Former Oregon National Guard Soldier Alek Skarlatos, who served in Afghanistan has released the following statement:

"As a former infantryman who served in Afghanistan, we were taught to never leave a man behind.

"As a result, it’s time for President Joe Biden, our commander and chief, to authorize the Pentagon to take back Bagram Air Field.

"This will give our military additional power and another route for Americans and our allies to evacuate the country.

"Then, President Biden needs to expand the security perimeter around the Kabul Airport, and allow our military to go out and rescue every American and as many Afghan allies as possible so they do not need to go through these Taliban checkpoints, where they are being beaten, whipped, and denied access.

"Once we complete that mission, which should not have any self-imposed artificial deadlines, then we can work to draw down our presence in Afghanistan."

Skarlatos is a former Oregon National Guardsman, who served in Afghanistan. In 2015, while traveling on a train bound for Paris, he, along with four others, jumped into action to stop an Islamic Terrorist who tried to open fire on a passenger train. His heroism earned him several awards and medals around the world including, the United States' Soldier’s Medal.

After serving as a National Guardsman for 5 years, Skarlatos left military service in November 2017. Upon completing his service, Skarlatos voiced his inspiring experience by authoring 15:17 to Paris: The True Story of A Terrorist, A Train, and Three American Heroes describing the events that led up to the attack on the train ride to Paris from Amsterdam. He worked with legendary director Clint Eastwood on the film 15:17 to Paris that portrayed the harrowing attack in which Skarlatos starred as himself.

Skarlatos ran for US Congress in Oregon's 4th Congressional District against Peter DeFazio and is expected to run for Congress in 2022.


--Staff Reports

Post Date: 2021-08-20 09:02:00

Last Update: 2021-08-20 13:54:03