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Operation Allies Refuge
Operation Allies Refuge was an evacuation effort carried out by the United States during the 2021 Taliban offensive. It took place in the final weeks of the War in Afghanistan and saw the airlifting of certain at-risk Afghan civilians (particularly coalition-allied interpreters), employees of the American embassy in Kabul, and other prospective applicants for the U.S. Special Immigrant Visa (SIV). American personnel also helped NATO and other regional allies in their respective evacuation efforts from Hamid Karzai International Airport in the capital city of Kabul. The operation was concurrent with the broader American military withdrawal from Afghanistan and the multinational evacuation of eligible foreigners and vulnerable Afghans.
SIV applicants were airlifted to the U.S., where they were temporarily housed by the American military while they completed their SIV requirements.
The operation's name was unveiled on 14 July 2021 by the Biden administration. On 22 July, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Averting Loss of Life and Injury by Expediting SIVs (ALLIES) Act to increase the visa cap for Afghan interpreters and to expedite the Afghan SIV process.[clarification needed]
On 30 July, the first group of 221 Afghan interpreters arrived at Fort Lee, Virginia, for SIV processing, with at least 20,000 SIV holders and applicants still to be moved from Afghanistan.
On 12 August, following continued Taliban victories across Afghanistan, the Biden administration announced that it would deploy 3,000 U.S. troops to Hamid Karzai International Airport to help evacuate embassy personnel, U.S. nationals and SIV applicants. On 13 August, Marines and Army National Guardsmen from 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, and 1st Battalion, 194th Armored Regiment arrived in Kabul. On 17 August, Army paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division moved from Fort Bragg, North Carolina, to Kabul. Another 1,000 Air Force and Army personnel were to deploy in Qatar to process SIV applicants. Meanwhile, U.S. embassy staff in Kabul were destroying sensitive materials and items featuring embassy logos or U.S. flags, a standard procedure during a drawdown. Helicopters shuttled people between the embassy compound and Kabul International Airport.
As of 26 August, Ramstein Air Base, Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Grafenwöhr, Hohenfels, Spangdahlem Air Base and Rhine Ordnance Barracks in Germany, Naval Air Station Sigonella in Italy, Camp Bondsteel in Kosovo and Naval Station Rota in Spain also participated.
On 15 August, Kabul fell to the Taliban. Afghan security forces fled the capital and thousands of Afghan civilians hurried to the airport in hopes of boarding flights, resulting in chaotic scenes of Afghans attempting to force themselves aboard military planes. The Pentagon and the State Department said the military force at the airport would expand to nearly 6,000 troops.
U.S. military took control over the security and air traffic control of the airport later in the day. At this point, Operation Allies Refuge became concurrent with a new effort to airlift all SIV applicants, embassy personnel, American nationals, and eligible Afghans seeking to flee the country.[citation needed]
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Operation Allies Refuge
Operation Allies Refuge was an evacuation effort carried out by the United States during the 2021 Taliban offensive. It took place in the final weeks of the War in Afghanistan and saw the airlifting of certain at-risk Afghan civilians (particularly coalition-allied interpreters), employees of the American embassy in Kabul, and other prospective applicants for the U.S. Special Immigrant Visa (SIV). American personnel also helped NATO and other regional allies in their respective evacuation efforts from Hamid Karzai International Airport in the capital city of Kabul. The operation was concurrent with the broader American military withdrawal from Afghanistan and the multinational evacuation of eligible foreigners and vulnerable Afghans.
SIV applicants were airlifted to the U.S., where they were temporarily housed by the American military while they completed their SIV requirements.
The operation's name was unveiled on 14 July 2021 by the Biden administration. On 22 July, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Averting Loss of Life and Injury by Expediting SIVs (ALLIES) Act to increase the visa cap for Afghan interpreters and to expedite the Afghan SIV process.[clarification needed]
On 30 July, the first group of 221 Afghan interpreters arrived at Fort Lee, Virginia, for SIV processing, with at least 20,000 SIV holders and applicants still to be moved from Afghanistan.
On 12 August, following continued Taliban victories across Afghanistan, the Biden administration announced that it would deploy 3,000 U.S. troops to Hamid Karzai International Airport to help evacuate embassy personnel, U.S. nationals and SIV applicants. On 13 August, Marines and Army National Guardsmen from 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, and 1st Battalion, 194th Armored Regiment arrived in Kabul. On 17 August, Army paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division moved from Fort Bragg, North Carolina, to Kabul. Another 1,000 Air Force and Army personnel were to deploy in Qatar to process SIV applicants. Meanwhile, U.S. embassy staff in Kabul were destroying sensitive materials and items featuring embassy logos or U.S. flags, a standard procedure during a drawdown. Helicopters shuttled people between the embassy compound and Kabul International Airport.
As of 26 August, Ramstein Air Base, Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Grafenwöhr, Hohenfels, Spangdahlem Air Base and Rhine Ordnance Barracks in Germany, Naval Air Station Sigonella in Italy, Camp Bondsteel in Kosovo and Naval Station Rota in Spain also participated.
On 15 August, Kabul fell to the Taliban. Afghan security forces fled the capital and thousands of Afghan civilians hurried to the airport in hopes of boarding flights, resulting in chaotic scenes of Afghans attempting to force themselves aboard military planes. The Pentagon and the State Department said the military force at the airport would expand to nearly 6,000 troops.
U.S. military took control over the security and air traffic control of the airport later in the day. At this point, Operation Allies Refuge became concurrent with a new effort to airlift all SIV applicants, embassy personnel, American nationals, and eligible Afghans seeking to flee the country.[citation needed]
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