Afghanistan

Floor Speech

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Mr. HAWLEY. Mr. President, following my submission in a previous session of the U.S. Central Command concerning the Abbey Gate bombing in Afghanistan in August 2021.

The (investigation) commenced at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait at 2000 on 20210917

2. The (Investigating officer) finished gathering/hearing evidence at 1100 on 20211022 and completed findings and recommendations at 2000 on 202111022 SECTION III--CHECKLIST FOR PROCEEDINGS

A. COMPLETE IN ALL CASES

1. Enclosures

Are the following enclosed and numbered consecutively with Roman numerals: (Attached in order listed)

a. The memorandum of appointment? YES

b. All other written communications to or from the appointing authority? YES

c. Privacy Act Statements (Certificate, if statement provided orally)? NA

d. Explanation by the investigating officer of any unusual delays, difficulties, irregularities, or other problems encountered (e.g., absence of material witnesses)? NA

e. Any other significant papers (other than evidence) relating to administrative aspects of the investigation? NA

f. An Executive Summary, Index of Exhibits, Chronology of the Investigation and lists of all persons interviewed and evidence gathered. (Complex, serious and/or high profile cases)? YES

2. Exhibits

a. Are all items offered (whether or not received) or considered as evidence individually numbered or lettered as exhibits and attached? YES

b. Is an index of all exhibits offered to or considered by investigating officer attached before the first exhibit? YES

c. Has the testimony/statement of each witness been recorded verbatim or been reduced to written form and attached as an exhibit? YES

d. Are copies, descriptions, or depictions (if substituted for real or documentary evidence) properly authenticated and is the location of the original evidence indicated? NA

e. Are descriptions or diagrams included of locations visited by the investigating officer (Appendix C-3, AR 15-6)? NA

f. Is each written stipulation attached as an exhibit and is each oral stipulation either reduced to writing and made an exhibit or recorded? NA

FOOTNOTES: Explain all negative answers on an attached sheet.

Use of the N/A column constitutes a positive representation that the circumstances described in the question did not occur in this investigation. SECTION IV--FINDINGS

The (investigating officer), having carefully considered the evidence, finds: SEE MEMORANDUM SECTION V--RECOMMENDATIONS

In view of the above findings, the (investigating officer) recommends: SEE MEMORANDUM SECTION VI--AUTHENTICATION

THIS REPORT OF PROCEEDINGS IS COMPLETE AND ACCURATE.

(TEXT REDACTED)

(Investigating Officer) SECTION VII--ACTION BY APPROVING AUTHORITY

The findings an recommendations of the (investigating officer) are:

a) Approved. (TEXT REDACTED)

b) Approved with the following modifications:

(4) The following recommendations are modified as follows:

The Mental Health Evaluation/treatment priority will apply to Service Members at ALL gates HK (TEXT REDACTED) [Signed]--NOV102021 Ronald P. Clark, Lieutenant General, USA, Commanding. ____ United States Central Command, Office of the Commander, Macdill Air Force Base, FL, 22 Nov. 2021. Memorandum for Secretary of Defense Thru: Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff From: General Kenneth F. McKenzie, Jr., Commander, U.S. Central Command Subject: Abbey Gate AR 15-6 Investigation

Mr. Secretary, I have reviewed the AR 15-6 investigation completed at my direction by U.S. Army Central (ARCENT) and concur with and endorse its findings and recommendations. The investigation was exceptionally comprehensive in its scope, as appropriate to the tragic events that precipitated its initiation. The investigating team, led by BG Lance Curtis, conducted 70 separate interviews, many of which were held in a group setting to facilitate a free flow of information. A total of 139 people were interviewed at seven different locations spanning five countries. Interviews ranged from between one hour and six hours in duration, with the average interview lasting between two and three hours, and the average transcription totaling nearly 11 pages. I specifically concur that:

The task organization worked. This was in large part due to pre-existing or quickly forged relationships among leaders at the highest echelons and adaptability at the lower echelons;

By 25 August 2021, Abbey Gate was the main effort for ``walk-up'' gate operations at Hamid Karzai International Airport;

There was no complex attack; it was a single suicide bomber not accompanied by enemy small arms fire;

There is no evidence that Afghans were killed by return fire from U.S. forces in the immediate aftermath of the attack;

The attack was not preventable at the tactical level without degrading the mission to maximize the number of evacuees;

The attack was not the result of any act of omission or commission by forces on the ground;

The wounds sustained by the service members Killed in Action were so catastrophic that none could be saved; and

Although not assigned as a task to ARCENT or the investigating team, it is my judgment that all injuries sustained by U.S. personnel incident to the Abbey Gate attack occurred in the line of duty and were not due to any misconduct by the killed or injured U.S. personnel.

I further concur with the recommendations detailed in the ARCENT investigation. Accordingly, I have directed the following actions:

The Findings and Recommendations will be forwarded to all USCENTCOM Service Component Commanders to ensure that all U.S. servicemembers at Abbey Gate during the attack, and present in any of the blast zones detailed in the investigation, are afforded the opportunity to be evaluated for Traumatic Brain Injury (Recommendation (a));

The Findings and Recommendations will be forwarded to all USCENTCOM Service Component Commanders to facilitate prioritized access to appropriate mental health evaluations for personnel involved in executing entry control point operations from 17-26 August and personnel involved in the medical response to the attack on 26 August (Recommendation (b));

The investigation will be forwarded to the Joint Staff to inform any efforts that might be undertaken to develop interagency doctrine for Noncombatant Evacuation Operations (Recommendation (c)); and

Relevant portions of the investigation will be forwarded to U.S. Marine Corps Forces Central for appropriate action regarding the potential serious injury or death of an Afghan civilian on or about 20 August 2021 resulting from the alleged improper deployment of a flash bang grenade by a U.S. Marine from 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment (Recommendation (d)).

Based on the totality of the facts and circumstances detailed in the ARCENT investigation, I do not believe that any adverse administrative or disciplinary action is necessary or appropriate for any U.S. personnel involved in our operations at Abbey Gate.

The ARCENT investigating team and the ARCENT Commander, LTG Ron Clark, briefed me in person on 11 November 2021 regarding this investigation. The presentation was as comprehensive as the investigation itself, and it included detailed PowerPoint slides, embedded video, and exceptionally well scripted speaker notes that complemented the written investigation and facilitated an informative exchange of questions and answers. I highly recommend you take the brief in person, and set aside two hours to this purpose. If you concur, my headquarters will work with your staff to make the ARCENT team available.

Enclosure: AR 15-6 Investigation (Enclosures and Exhibits available via Sharepoint)

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