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“Have you been in more chaos in your life than in Kabul?”
– Military, in terms of service, definitely not. Specifically, this type of experience was new.
– The operation of the Lithuanian soldiers lasted ten days and 170 translators and their families arrived in Lithuania to help the Lithuanians. But what was the first thrill right after landing in Kabul? What image did you see?
– We do not want to talk about emotions, because they stay on the sidelines. First of all, after landing at Kabul airport, get off the plane. Then we go to the side of the track and see what we have. We have seen a string of Afghans traveling by plane. These were already organized chains.
We saw the armies of other countries and began to think about our establishment: we needed to build our base, the protection of the forces, so that we could start the operation itself. That was the first landing.
– Is it located in the airport area?
– Yes, it is very big, here military and civilian planes land. Huge perimeter. We settled in a kind of city near the airstrips. Nearby: several hangars, old service points and various complexes. Everything that was once used is now abandoned.
– Were the preparations for the operation carried out beforehand, still in Lithuania?
– Of course, but that is the part that we would least like to discuss and comment on. It would be better to talk about the execution itself.
– Then, in terms of the implementation itself: how many decisions were made on the spot and how far did this previously prepared and known plan go?
– In the army it is said: the plan is valid until the first shot. But it is clear that the operation was led by the Defense Staff of the Lithuanian Armed Forces. There were basic instructions, basic guidelines. And our reports went to defense headquarters.
But tactical decisions are made unequivocally on the ground: who is it? better in this or that place. How to be in contact with the translators, what is the identification mark, what will we eat, where will we sleep, etc. Even those household items without which the operation would not be carried out. All this is accepted on earth, because only then is everything closer to the truth.
– How did you recognize the translators?
– We had agreed signals. We were not empty, we had a list of translators who cooperated with Lithuania. This list with certain contacts was the starting point, contact was maintained with the Second Department of Operational Services (Military Intelligence). The place and approximate time of the meeting were indicated.
By then we were already driving towards the airport entrances. We also tried to get the convention sign displayed to a large crowd. We showed our contractual sign: it was a large Lithuanian tricolor, considered a soldier standing somewhere higher.
The soldiers also went around the perimeter of the entire territory with small flags. There is a sewer nearby, so we walked through it, looking for Afghans with the identification placards they showed us. That was the identification procedure.
Then when we saw the signs, we screamed, we showed that we could see, we called closer. Sounds simple, but difficult to approach (people) through such a large crowd.
Then the transfer took place. A person jumps into the channel, moves his family members, passes it on to us. So we put them together.
– What were the Afghan insignia they showed you?
– I will say so much that they were, in military terms, visual recognition signals that are understood as ours.
– You mentioned tricolor. Did you transport it from Lithuania, of course?
– Two net.
– Both using?
– Yes. The flag was a very functional element.
– Did you have to find a car to drive in Kabul? Is this also a separate story?
– Yes, there were two cars with Lithuanian symbols. The entire airport city of Kabul is quite devastated. We found broken buildings, smashed windows, cafes, open warehouses, as well as many abandoned ghost cars. No keys, broken glass, open hoods. Like a car accident.
We lift two cars for a short second life.
We also had to take people to the track, and the distance was about 5-7 kilometers. It would be impossible to carry a mother with six children through such heat, so a car was just a necessity.
We started looking for some that could resurrect a little more. We found two. Sure, it took improvisation, it took one tool or another, but we bred two cars for a short second life.
– Did you draw them with Lithuanian symbols?
– Other soldiers gave two jars of paint. We draw the letters of LTU, then on the front and sides the main symbols of the army and the well-known pillars of Gediminas and, of course, we do not do without Vytis (double) cross. It is a key element of the Special Operations Forces flag.
When the operation was complete, we wrapped the symbols for obvious reasons – they can’t tell who can use them. We do not leave the Lithuanian symbolism to anyone.
The cars were filled with dark squares and virtual emoticons: a colon and a bracket.
– When looking for translators among the masses of people, can you visually distinguish which are the Taliban?
– Usually, yes. Some are very obvious cases since they are armed. There have been cases where a person stands neatly dressed and observes the surroundings from above. Most likely, he did not come to evacuate. And who else could have an interest there?
The Taliban were clearly visible at the gate where the main withdrawal was. Finally, on the last day, a Lithuanian soldier stands in one place, and ten meters away, on the other side of the canal, are the Taliban with a barrel of ammunition and attached grenades. Everyone does their job without paying attention to others.
I heard that the allies are coordinating with the Taliban and each is regulating human trafficking on their side. Coordination takes place, and this is not inevitable without a positive or negative image. So yes, the Taliban were there.
But we weren’t driving like vulnerable kittens, we were an armed military force.
– When and how did the name “Eleventh of Kabul” come about?
– It seems to me that the authorship belongs to the Minister of National Defense Arvydas Anušauskas. It occurred to him, at least I first read it on his Facebook post, and maybe he gave someone an interview. But it came out fantastically.
– Like the title of the movie.
– Like a movie. He made a funny smile, he (name – aut.) Quite charming. It is rare that such operations are so visible. And especially operations involving soldiers from the Special Operations Forces or the Second Department of Operational Services. These are warriors who have to hide their faces. That is why I am the one who gives the interview, I am one of those people who do not have to hide their faces.
– You said a very interesting idea that this operation was, in a sense, public, it was the focus of public attention, when we don’t usually see soldiers from the Special Operations Forces, right?
– Yes.
– How did the soldiers themselves react to such publicity?
– It really is not easy to point a photographic lens at a special forces soldier and not run away from that lens. They are people who are quiet professionals, and their service habits are completely reverted to the public.
We do not know their names, their faces, what specific unit they are, nor are they. But when it comes to this operation, there is another important knowledge for our current and future allies: that we are not leaving the people and that this message must be spread in order to achieve goals that are beneficial to Lithuania in the future.
– Just to clarify: the photos are edited before the publicity and do not show the faces of the soldiers?
– Of course. The identity of a soldier and his affiliation to the forces is a service secret.
– At the beginning of the conversation you said that you don’t talk about your emotions. But you are the first to see other people’s emotions: Afghans. What are they? Did you communicate?
– Yes. We accompanied each other to the plane and for a day or two they lived in our makeshift base. That’s why we communicated, and in the afternoons there was a time when we no longer went anywhere. Then you go to them and tell them about life, about plans. And there were sadder questions. You want to ask what they leave here. Many stories.
– Are they painful, of course?
– Hard to say. And yes and no. But I think it is difficult for all people to leave the house. Imagine if a person – about 45 years old – was already established in that country (life – aut.).
But you have to stop thinking like that because the ceiling is breaking down.
So naturally, you try to model yourself in the same situation. I’m trying to imagine what would happen if I had to drop everything. Or should I stay in the gutter with my kids and wait for it to come out? But you have to stop thinking like that because the ceiling is ruining. Oh, and I can’t think much about that because it would interfere with homework. But here I am talking only about myself, here my thoughts, not those of other soldiers.
But there is another side to these stories. After all, the people already on the perimeter of the airport were smiling and greeting each other. We take out one part of them, the other. They meet in a safer area, greet, even joke. There it was. Not just sadness.
But escaping from the environment that was worth escaping from was a lot of excitement.
– Sensitive images while listening to your story.
– Yes. It would be good if there were no children, I would say yes. Here from my personal perspective. What do little children put here? Adults can lift a lot.
– The people themselves do not believe in the Taliban’s promises of amnesty that they will not be punished, revenge?
– How much did I have to communicate – no. There are no illusions. People said that (the Taliban) go door to door, sending scary messages. There are no illusions about amnesty.
– There was also talk in the public sphere about the help of the Lithuanian allies in Kabul by the allies. What was that support?
– The simplest. We got off the plane with all our equipment, we stopped at the edge of the runway. Equipment: a lot, you also need to start looking for a place to live. Before we had had little contact with German soldiers, and the first person to carry our belongings was a German soldier. Very simple support. He helped us find a place to stay. He also helped with dry rations, water, many other household items.
All soldiers know where they are going. We’re not going to scout camp.
Polish soldiers also accompanied them to look for cars. Finally, I received a packet of ground arabica coffee from a Polish soldier, which is an unimaginable luxury in Kabul for us coffee-used Lithuanians.
That is the human support that was very important. Not to mention that all people, including us, fly Polish military aircraft.
– Shortly after I left Kabul, a terrorist attack took place here. Will you fly to Afghanistan knowing you might have them during your stay?
– Of course. All soldiers know where they are going. We’re not going to scout camp. In general, shooting in Kabul is common. At the airport, a series here, a series there. There were those shots, but that’s why these soldiers were sent. They are ready.
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