The commander of the U.S. Army 82nd Airborne Division, XVIII Airborne Corps., was the last American soldier to exit Afghanistan from the Hamid Karzai International Airport on Monday.
Major General Chris Donahue boarded a C-17 cargo plane out of Kabul which officially ended the U.S. mission to withdraw American soldiers out of Afghanistan after a 20-year war, according to the U.S. Central Command. Following Donahue’s evacuation, the 82nd Airborne Division posted a photograph of their commander and celebrated their soldiers’ “grit, discipline and empathy” in a statement.
“In awe of our Sky Dragon Soldiers. This was an incredibly tough, pressurized mission filled with multiple complexities, with active threats the entire time,” the division said via Twitter. “Our troops displayed grit, discipline and empathy.”
In awe of our Sky Dragon Soldiers.
This was an incredibly tough, pressurized mission filled with multiple complexities, with active threats the entire time. Our troops displayed grit, discipline and empathy.
Below is a picture of the last Soldier to leave Afghanistan. pic.twitter.com/LnhBGHUf0M
— XVIII Airborne Corps (@18airbornecorps) August 30, 2021
The Pentagon announced Monday that the C-17 departed from Afghanistan around 3:29 p.m. Eastern time, officially evacuating all U.S. service members out of the country. An estimated 200 American citizens currently remain in Afghanistan and aspire to get out. (RELATED: Fox News Media Announces They Have ‘Successfully Evacuated’ 3 Afghan Nationals Who Served As ‘Freelance Associates’ From Kabul)
General Kenneth McKenzie said that evacuation flights throughout the past few days carried zero Americans out of Kabul and roughly 1,000 t0 1,500 Afghans.
Donahue was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Infantry Branch in 1992 from the United States Military Academy at West Point, according to U.S. Army. The Maj. General served as a platoon leader in Korea, Fort Polk, Louisiana, the 3rd Battalion and the 75th Ranger Regiment at Fort Benning, Georgia. He was later appointed as captain where he served as a rifle company commander in 5th Battalion, 87th Infantry in Camp Kobbe, Panama.
Prior to his deployment to Afghanistan, Donahue served as the Commander, Special Operations Joint Task Force-Afghanistan in support of Operation Freedom’s Sentinel, the outlet reported. He had also been deployed to Iraq, Syria, North Africa, and Eastern Europe.
He was educated at the Infantry Officer Basic and Advanced Courses, the Naval War College, and Harvard University’s US Army War College Fellowship, according to the outlet.