Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN) gave three witnesses, Afghanistan veterans who were testifying on Thursday to the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and Accountability, the opportunity to respond to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin saying he had zero regrets over how the withdrawal from Afghanistan was conducted.
"Extremely frustrated and let down," retired Col. Seth Krummrich first said.
Retired Col. Christopher Kolenda noted he lost six soldiers from his unit in Afghanistan in 2007, "and the fact that there has not been an examination of why these failures...keep happening is very frustrating to me because it seems that the next time we get into one of these interventions we're going to make the same basic mistakes and it's going to heighten the risk of another disaster."
Command Sgt. Maj. Jake Smith said he was unable to answer Banks' question because he implied it would be critical of his current leadership since he is still in the military. Banks said he hopes Smith would one day be able to share his full thoughts about the issue.
Krummrich added:
All combat veterans have regrets. I've been very fortunate where the VA has been able to help me and I've got a support team that helps me work through that everyday but I find that comment very tone-deaf and not tethered to reality. You have to have regrets, you should. It looks like September 10, 2001 there now. It's only getting worse...So I find that statement wildly painful for everyone who has to put in blood, sweat, and tears, for the families that lost their family members. It's got me absolutely livid.