{"id":45120,"date":"2021-08-19T19:16:00","date_gmt":"2021-08-20T01:16:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/a-lot-of-complex-feelings-how-3-colorado-veterans-feel-about-afghanistans-collapse\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T03:23:37","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T09:23:37","slug":"a-lot-of-complex-feelings-how-3-colorado-veterans-feel-about-afghanistans-collapse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/a-lot-of-complex-feelings-how-3-colorado-veterans-feel-about-afghanistans-collapse\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018A lot of complex feelings\u2019: How 3 Colorado veterans feel about Afghanistan\u2019s collapse"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"U.S.
U.S. Army Sgt. Matthew Roberts, a native of Huston, Texas, scans the hills surrounding the volatile Korengal Valley in Afghanistan\u2019s Kunar province, during an early morning patrol, Aug. 13. Roberts, and fellow members of Baker Company, 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division, have endured some of the toughest fighting in Afghanistan since arriving to the valley in June. (Photo by Sgt. Matthew Moeller, U.S. Army)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Colorado is home to thousands of soldiers and airmen, many of whom deployed to Afghanistan over the past 20 years \u2013 some of whom did not return or came back mentally and physically scarred by the conflict.<\/p>\n

The chaos unfolding in the South Asian country over the past week has left those veterans battling mixed emotions about their sacrifice. Some are frustrated that their service may have been in vain while others are elated to see U.S. troops leaving what they feel was a hopeless war.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a challenging time for U.S. combat veterans as we grapple with the meaning of the last 20 years and your service and your sacrifice,\u201d U.S. Rep. Jason Crow, a Centennial Democrat and a veteran of the Afghanistan war, said Monday during a news conference. \u201cYou stood up, you raised your right hand and you served your country when you were called to do so and you should be proud of that. You made a difference in the lives of many people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nearly 2,500 American troops were killed in Afghanistan through April, including 40 who were from Colorado and 95 who were stationed at Fort Carson, per a Colorado Sun analysis. Members of the military stationed at Buckley Air Force Base in Aurora and Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs also were killed in America\u2019s longest war.<\/p>\n

The Sun spoke with three veterans of the Afghanistan wars this week to get their perspective on the country\u2019s collapse:<\/p>\n

\u2018Most veterans could have told you that this would happen\u2019<\/div>\n

One of the things that sticks out most from Tony Adams\u2019 deployment to Afghanistan from 2009 to 2010 was the 5-year-old girl he tried to save after she was caught and wounded in a gunbattle between the Afghan National Army and the Taliban.<\/p>\n

\u201cProbably one of the harder things I had to do,\u201d said the 39-year-old who lives in Colorado Springs.<\/p>\n

But there were moments that he looks back on with happiness, like his work to reopen a school that had been shuttered by the Taliban, and how he and his comrades ensured that Afghans could vote freely.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think my time there was poorly spent,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Still, Adams, who was a sergeant in the 4th Infantry Division based at Fort Carson, admits that the chaos unfolding in Afghanistan in recent days has left him with \u201ca lot of complex feelings.\u201d<\/p>\n

He can\u2019t help but wonder if his time in the country was for naught. His thoughts turn to the friend whose legs were badly injured when an improvised explosive device went off. That man still may lose his foot.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think a lot of people wonder if it\u2019s worth it,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s hard because I think most veterans could have told you that this would happen if we pulled out.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018It absolutely was worth it\u2019<\/div>\n
\n

Audio interview<\/h4>\n

To hear an interview with Colorado Rep. David Ortiz, an Army helicopter pilot who was shot down in June 2012 in eastern Afghanistan, visit www.coloradosun.com\/2021\/08\/17\/colorado-afghanistan-war-veterans-sentiments<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

In June 2012, David Ortiz was an Army helicopter pilot flying a mission in eastern Afghanistan. He was tasked with checking out a report that the Taliban had deployed a Russian heavy machine gun.<\/p>\n

During the trip, the aircraft\u2019s engine exploded and the Kiowa Warrior he was flying crashed.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy memory cuts out at about 20 feet from the ground,\u201d said Ortiz, who is 39 and lives in Littleton. \u201cI woke up three to five minutes later, dust in the air. I was feeling hot. I was covered in metal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ortiz quickly realized that he had a spinal cord injury. He also had a fractured cheekbone and ribs, a laceration to his skull and a collapsed right lung. \u201cI knew I was in bad shape,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"State
State Rep. David Ortiz flies a helicopter during his time in the Army. (Handout)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Ortiz spent months in the hospital as he recovered from his injuries. He lacks sensation and muscle control below his waist because of the crash. In 2020, he was elected as a Democratic state representative in Colorado.<\/p>\n

This week, Ortiz is feeling frustrated with the Biden administration and how it handled the withdrawal of U.S. troops.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was optimistic,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019ve been there for 20 years. I believed that we had done what we had needed to do to train the Afghan National Army. I believed that leadership wouldn\u2019t be making this decision unless we could leave Afghanistan a stable country that could fight against the Taliban. Clearly that was not the case.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ortiz doesn\u2019t buy that the war in Afghanistan had to end this way, or that the U.S. had to pull out at all. He pointed to Japan and Germany, where the U.S. has had troops since World War II. The American military still has a large presence in South Korea, too.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like this administration stubbornly stuck to their decision and to talking points and to political campaign processes more than the reality on the ground. It\u2019s been disgusting for me to see, quite frankly,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He said his \u201cheart breaks for the Afghan people. It especially breaks for the women and girls who are going to have to live under this oppressive regime.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"State
State Rep. David Ortiz during his rehabilitation at Craig Hospital after a helicopter crash in Afghanistan. (Handout)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Ortiz, who was medically retired in May 2016 as a chief warrant officer, still strongly believes in what the U.S. military accomplished in Afghanistan.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt absolutely was worth it,\u201d he said of his sacrifice and the sacrifice of his fellow soldiers. \u201cWe have not seen a 9\/11-style attack on our shores since 9\/11, and that is no small part because of their sacrifice. That is directly correlated to the fact that we took the fight to them and we took the fight there for 20-plus years.\u201d<\/p>\n

He\u2019s proud of the Afghan women and girls who were able to get an education because of the U.S. presence.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo not listen to the privileged who got to grow up here and spent most of their time in a relatively wealthy and safe country,\u201d he said. \u201cWhat you did mattered, even if it only lasted for 20-plus years. Your sacrifice was definitely worth it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018We should just pull out and leave them alone\u2019<\/div>\n

Matthew Smith always had his doubts about why the American military was in Afghanistan, even when he was deployed to the country in 2012 as a Marine working in aviation logistics.<\/p>\n

\u201cI never understood why we were messing around up there,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Now, with the country falling back into Taliban hands, the 31-year-old who lives in Aurora thinks the U.S. should stay the course with its withdrawal.<\/p>\n

\"A
A United States Army loadmaster stands on the rear ramp of a CH-47F Chinook and watches the sunset as it flies over Kabul, Afghanistan in September 2017. (Julie A. Kelemen, U.S. Army photo)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cI don\u2019t see a reason to send more troops over there to retake a place that can\u2019t take care of itself,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n

Smith, who reached the rank of corporal, said he and other Marines were told their mission in Afghanistan was to train Afghan troops so they could operate on their own and then the U.S. could leave.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe seemed to never leave them alone,\u201d he said. \u201cWe should just pull out and leave them alone. They\u2019ll never stand on their own. We\u2019re just wasting not only resources, but American lives to help them do something they\u2019ll never do.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a Marine, however, he said what\u2019s happening in Afghanistan is frustrating.<\/p>\n

The Afghan province where Camp Bastion is located \u2013 the base where Smith worked and survived a deadly Taliban attack \u2013 was captured by the Taliban last week.<\/p>\n

\u201cSomething you fought for and cared for and you wanted to see stay safe isn\u2019t anymore,\u201d he said. \u201cThat time you put in almost seems like it was a waste. Almost like you did it for nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Colorado Sun is a reader-supported, nonpartisan news organization dedicated to covering Colorado issues. To learn more, go to coloradosun.com<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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