Afghanistan War Perspective: A Veteran's View from the Ground

An Afghanistan war veteran's perspective on the harsh conditions,

inevitable exit, and why critics don't understand what we faced on the ground.

Afghanistan has long been called "a place where empires die," and after living there, I understood why. The conditions were primitive, resembling something out of the Bible—mud huts, people drinking directly from streams, and an unforgiving landscape that aged its inhabitants beyond their years. This Afghanistan war veteran perspective comes from living in those conditions day after day, understanding why this place has broken every military force that's tried to control it. Men in their 40s looked like they were in their 70s, worn down by a life of hardship and conflict. There was no real sense of progress, only survival in one of the toughest environments on Earth.

I served in Afghanistan from 2011 to 2012, and even then, I believed the U.S. would withdraw within four years of my departure. Instead, the war dragged on for nearly a decade longer. From my perspective, nothing was going to change. The coalition forces were simply marking time, maintaining a presence until political leadership decided it was time to pull out. My personal goal was straightforward—complete our missions and ensure my soldiers and I made it out alive. That was all that truly mattered in a war that had no clear endgame.

When the U.S. finally withdrew, many criticized how quickly we left and the equipment that was left behind. But having been there, I knew it was never going to be a smooth exit. The terrain is brutal, and just getting from one location to another could take days due to weather and logistical constraints. To expect that we could remove all our equipment in a matter of months was unrealistic. It would have required years of effort and an enormous logistical operation, something that was never going to happen in the midst of a collapsing war effort.

Jason Pike

Veteran, Bestselling Author & Inspiring Speaker

jasonpike.org