SOGCast 046: Top Secret Tom Reveals Role in Helping Allies Flee Taliban After Afghanistan Collapses

Quick Overview

Retired US Army technician, identified as Tom, details his extensive, unsanctioned efforts in spare time to vet and help hundreds of Afghan allies, including American citizens, escape Afghanistan following the August 2021 withdrawal, often working against bureaucratic friction from the State Department.

Key Points: Tom began helping allies escape on August 18th, the same day a child named Fouad, whom Tom later championed, was shot in the face during the airport chaos. Tom's initial effort involved a small group of eight special operations or former special operations members vetting Afghans to ensure they were not on terrorist watch lists. At one point, Tom was tracking 25 American citizens by himself, which contradicted the President's statement that fewer than 100 Americans remained in Afghanistan. Tom maintained operational security by communicating indirectly, talking to Americans in the US who then relayed information to people inside Afghanistan. He managed a massive manifest, peaking at over 900 people, including families of American service members whose relatives were left behind, eventually assisting around a thousand people in total. Tom failed to get a critically injured six-year-old, Fouad, and his family onto a major evacuation flight on October 19th because the manifest had already been locked down by Emirati authorities. Tom promised Fouad's strong 16-year-old cousin, Marwa, that he would "do everything in my power" to get the family out, which he continued to pursue even after facing three denials from the State Department between late October and December.

Context: The SOGCast episode features 'Top Secret Tom,' a retired technician from the Fifth Special Forces Group who worked on the podcast for three years while still serving. During the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021, Tom used his spare time, while still on active duty, to coordinate efforts to extract Afghan allies and remaining American citizens who were left behind after the US government pulled out.