35
You're talking to a lot of veterans on this podcast, but you're also talking to a lot
5:38
of members of Gold Star families, people that lost a husband or a brother or a sister
5:43
or an aunt or uncle or something like that.
5:45
A lot of people are hurting right now and they're asking some of those same questions
5:48
without the memories of kind of what they saw and experienced overseas.
5:52
So if you could give a quick message to Gold Star families listening to this or Gold Star
5:56
families across the country, what would you say to them?
5:59
Well, I would say I feel your pain and I mean that literally while I didn't lose a family
6:03
member, I lost brothers there, many, many brothers over there.
6:09
And so I get that anguish, but, and I'm not going to be that guy that says, oh, they did,
6:15
they died doing something they loved.
6:16
I hate that.
6:18
They wanted to come home.
6:19
I promise you that no one is glad they died over there, but they did stand up and answer
6:25
a call and you should be proud of their service right now with all that's going on as painful
6:30
as it is.
6:31
And I don't want to be redundant, but I would just beg you to reach out to one another.
6:35
If you're a Gold Star family, you're still in connection.
6:38
You're still in community.
6:39
There are people that want to help you.
6:41
Don't struggle through this alone.
6:43
Go to your church, go to your, to your women's group, your men's group, wherever you find
6:48
community, please don't do this alone.
6:50
We're all stronger together.
6:52
So it's not about making sense or deciding what wasn't, wasn't worth it.
6:59
That's a, that's a fruitless exercise that's going to take you nowhere.
7:02
It's about honoring the memory of those people.
7:05
And we do that best by living a life that honors the sacrifice.
7:08
And so that would be the encouragement I would give you.
7:11
But please reach out to somebody, please.
7:16
Jeff, Brian.
7:17
Thanks so much for coming on.
7:18
Thanks for having us, my friend.