Fairfield Veteran Helping Americans Escape Afghanistan

FAIRFIELD, CT — A Fairfield resident and U.S. Army veteran has joined “digital Dunkirk,” an independent effort by national security experts to help American citizens and allies escape Afghanistan after it was recently taken by the Taliban, according to the Hartford Courant.

Alex Plitsas served in Iraq and Afghanistan and is currently the chair of the Fairfield Republican Town Committee. He is working with fellow veterans to use their military knowledge and experience — as well as social media — to aid Americans, some of whom were stranded after traveling to Afghanistan to visit family, the Courant reported.

“They say when you get out of the military or the intelligence community that you never really get out,” Plitsas said Thursday on Twitter. “I never understood what that meant until this week. That network is still able to move heaven and earth when needed. I’m thankful beyond words.”

In mid-August, around the time the Taliban overtook Afghanistan’s capital city of Kabul, about 6,000 Americans were known to be in the country, but by Wednesday, that number was down to 1,500, the New York Times reported. The U.S. intends to withdraw its last troops Tuesday.

“All of the American cases that I was working have made it inside the airfield,” Plitsas said in a tweet late Thursday. “I can finally sleep and eat for the first time in a couple days. There are a lot of people still trapped so it’s not time to celebrate. Thank you to our troops, diplomats, and Intel professionals!”

Also Thursday, at least 13 U.S. troops were killed when suicide bombers attacked the Kabul airport, according to the Times, which reported the Islamic State claimed responsibility for the violence. Dozens died in the attack and most of the victims were Afghan civilians, including small children, according to the Times.