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Be a part of Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley detailed 4 key dates that went into the planning and execution of the Afghanistan evacuation and withdrawal, in response to his written testimony as obtained by CNN on Wednesday.
Milley didn’t ship the feedback on digicam.
The Biden administration has been criticized for not having plans prepared to hold out the withdrawal of forces and the evacuation of US residents and others. Milley pushed again on that criticism by laying out a few of the key occasions within the planning round Afghanistan.
He referenced these 4 dates:
April 28: The highest army leaders, together with Milley, the Protection Secretary, the Joint Chiefs, the commander of US Central Command and others held an Afghanistan Retrograde Rehearsal throughout the Protection Division. This occasion centered on the withdrawal of US forces.
“The primary objective of this rehearsal was to make sure shared understanding of President Biden’s determination to depart Afghanistan and coordinate and synchronize the efforts of DoD, our allies, and companions,” Milley mentioned.
Might 8: All related Cupboard members held an interagency desk prime train in regards to the withdrawal of forces.
“This occasion coated a rehearsal of idea for the entire withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan and coated varied department plans and sequels. It was to make sure that the US Authorities, Interagency, and companions and allies had a shared imaginative and prescient of our withdrawal timeline, the plan itself, and to make sure it was synchronized.”
June 11: One month later, the Joint Workers held a desk prime train for a non-combatant evacuation operation (NEO), together with senior officers from throughout the interagency. Officers checked out a collection of “key milestones” for a NEO, in addition to contingency in case of an embassy closure, intermediate staging base places, and the method for sorting and screening evacuees.
Aug. 6: Senior authorities officers carried out one other desk prime train to have a look at the potential for a civilian evacuation underneath two completely different circumstances: one the place the encompassing surroundings posed some challenges to the evacuation and one the place the encompassing surroundings made it extremely troublesome.