There is a problem that has been festering for years here in the United States and abroad. It is a problem that has been continually swept under the rug. A problem that has been turned into big business and not helped. That problem is mental health, and it is running wild. Today, I break down some actual stats, give some facts from both the civilian and military veteran communities, and some personal experiences with all of it.

Alcohol Deaths NIH ⁠Alcohol-Related Emergencies and Deaths in the United States | National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) (nih.gov)⁠ CDC Opioid ⁠U.S. Overdose Deaths Decrease in 2023, First Time Since 2018 (cdc.gov)⁠ Firearm Deaths ⁠Number of firearm deaths in the U.S. 2021 | Statista⁠ CDC Suicide Stats ⁠CDC Provisional Data: Gun Suicides Reach All-time High in 2022, Gun Homicides Down Slightly from 2021 | Center for Gun Violence Solutions (jhu.edu)⁠ Everytown Research ⁠Those Who Serve: Addressing Firearm Suicide Among Military Veterans | Everytown Research & Policy⁠ Statista ⁠Number of veteran suicide deaths U.S. 2001-2021 | Statista⁠ Mission Roll Call ⁠The State of Veteran Suicide (2024) - Mission Roll Call⁠

The three-year anniversary of the suicide bombing at the Abbey Gate of the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul is upon us. In that attack we lost 13 more servicemembers and countless Afghan civilians were also killed in the blasts. Today, I am honoring all those we lost in Afghanistan and keeping the names of those 13 servicemembers alive and in everyone's memories. No matter how much they seem to want us to have forgotten them.

NPR Airport Attack: https://www.npr.org/2021/08/26/1031428645/the-attacks-outside-kabul-airport-pushes-the-u-s-exit-into-deeper-disarray DoD: DOD Identifies Marine Corps, Navy and Army Casualties > U.S. Department of Defense > Release

The three-year anniversary of the embarrassing retreat from Afghanistan is upon us. That includes the suicide bombing at the Abbey Gate of the Hamid Karzai International Airport that cost us 13 more service members. Today, we are addressing the timeline of events that took place in Part 1 of this Special 2 Part episode. We are discussing the events that happened in the collapse and takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban. We also discuss the series of events that got us into Afghanistan and how our history there unfolded.

AP News: https://apnews.com/article/afghanistan-taliban-takeover-timeline-df3df916cae4b07d53a302dc9a2811d8 BBC: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-58232525

AP Bagram: https://apnews.com/article/bagram-afghanistan-airfield-us-troops-f3614828364f567593251aaaa167e623 LA Times: https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2021-09-03/photos-tanks-helicopters-artillery-see-what-the-u-s-left-behind-in-afghanistan BBC Equipment Left Behind: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-58393763