Afghanistan War Commission seeks to engage and honor Veterans in historic research effort

Although U.S. involvement in Afghanistan ended three years ago, questions linger for many of the estimated 800,000 military Veterans like me who served in the 20-year war effort. What went wrong? What went right? What were the key decisions that drove the outcome? And how can we do better next time? Finding answers to these questions and more is one reason I chose to serve on the Afghanistan War Commission, which is taking a hard look at the entire conflict to draw lessons for policymakers and warfighters in the future.

Congress created the Commission to undertake an independent, objective and rigorous assessment of the war, from the initial U.S. intervention following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks to the withdrawal in 2021, and to develop lessons learned and policy recommendations, similar to the landmark 9/11 Commission. I am honored to be one of the 16 commissioners appointed by Congress on a bipartisan basis to lead this historic effort. Our final report is due in 2026.

Recently, we released our first interim report to Congress. It outlines our progress, priorities and plans for our research into wartime decisions. Since launching in August 2023, we've held more than 30 plenary meetings and research sessions; hired 35 nonpartisan professional staff; received dozens of briefings and thousands of pages of documentation from government agencies; and held our first public hearing at the Washington, D.C., office of the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

The Commission has also actively engaged with stakeholders, including the military Veteran community. By hosting virtual roundtables with Veterans, participating in Veteran conferences, collaborating with Veteran Service Organizations, and appearing in Veteran-focused media and podcasts, we have gained critical insights and suggestions for research that matter to those who served in uniform in Afghanistan. We also established a dedicated Veterans' portal on our website inviting Afghanistan War Veterans to share their perspectives and experiences. More than 200 Veterans have responded so far.

The Commission's research is organized around five thematic teams covering not only military operations and security force assistance, but also policy and diplomacy, development, intelligence and counterterrorism. Our research priorities include:

• U.S. government policy and diplomacy objectives, and efficacy of efforts made to achieve them;
• The manning, training and equipping of the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces and the circumstances leading to their disintegration in 2021;
• Activities of U.S. and Afghan military and intelligence entities aimed at disrupting, degrading and defeating terrorist groups during the Afghanistan War;
• Whether development activities advanced U.S. national security interests in Afghanistan; and
• The efficacy of intelligence assessments pertaining to post-U.S. withdrawal scenarios in Afghanistan.

The Afghanistan War Commission hopes that our research and recommendations will not only help prevent and better prepare us for future conflicts but also provide a semblance of catharsis for all who served and sacrificed during the war. As a commissioner and Veteran, I am grateful to contribute to the solemn goal of learning from the 20-year war, and I encourage all Afghanistan War Veterans and the broader military community to follow, contribute to and support this goal as well.