{"id":64512,"date":"2021-08-31T12:34:52","date_gmt":"2021-08-31T12:34:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2021\/08\/31\/last-soldier-out-of-afghanistan-was-this-former-delta-force-2-star\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T11:06:31","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T11:06:31","slug":"last-soldier-out-of-afghanistan-was-this-former-delta-force-2-star","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/newsletters\/daily-news-roundup\/2021\/08\/31\/last-soldier-out-of-afghanistan-was-this-former-delta-force-2-star\/","title":{"rendered":"Last soldier out of Afghanistan was this former Delta Force 2-star"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Defense Department officials announced Monday afternoon<\/a> that after nearly 20 years of war, the final U.S. forces on the ground in Afghanistan had departed the Kabul airport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m here to announce the completion of our withdrawal from Afghanistan, and the end of the military mission to evacuate American citizens, third-country nationals and vulnerable Afghan,\u201d Marine Gen. Frank McKenzie, head of U.S. Central Command, said during a press conference. \u201cThe last C-17 lifted off from Hamid Karzai International Airport on Aug. 30, this afternoon, at 3:29pm, East Coast time. And the last manned aircraft is now clearing the airspace above Afghanistan.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Later in the evening, the DoD released a photograph of the last U.S. servicemember to board the final C-17 flight out of Afghanistan: Maj. Gen. Christopher Donahue, commander of the 82nd Airborne Division.<\/p>\n\n\n\t