Saving Aziz: How the Mission to Help One Became a Calling to Rescue Thousands from the Taliban

by Chad Robichaux, David Thomas

Now a Wall Street Journal Bestseller It was the right thing to do. And someone had to do it. Aziz was more than an interpreter for Force Recon Marine Chad Robichaux during Chad's eight deployments to Afghanistan. He was a teammate, brother, and friend. More than once, Aziz saved Chad's life. And then he needed Chad to save his. When President Joe Biden announced in April 2021 that the United States would be making a hasty withdrawal from Afghanistan, Robichaux knew he had to get Aziz and his family out before Taliban forces took over the country. As the rescue team began to go to work, they became aware of thousands more--US citizens, Afghan allies, women, and children--facing persecution. This gripping account of two war heroes and friends puts human hearts and names alongside the headlines of one of the most harrowing moments in our history, giving you a closer look Saving Aziz is more than a story of war and it's about breaking down prejudice and apathy--and why risking it all is worth it when it comes to loving one another. Praise for Saving Aziz : " Saving Aziz is the story of two warriors...brought together by war and a brotherhood forged through years of battling...for the cause of freedom and captures the heroic efforts of those who took action to not only rescue Aziz and his family in the US withdrawal but thousands of others." --Tim Kennedy, New York Times bestselling author, US Army Special Forces, Sniper

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Military Fiction, Memoir, Christian, Audiobook, Military History

224 pages, Hardcover

Published January 17, 2023

About the author

Chad Robichaux is a former Force Recon Marine and DoD Contractor who served on eight deployments to Afghanistan as part of a Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) Task Force. After overcoming his personal battles with PTSd and nearly becoming a veteran suicide statistic, Chad founded Mighty Oaks, a leading non-profit serving the military and first responder communities with highly successful faith-based resiliency and recovery programs.

Having spoken to millions of people worldwide, over 500,000 active-duty troops, and having led life-saving programs for approximately 7,000 warriors at Mighty Oaks Ranches around the nation, Chad has become a go-to resource and is considered a subject matter expert on PTSd, veterans care, and national security, having advised Presidential Administrations, Congress, Senate, the VA, the DoD, and was appointed to serve as the Chairman of a White House Veterans Coalition.

Chad serves as a board member for the Center for Security Policy and is the Co-Founder of two non-profits focused on the rescue of Americans and vulnerable people groups trapped or captured in conflict zones around the world. In 2021, Chad led the largest civilian evacuation in American history, rescuing over 17,000 people who were trapped during the Afghanistan withdrawal, including his long-time interpreter and friend, Aziz and is now leading operations in Ukraine and other high-risk areas around the world.

Chad is regularly featured on a wide range of national media and is a Fox News Contributor. Chad's life story was notably shared in a short film by I Am Second, along with a sequel, and is the focus of the documentaries Never Fight Alone, Send Me, and Escape from Afghanistan. Currently, a motion picture movie is being produced based on Chad's award-winning Wall Street Journal best-selling book, Saving Aziz. Chad is also the USA Today best-selling author of A Mission Without Borders, highlighting rescue efforts and humanitarian aid missions he led on ten trips to Ukraine since 2022.

Chad is also a former Special Agent, having served with the US Federal Air Marshal Service and the US State Department Surveillance Detection Program. He holds an MBA from the New York Institute of Technology (NYIT), is a board-certified pastoral counselor with the AACC, and is completing a graduate nonprofit management program at Harvard University.

Chad is a lifelong martial artist, Professional World Mixed Martial Arts Champion, and 4th-degree Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt. Chad is a devoted Christian and resides in Texas. He and Kathy have two daughters, two sons, and five grandchildren. Through his resilience, passion, and selfless heart to serve others, Chad remains an inspiring figure to many worldwide as the host of The Resilient Show.

source: Amazon

Reviews

[Ash · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book. Not sure how Biden and his administration aren’t behind bars for this.

[theliterateleprechaun · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was the right thing to do. And someone had to do it.

This is Force Recon Marine Chad Robichaux’s story about rescuing his interpreter from Afghanistan once the announcement was made that America was withdrawing. After 8 deployments to Afghanistan, Robichaux considered Aziz a friend and a teammate and upon hearing Biden’s evacuation plan, he knew he had to get Aziz out of the country before the Taliban took over.

The story of Aziz’s rescue began as just that - a plan to rescue Aziz and his family. It quickly grew into a calling. ‘Saving Aziz’ highlights Robichaux’s mission to rescue Aziz along with 17, 000 evacuees in a matter of weeks. In fact, 12,000 of those rescued were taken to safety within the first 10 days. It’s an enlightening account of how people with different nationalities, beliefs and religions, worked together to do the impossible. You’ll read about how a Jewish organization donated $1.6M through a Christian nonprofit to help rescue Muslims, the incredible generosity of the UAE both monetarily and in providing planes and temporary shelter, and about a group of heroes who, rather than complain about the withdrawal plans, stood up and risked their lives to rescue the thousands of people who were left to face the Taliban regime alone.

I devoured this book in one sitting and had goosebumps reading about how “looking into a stranger’s eyes breaks down prejudice and apathy” and why “risking it all is worth it when it comes to loving one another.”

I may not be American and I may not have understood all the politics discussed, but I appreciated Robichaux sharing his point of view and enlightening the rest of the world about what he believes really happened after April 14, 2021. He claims America was “set up for failure from the onset of the withdrawal.” Considering what he gave and what it cost him, I needed to ‘listen’ to what he had to say. There are many sides to a story. It behooves us all to learn from all those who were involved.

I also read Mitchell Zuckoff’s ‘The Secret Gate’ and was shocked at the courage and sacrifice.

I was gifted this copy by Thomas Nelson and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

A must read if you want to understand the magnitude of human suffering needlessly caused by America’s abrupt pull-out from Afghanistan, and the heroic work of private citizens and ex-military members to rescue US allies trapped under brutal Taliban rule.

[BooksNCrannies · Rating 4 out of 5]

"This is for real, I remembered thinking. I'm really in combat now. The Taliban is out there. They're going to try to kill me, and I'm good to try to kill them."

✏️ Review ✏️

Written with thoroughness and presented with clarity, Saving Aziz gives a first-hand look at the American withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021. Chad Robichaux writes with experience, purpose, and equity. His presentation is not a politically charged attack on some administration, person, or party; but rather it is an accurate and appropriate depiction of the events leading up to, during, and after the US withdrawal. This book is filled with insights and facts that many people don't even know about the Afghanistan debacle.

Saving Aziz is a great book about modern-day patriotism and what it means to look beyond prejudice and apathy. It is an account of courage, hope, and resilience. I encourage everyone to take the time to read Saving Aziz.

📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚

📊 A Quick Overview 📊

👍🏼 What I Liked:
•The presentation of insights and facts that aren't so well known.
•The first-hand experience from which the author writes; gives the book more personal depth.
•The complete look at American involvement in Afghanistan before, during, and after the 2021 US withdrawal.

👎🏼 What I Did Not Like:
•(Can't think of anything.)

📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚

📖 BOOK BREAKDOWN 📖 (Overall: 4/5)
~Fundamentals: (1=worst; 5=best)
— 📈 Plot: NA
— 📝 Writing: 3.5/5
— 👥 Characters: NA
~Content: (0=none; 1=least; 5=most)

— 🤬 Language: 0/5

— ⚔️ Violence: 2/5
•Some mildly graphic descriptions of brutality and war-related violence.

— ⚠️ Sexual: 1/5
•Mentions rape and a few other forms of sexual abuse.

•A crude remark is made in the book.

📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚

📣 Random Comments 📣

•(None)

📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚

💬 Favorite Quotes 💬

•(None.)

[Audrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This wasn’t Saigon all over again; this was worse. I had not realized it at the time, but the State Department had closed the back valve on us—intentionally, I now believe.

This book will restore some of your faith in humanity. If you had any faith in government remaining, you will have none at all after this book.

I hope you remember the U.S. withdrawal of Afghanistan in 2021. It was done in the most astonishingly incompetent manner imaginable. Hundreds of thousands of our American and Afghani brothers and sisters were abandoned to be tortured, raped, and murdered by the Taliban. Millions of everyday citizens donated millions of dollars for other private citizens with military training to rescue as many as possible.

Veteran Chad Robichaux had the expertise to rescue vulnerable people from Afghanistan. His first goal was to rescue his interpreter, a lifelong friend and ally, Aziz. This evolved into a mission to rescue thousands more. This book tells some of those stories. We saw nonprofits and NGOs work together while our government got in their way. We saw Jewish groups assist Christian groups to rescue Muslims. Thousands more have been left behind, tortured and killed. Many are in hiding, still trying to get out.

A must-read about an important part of recent history. The writing is accessible and engaging. (See highlights below.)

Language: Clean
Sexual Content: Mention of rape as a terrorist tactic
Violence/Gore: Not very explicit, but torture and war violence mentioned
Harm to Animals: None
Harm to Children: Infants die from being dropped into concertina wire. Children orphaned. Children trafficked. Implied deaths.
Other (Triggers): Government betrayal; young girls and women commit suicide to avoid being raped; rapes and gang rapes mentioned; terrorism

=======================================

Americans will never forget the harrowing images from the summer of 2021 of Afghans chasing evacuating American planes on the Kabul airstrip. They will never forget seeing bodies fall off of those planes as they ascended into the clouds. That’s how desperate so many were to avoid the impending slaughter by the Taliban—a slaughter our government was doing little to prevent, despite the fact that so many of the Afghans had helped us for years, even decades.

Sharia law permitted them [Taliban] to rape, beat, and kill young girls they caught violating the laws. Numerous girls, Aziz told me, took their final steps up these stairs to the rooftop where they jumped to their death rather than suffer at the hands of the Taliban. One of those was Aziz’s twelve-year-old cousin.

The Taliban’s rule, with its strict adherence to Sharia, was characterized by assaults on basic human freedoms. They forced women to remain at home and required them to cover themselves head to toe. They closed schools for girls and banned females from attending universities. Worse, they turned women and little girls into their sex slaves. The prohibition on women going out without a male guardian is not the Taliban’s invention. It’s basic, mainstream Sharia. The covering of women that the Taliban enforced is likewise based on the Qur’an, which explains that women who do not cover themselves adequately with their outer garments may be abused and that such abuse is justified.

When President Biden announced America’s withdrawal date, we yanked any bargaining possibilities off the table and dunked them in a trash can. We forfeited control of our negotiating power. With the entire world knowing our departure date, all the Taliban had to do was bide its time—what was a few more months after twenty years of being rooted out by us? The Taliban wanted us out and just needed to avoid doing anything to screw up the gift we were willing to hand them: a country for them to rape and pillage. … We should not have left a country housing the terror threat a Taliban-led Afghanistan posed without protecting our citizens and our assets paid for by US tax dollars. The military equipment alone had cost upward of $85 billion, although that figure has been disputed since first reported during the withdrawal. No price, though, could be placed on the national security interest tied to the equipment’s technology.

The Taliban is not a government; it’s a paramilitary organization and is still listed as a terrorist organization by the United States and the international community. The Taliban does not understand diplomacy; it recognizes strength and power. When it senses weakness, it tramples over an opponent. Diplomacy is negotiation, and when we didn’t show strength, we had no negotiating power with the Taliban because we promised no consequences to fear.

How we left the embassy proved the Taliban was calling the shots, and they knew it. We did not hand over the embassy to the Taliban. No diplomacy was involved. Helicopters flying off a roof is not a peaceful transition; that is a retreat. The Taliban took our embassy from us.

One of the first edicts the Taliban gave when moving toward Kabul was for the provinces to give them a list of all women from fourteen to forty-five years old so they could be married off to Taliban fighters. Power, control, and war plunder are the earmarks of the Taliban.

Moms were kissing their babies goodbye—most likely for good—and handing them off to be crowd-surfed toward the gate in hopes that a member of our military would mercifully take the baby inside the airport. The news reports showing video of our service members pulling babies over the walls yanked at the hearts of Americans back home. What wasn’t shown was babies also being tossed over the walls. Behind those walls were coils of concertina wire about five feet high and twenty feet deep. … When Joe made a later trip into HKIA [the airport], he saw six dead babies who had bled out lying in that jumble of wire.

The State Department had issued a shelter-in-place warning to discourage Americans from risking a trip to the airport. Many waited in terror, not knowing their government was days from leaving them stranded and at the mercy of the Taliban. … The Taliban had strengthened its control of Kabul, including checkpoints leading to all airport entrances. Although the Taliban had told our government and our media that it would allow safe passage to the airport for those with proper documentation, they were whipping and beating people and taking their passports and documents that proved their right to leave.

[Noncombat evacuation operations] are traditionally the responsibility of the Department of Defense, but the White House had handed that overnight in Afghanistan to the State Department. Yes, to the diplomats, the negotiators. The military was considered too emotionally attached to the Afghans because of their twenty-year relationship. Placing the State Department in charge of an NEO is like taking an airline baggage handler and placing them in the pilot’s seat of a Boeing 777. They’re going to crash the plane because they aren’t trained to fly it. Our State Department was in charge of an operation that was neither its job nor within its expertise. They did what they knew to do; in essence, the airport had become an embassy in that it was a place to be processed for departure from Afghanistan—if someone could get into the airport.

One of the biggest problems we were all dealing with was that the orders coming down from the White House had placed the wrong people in charge of the airport. The diplomats had negotiated that the Taliban would provide outer security for the airport while saying the airport was ours. In military tactical terms, we did not “own” the airport. We had given the Taliban the outer perimeter of an enclosed area, and in battlefield strategy, whoever controls the outer perimeter—especially access to and from the inner perimeter—controls the ground space. That’s why when a military wants to capture a space, it surrounds that space and chokes it out. … We placed that noose around ourselves. All the Taliban had to do was block access and bide their time, especially since we had given them a date. That’s exactly what they did.

I didn’t receive the memo that America had changed its policy of never, under any terms, negotiating with terrorists. This is why. Yet now we were little more than a week until the deadline, and we obviously would be leaving Americans and allies behind. That’s not what we do as Americans.

In one of our first meetings [with the UAE], I did something I never thought I would need to do in my lifetime: I apologized for our country. I’m a proud American and as patriotic a man as you could hope to find. But I know what’s right is right. The UAE was helping us rescue Americans when our government appeared to show little interest in doing so, and they deserved an apology and a thank-you for their generous support.

The government and military were not following anywhere near the same vetting processes as the NGOs. I’ve had the privilege of talking face-to-face with Afghan refugees now in the United States, including some who were evacuated on our flights and others on the Department of Defense flights. They tell me how individuals they recognized as Taliban and ISIS members were boarding Department of Defense flights as HKIA. They saw prisoners who were released from the Bagram prison waiting among the crowds outside the airport gates. Especially in the initial days after Kabul fell, when the White House needed positive numbers to report, the military would crack open a gate and let a specific number of people through. Those who managed to secure a spot at the front of the gate were the strongest and fittest—basically, the men. They were getting in ahead of women, children, families, passport holders, SIVs. Those getting through—like the Taliban and ISIS members—were only getting a pat down before being brought straight to America.

Although the suicide bombing at Abbey Gate turned out to be the responsibility of ISIS-K, attempts back home to try to separate ISIS-K from the Taliban were nothing but attempts to avoid accountability. The Taliban and ISIS-K may be enemies at times, vying for power and territorial control, but they both subscribe to the doctrine of Sharia and … agree on Sharia’s compulsion toward jihad and its obligation to hate “infidels.” Thus, the Taliban didn’t try to run ISIS-K away from the airport. And, of course, we soon learned that the suicide bomber had been released by the Taliban from the prison at Bagram a few days earlier. To anyone who cared to see the truth, the Taliban and ISIS-K were one and the same during this attack.

Our troops were being instructed to clean the airport for handover to the Taliban. Yes, our military, in its final week in Afghanistan, amid the desperation to evacuate American citizens, SIVs, and vulnerable groups, was spending its time cleaning urinals. The service members talking to us were describing how low morale had become among the troops and that some were refusing orders to clean the airport.

It’s sickening what the Taliban does with young girls and even young boys, to be completely accurate, and their sexual atrocities had eaten at me during my deployments. This was a battle we had to fight to free as many of these girls from evil oppression as we could.

There is evil in every part of the world, but, fortunately, I have found it to be overshadowed by the hospitality of good people. While the Afghanistan region is home to a lot of evil, there are still many people there whose hearts are good and whose charity gives us hope for their future and ours.

The United States lost, Afghans lost, and much of the world lost when we pulled our military out of Afghanistan. The world is not as safe as it was on that day. To be determined is whether the balance of power among the world’s nations will shift as a result.

I pray my prediction is wrong, but I anticipate the United States will suffer another major terror attack inside our nation as a result of allowing unvetted people into our country during the evacuations and embracing open borders while a hotbed of terrorism has been given a new home with no global intervention. … We NGOs were under stringent demands to vet every person we evacuated, and not one of them will make it here without the State Department’s approval. NGOs do have that ability, power, or authority. Unfortunately, our government was responsible for rushing unvetted people onto planes to boost the number of people it evacuated.

The US withdrawal and abandonment of our allies created a surge in SIV applicants who are desperate for rescue and live in fear of death every day. I receive messages daily begging for help. My family also receives them, as does anyone associated with me publicly, because people believe if they can reach me somehow, we can do something. The messages are heartbreaking, every single one. We receive pictures and videos of people beaten. Yesterday I got a voice message from an SIV applicant crying hysterically and begging for me to do anything because the Taliban was outside his home and they were going to kill him and his family for working with Americans.

Many [troops] open up to me about their personal struggles. They tell me our military is in bad shape. The level of motivation has plummeted. Distrust of the federal government has skyrocketed. Many disagree with the decisions coming from our highest government leaders.

The consensus among the military members and veterans we help is that the United States has betrayed our integrity and failed to keep our word to our allies. They are questioning whether other countries still respect us and will support us in future wars. They’re asking how our military could ever become involved in another war again and if we’ll regain support for our military from within our own country.

[Grimm Reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

With all due honor and respect to the author and those involved in the efforts to rescue 17,000+ Afghans from the Taliban—thank you for facing these difficulties and for using your military training and deployment experience, even at great personal risk and loss, to help these people.

The stories and details of these rescue missions, and the poorly executed Afghanistan withdrawal that led to their necessity, are enlightening, painful, and raw—I am glad I now have more knowledge about these things.

Still, this book was a difficult read and I continued to struggle with keeping an open mind. It’s important to know that this book, while providing a narrative account of these rescue missions, is heavily populated with what read to be right-wing political jabs, conflicting and illogical statements regarding “God’s plan,” or “the burden God has placed” on individuals. Within the same paragraph the author will give God credit for providing resources, only to have those resources made irrelevant sentences laters by individuals with better gear. There is often a “God provides through prayer” message injected into the recollections juxtaposed with tales of gearing up to draw penises on the faces of potential detained Chinese soldiers (which the author seems to find humorous). It seemed a bit more than out of alignment with what I understand to be Christian values, but those are values that seem to get entangled with personal biases and preferences often.

Credit to Chad for taking action and doing this hard work. I may not appreciate his politics, nor adhere to the convoluted hit-and-miss accrediting of every success as “God’s plan” while overlooking the absence of “God’s plan” in the failures, but I trudged through to the end of the book and I am glad to have read it.

I may not adhere to Chad’s political views or religious practices and beliefs, but when I strip away those things I see in this book a presentation of ordinary human beings with skills, training, insight, power, and resources banding together to help rescue their human brothers and sisters from the strife of a war torn land living under the cloud of religious extremism and zealotry. All honor to those involved with this exhausting, difficult, compassionate work.

Perhaps I was not the audience this book was written for—as an American that harbors a mixed of conservative and liberal views, I found this book off putting. While it did inform me on the realities of the Afghanistan withdrawal and the ongoing rescue efforts, it also alienated me with the political and religious overtones. It’s fine—I am glad to live in a country where one can write a book like this filled with personal ideas and philosophies—freedom is a good thing and we should all be able to accept that one price of freedom is some degree of practicing peaceful tolerance.

May Chad and the NGOs he is involved with continue to do good works. Thank you for your service and patriotism.

[Allyx M · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an eye opening book into the absolutely horrific and disgraceful withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021. The author, Chad Robichaux, is one of the organizers of Save Our Allies, the group that went to Afghanistan to help save Americans and American Allies. What started as a mission to save his interpreter Aziz, turned into saving thousands of people. It is heart breaking and infuriating that there are still so many left there and that our government allowed this to happen. This is a must read!

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Listening to this was SO POWERFUL. What other people go through in their homes and lives to fight for freedom and to have to flee in order to live in freedom when evil overtakes their home is so sad and scary and NO ONE should EVER have to go through what Aziz and all of those other Afghanis did.

America dropped the ball, BADLY. Our politicians don't think of the human cost when making decisions, just what is in it for them.

Thank God there are people out there who are willing to step up and do the right thing when those above them in power turn a blind eye.

I highly recommend this book. It is eye opening and will quite possibly make you heated. I know I was steamed enough I had to pause on listening so my blood pressure wouldn't spike.

5, this should be required reading in high school and college, stars.

My thanks to libro.fm and Thomas Nelson for an ALC of this book to listen to and review.

[Andrea · Rating 2 out of 5]

Based on the preface, the endorsements and the view of the writer I think this was written for a specific group of people.

[Jung · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meet the heroes behind the mission to rescue thousands of American allies from Afghanistan.

How have I not heard of this story before? This is what you’ll be thinking after reading this book. 

When America announced its withdrawal from Afghanistan, former US Marine Chad Robichaux just wanted to get his former brother-in-arms safely out of the country. Instead, he ended up co-founding an effort that is still operating out of the Ukraine – even in the midst of Russian invasion – to rescue American allies from Taliban-ruled Afghanistan.

In the chapters ahead, you’ll meet two heroes on opposite sides of the world whose friendship was the impetus for saving the lives of so many. Have your faith in humanity restored by this story of courage and compassion triumphing, even in the most horrific circumstances. 

---

Every story has a hero – this one has many

After 9/11, the US went to war to oust the Taliban in Afghanistan. That’s what you need to know in terms of the setting of this story. Chad Robichaux was a Force Recon Marine – one of the toughest of the tough – and was working special operations in the war-ridden country.

Aziz was a married, twenty-five-year-old father, already teaching English to his fellow countrymen, when a US Marine recruited him as an interpreter. During his training, Aziz stood out as something special, and quickly went to work with Chad and his team.

Over the years working together, the two men formed a strong friendship, so much so that Aziz’s kids called Chad “uncle.” One day, Chad joined Aziz and his family for a night of food, fellowship, and to watch the US election to see if George W. Bush would win another term.

Chad thought it was odd that US elections were of such interest to Aziz and his countrymen, so he asked his friend why.

In response, Aziz took Chad to an abandoned building with a pool built into the ground. The pool was empty and Aziz climbed in. Chad followed and watched as Aziz pointed to the wall of the pool on the deep end. There were stains and bullet holes at the head-level of someone kneeling. Chad knew instantly that this was a place where executions were held.

Aziz pointed out another row of bullet holes – these at the height of small children. Chad was sick to his stomach.

“This is why,” Aziz told him. Many Afghan citizens were old enough to remember a time when Afghanistan had experienced a brief period of freedom – an especially liberating time for women in the 1970s. But then war came and out of it rose a new element of ultra-conservative mujahideen, called the Taliban.

In the post-9/11 era, Afghan citizens were prepared to fight with their lives to stop the Taliban from taking control: to protect their daughters from being sold off or worse, to prevent their sons from being sent to their deaths. Citizens like Aziz looked to the US for salvation.

Chad took the memory of the pool with him into every operation. He understood what was on the line for families like Aziz’s – heroes among so many of them.

---

Bravery can arise in anyone

Aziz was so much more than an English teacher and interpreter. Time and again he proved himself a worthy operations man, capable of handling intense situations and possessing an uncanny instinct for trouble.

In one instance, Chad had hired a man named Jerry to work out of his office. One day, the Taliban attacked the building next door and blew a hole through the wall of Chad’s office. Jerry was there at the time and didn’t know what to do.

When Chad declared that he was going in to rescue Jerry, Aziz was right by his side without being asked. They went in and Aziz laid down cover fire, while Chad got Jerry out of the building.

Aziz could always be counted on to join in the fight and put his life on the line for the team.

In another situation, Chad’s team was alerted of an opportunity to purchase some artillery. The contact wasn’t familiar to him, but Chad had done business with a mutual acquaintance, so he felt comfortable enough to do the deal.

As they prepared, Aziz got a bad feeling. He insisted on taking a couple more men, which turned out to be wise.

They went to the meetup location, and Aziz and some of the men positioned themselves as lookouts to watch for anyone approaching. The contact arrived and showed the goods, but he appeared nervous.

Sure enough, another vehicle came up to the gate – unannounced and unexpected. Thanks to Aziz, Chad’s team had the upper hand, tied up the contact and the new arrivals, grabbed the guns and went home.

Aziz was a good man to have around. His instincts and actions saved Chad’s life on more than one occasion. Aziz was brave and selfless. That’s why the rest of this story exists. 

---

Some details are best left unsaid

Chad’s “goodbye” to Aziz had been as casual as they come. They’d just gotten back from a successful operation and Chad took Aziz back home. They laughed about some things and said an easy “see you later.”

Shortly after, Chad was called to the Persian Gulf and informed that he had been compromised. A Taliban group had captured ten of Chad’s allies and killed all but two of them.

However, Chad felt that the operation in Afghanistan was worth the personal risk, so he returned to continue his work. Shortly after, he was captured, held, and interrogated for a couple of hours. Chad won’t share any details about those hours, but when he was released for reasons unknown to him, he was shaken.

US forces soon found and engaged with the people responsible for killing Chad’s allies. After that operation, Chad happened to be out when his home in Afghanistan was blown up. No one was hurt, but Chad found himself increasingly overcome by PTSD.

Realizing he was a liability to his team, he called his command and said he was sick. He told them he couldn’t go to a local doctor. He needed someone in the Gulf. This was code that he was in trouble.

---

Warriors don’t easily become victims

Chad went through a great deal of personal strife over the years that followed. Civilian life didn’t sit well with him and he immersed himself in Mixed Martial Arts – known as MMA fighting.

He finally hit rock bottom when his marriage was about to fall apart. At that point, he found faith, and rebuilt his life with a new mission – helping veterans heal and reintegrate into civilian life. This was when he founded the Mighty Oaks Foundation.

Then on April 14, 2021, President Biden followed through on what his predecessor – President Trump – had started, and declared that America would be leaving Afghanistan by September 11 of that year.

That date got Chad’s attention. He knew that for the past several years, Aziz had been trying to acquire a Special Immigration Visa. As someone who had served the US as a civilian interpreter, he was more than eligible. But paperwork did what paperwork does and moved at snail’s pace.

The impending withdrawal date put a clock on Aziz’s situation. He had to get his family to safety before September 11.

Chad swung into action, raising money for an operation to go in and rescue Aziz and his family. He and his small team made plans. But in July, the president moved the exit date forward to August 31, and things got complicated.

For starters, at the airport in Kabul, Aziz and his family couldn’t get past the Taliban and the US Marines, who were overseeing the withdrawal of troops and trying to crowd-control the thousands of civilians attempting to flee.

Learning of this, Chad’s focus changed. It didn’t make sense to rescue just one family when his team was putting together the mechanisms that could rescue thousands. So Chad made a new plan and Save Our Allies was born. 

Chad partnered with several foundations and non-governmental organizations. Together, they raised millions of dollars to help rescue American citizens and allies trying to get out of Afghanistan.

Once everything was up and running, Chad flew to Afghanistan to finally see his friend again.

---

A thousand a day

Save Our Allies found friends in many countries who agreed to help shelter refugees. The UAE was the most generous, allowing Chad and his team to use their city as a home base.

Let’s pause a moment to get a sense of the landscape this mission is playing out in. 

Outside Kabul airport, everything is in chaos. US Marines are holding their ground, keeping the masses from pouring into the airport. Further out, the Taliban has set up checkpoints and is making it difficult for people to pass through. And among all this, thousands of people are trying desperately to leave the country.

Save Our Allies were focused on rescuing American citizens and allies who had applied to emigrate to America. Sometimes, evacuations were done under the cover of night. Other times, they could be run during the day, shifting busloads of people from the chaos into the airport and on to one of the nations that had agreed to host refugees until they could be further vetted before being flown to the US.

Every operation had the potential to go horribly wrong – with devastating consequences for evacuee and rescuer alike. On one mission, a US Marine stopped the bus and demanded to see proof that all the people onboard had the right to pass through to the airport. The mission leader tried to convince him to let them through, but he demanded they return to the Taliban checkpoints and enter legally.

The people on that bus were dispersed and we don’t know if any of them ever made it back.

As heartbreaking as that story is, there are stories of success. Chad’s team rescued a thousand people a day. Luckily, Aziz and his family were among them.

---

Friendships forged in fire last forever

Three days after Chad made it to the UAE to assist in rescue operations, he was finally able to reunite with Aziz. The meeting was emotional. Aziz’s children called him Uncle Chad and the family welcomed him with open arms.

The refugees housed in the UAE were given apartments as temporary accommodations, so Aziz and his family were able to host him, as they had back during Chad’s time in Afghanistan.

But things were chaotic. The housing was great, but there was no system to move people around and reunite them with loved ones. This drove Aziz crazy and he immediately took charge. He went from refugee to organizer almost immediately, streamlining the process of getting people into their apartments and coordinating interventions to help people find each other.

That’s just the kind of person Aziz is. He’s a leader when the situation needs one.

Save Our Allies worked tirelessly to save over 10,000 allies before enemy fire blew up one of the airport gates, killing thirteen American service members and two hundred other people. This event slowed down – but didn’t end – the rescue process.

In the time following the American withdrawal date, Save Our Allies has continued to design and implement operations to rescue Afghani allies and any remaining US citizens. Unlike the rescue at the airport, there was no longer an easy way to shuttle people out of the country.

Instead, highly-planned covert operations take place, saving families one at a time. There are stories we’ll likely never hear. Then there are some that are a little more high profile, like when Save Our Allies joined with some other organizations to fly the FIFA women’s soccer team to Qatar, and some MMA fighters to Abu Dhabi. Or the time they saved fifty-five US citizens and flew them straight to New York City.

But Save Our Allies’ mission doesn’t end once someone is rescued. It also helps improve settlement life for refugees, helps allies transition to their new homes, and funds mental health care for those who served in war efforts.

Their mission is ongoing, and evacuations from Afghanistan are expected to continue until well into 2024.

If two men hadn’t built a bond through war that inspired one to leave his comfortable home to rescue the other, the lives of over 17,000 refugees would not be continuing today.

---

People are capable of great things in the name of friendship. Chad and Aziz built a forever friendship forged in war. Even after thirteen years and a long retirement, Chad was willing to gear up and go in for his friend. Because of the power of that relationship, over 17,000 refugees have been rescued from Afghanistan. 

[Judy McCarver · Rating 5 out of 5]

i appreciated this book for many reasons, but for one-it gave me a greater understanding of the Afghan war, its progress, fails, trajectory, and ultimately its end. Or is it? If you are an oppressed Afghan or someone still "stranded" inside of its borders, who does not adhere to Taliban rule and the violent Shari law, then for you it is not over. I love the courage displayed in the men and women who refused to stand down knowing there were innocent people still in Afghan who needed to get out. And this included blue passport carrying American citizens. Once a term-less date was given to the Taliban for withdrawal, the threat of harm and death was immediately escalated for all Americans and our allies, women and children, girls and boys who were there. (Tip: Never tell the bad guy what day you plan to execute your operation). The Taliban had the upper hand as troops were withdrawn hastily. I have read one review that said "I think this book was written for a particular audience." Sadly, nowadays this is the view taken anytime there is a piece of literature that pertains to ALL Americans-one that presents to Americans a story they should all know, hear and understand. This story is a modern day Dunkirk. And if you know nothing about that, google it as well..... Learn the truth about what true personal conviction looks like, a conviction that perhaps inspires you to rescue the hopeless and the helpless. A conviction that values freedom as much more than just a word you read in a book! And in so doing, invest in a stronger and more hopeful America.

[Irene · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gave it 4 stars because this kind of real stories need to be told, and they need to be heard; take it with a grain of salt for the political and religious views. They could have removed all the “redacted” which takes away from the flow of the events without adding any value. Those frequent “redacted” mentions are very annoying.

[Gavin Held · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great book. If you can help those who are in need... you must. We are more alike then we think.

Isaiah 6:8-
Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, 'Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?' Then I said, 'Here I am; send me!'

[Jason Waltz · Rating 5 out of 5]

what a powerful and damning story. I am grateful there are still big-hearted people with particular skill sets that are willing to face down the world, even if it is their own despicable and cowardly government.

[Kristina · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s good to hear the truth about what happened and are brought to attention how politics change numbers to satisfy the people. It angers me how the pull out was handled and how millions of tax dollars worth of equipment were left to terrorists. I pray that we aren’t vulnerable as a nation and that another terror attack won’t happen again.

[Jeanette · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Next, Aziz drove me north of Kabul's center to the base of Bibi Mahru Hill. With its breathtaking 360-degree view of the city, the hill is a popular tourist stop. Our hike to the top was short, only about five hundred yards, but steep. We climbed toward a diving platform that looked out of place for the setting. Aziz told me the Soviets had built an Olympic-sized swimming and diving pool atop the hill in the 1980s, during the Soviet-Afghan War, for their athletes to train at elevation. . . Aziz and I descended the ladder into the pool's deep end. The width spanned twenty-five meters. The wall was riddled with bullet holes the size of 7.62mm bullets. They were head-high of a person on their knees. And there had to be thousands of holes. I crossed to the shallow end, stepping around puddles left by the latest rain, and observed the same pattern of bullet holes in that wall. They were the height of the head of a kneeling child.
I pulled my Leatherman tool from my pants pocket. With the pointed pliers, I dug into a few of the holes. I removed two bullet jacket remains and looked down at them in my hand. Two symbols of the Taliban's hatred of innocent people. Of unimaginable evil. I slid the jacket remains into my pocket. I didn't want to forget the anger I felt standing next to those bullet holes.
Aziz knew this place would show me why his family was so caught up in our presidential election. My home country was the land of the free. Theirs was now becoming one. They needed us to help bring that freedom to completion for them and for future generation of Afghans." (4) // circa 2004

"Even though I was in a foreign land, amid a foreign culture, alongside a foreign people, I had spent most of my life focused on my own worldview, rarely thinking of anyone else's. I only barely recognized America's impact globally, much less in Afghanistan. Like many others who served in the US military post-9/11, I just wanted to hand-deliver retribution to terrorists.
The Killing Pool changed my perspective.
I discovered there that America does make a different in the world, that what we do outside our borders matters because other countries look to us for leadership. They are homes to people much more like us than we realize. We might look different from one another, communicate differently, or look to different sources for faith and hope and inspiration. But what we hold in common unites us despite all those differences: we are all part of the human race, and, ultimately, we just want to live a good life, free of oppression. . . Before, retaliation had consumed me. Now, my heart broke with compassion for the Afghan people. I had to help. I had to fight for them.
The Killing Pool changed me." (5)

"Afghanistan is referred to as the 'graveyard of empires' because it has repeatedly brushed back foreign militaries that have invaded the country." (18)

"The Soviets left a weakened Afghan army behind to face the mujahideen alone. With the Soviets removed from the picture, our country held no interest in being involved in the Afghans' civil war. From within the mujahideen eventually emerged what became known as the Taliban. The world Taliban is Arabic for the plural of tālib or 'student/seeker.' The Taliban were students of a form of Sharia that originated in India in what is known as the Deobandi school of Islamic jurisprudence, although its particular features are by no means restricted to Deobandis alone. The Taliban are strict adherents to this law. They quickly became a powerful and cruel political and military force.
The Taliban began taking over cities and provinces, wresting control of the capital city of Kabul in 1996. The following year it occupied Mazar-e Sharif to the north. Soon, other countries - including Pakistan - began recognizing the Taliban government." (19)

"Afghanistan is not part of the Middle East; it's the crossroads to south and central Asia. Its culture is Asian. With its multiethnic and tribal composition, Afghanistan defies attempts to affix a label onto its people with one broad stroke. The Afghans I met were warmhearted and hospitable. If I were to knock on someone's door late at night and introduce myself as a traveler in search of a restroom or glass of water, they were the type of people who would stop everything they were doing to meet my need. Then they would offer me the opportunity to sit and get comfortable for a bit before resuming my journey or, more likely, invite me to spend the night.
They were honorable and decent people, and they believed that Americans were too. Afghan culture values helping others, and they wanted to help us because they knew we were in their country to help them get rid of the Taliban and restore their freedoms. They yearned for the education available to all and the pleasures of concerts and sports they once enjoyed.
American and Afghans were in sync with the mission - a significant way the war in Afghanistan differed from the Iraq War. We both wanted to eradicate the Taliban for freedom and safety for Afghans, for America, and for the world. As a result, the Afghans were true allies." (20)

"The selection of September 11 as a deadline [to withdraw military presence from Afghanistan] was disrespectful to all the families who lost loved ones and first responders during these horrific attacks on unarmed citizens. It was also personally offensive to me and many veterans with whom I talked. We were handing Afghanistan back over to the very terrorists who flew those planes in to the World Trade Center buildings, the Pentagon, and - if not for the heroic Americans aboard United Airlines Flight 93 - possibly the White House or US Capitol. And, no less, the terrorists would be celebrating victory on the day America solemnly remembered the 2,996 lives lost because of their attack.
From a military strategy standpoint, the date also created problems because it fell during Afghanistan's fighting season. Winters are harsh there, with the cold and snow trapping people inside and limiting transportation, and the 'fighting season' begins as soon as the snow in the mountains begins to melt, usually in April. That's when the Taliban works its fighters up for jihad to kill infidels or to receive the reward of going to heaven if they were killed or martyred in jihad. From my experience, they hit peak frenzy in the middle of the fighting season, and it continues until winter returns around November. . . A withdrawal while their fighters were more docile would have made more sense." (31)

"A study of the number of US military personnel and civilians killed and wounded in Afghanistan over twenty years and four presidents reveals how vastly different leadership and ROE from the White House affect the outcome of combat and preserve the lives of US service members, which also aligns with civilian casualties.
During President George W. Bush's time as commander in chief, 630 troops were killed and 2,645 wounded in Afghanistan. President Obama's tenure resulted in 1,758 troops killed and 17,592 wounded. President Trump was in office for only four years, but the results of his firm stance toward the Taliban and immediate changing of ROEs to favor US forces resulted in only 64 troops killed and 425 wounded. After we dropped the MOAB, attacks on US troops nearly came to a halt. This positioning and strength not only saved American military lives but made Afghanistan and the world a much safer place.
The truth is that in 2017 we stopped conventionally fighting in Afghanistan and handed that over to the ANA, and we remained in a support and advisory role. We had special operations going out, but we do that around the world anyway and always will. Yet mainstream media narratives have become so good at politically motivated partisan propaganda, and all spun Afghanistan in such a way that it would have been difficult for anyone to conclude anything other than 'it was time to pull out of an endless war,' 'we would have had to leave eventually,' and 'the withdrawal had to happen, but we could have done better.' All lies intended to mislead the American people.
Can we at least ask why the US military needed to leave Afghanistan? Especially considering we had only 4,000 troops (2,500 at one point) there participating with the rest of the international community to support and advise the ANA in fighting the Taliban on their soil to combat global terrorism (and it was working). Afghanistan is far from the only place we have troops deployed." (37)

"To this day, I still wonder how the person responsible for taking down our colors felt as they lowered our flag for the last time at that embassy [in Kabul]. . . Here in the United States, on the same day videos circulated of helicopters landing at the embassy as part of the evacuation, Secretary of State Antony Blinken made the rounds on Sunday morning television shows declaring, 'This is manifestly not Saigon.'
In 1975, the US military pulled out of the Vietnam War, but diplomats, contractors, CIA employees, and Marine guards remained behind. When North Vietnamese troops took over the South Vietnam capital city of Saigon, a hurried, mass evacuation of Americans began. The final Americans in Saigon were forced to evacuate via helicopters landing in the embassy's parking lot and on the roof.
The word humiliating is often used to describe that moment in US history.
Five weeks before we evacuated our Kabul embassy, President Biden had assured Americans there would be no such repeat of history. 'There's going to be no circumstance where you'll see people being lifted off the roof of an embassy of the United States from Afghanistan,' he said.
Kabul was Saigon all over again. . . How we left the embassy proved the Taliban was calling the shots, and they knew it." (50)

"August 15 was a day of defeats. Afghans lost their country to the Taliban. For Americans, our military did not suffer defeat, but the US government, with blood on its hands, lost to the Taliban.
And it was a day of dishonesty to the American people.
We were lied to." (51)

"In keeping with military tradition, and as a unique identifier among the other groups with similar aims, we came up with a name for our team: Task Force 6:8. The name was inspired by Isaiah 6:8: 'And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" Then I said, "Here I am! Send me"' (ESV).
Several of us had concluded this on our own and were shocked to find we all were led to the same verse for the mission. God was still orchestrating things." (58)

"The officer said that if Sean didn't show him the list, he would not allow the bus inside the airport. Sean proposed having everyone on the buses step outside and show the required documents, which he had already vetted.
'If they're good, they go back on the bus,' Sean offered. 'If they're bad, you can do whatever you want with them.'
'These people need to leave,' the officer said. 'They need to go to the checkpoint and do it the right way.'
That checkpoints was a Taliban checkpoint, and his 'right way' was obtaining approval from the Taliban.
An argument ensued and the officer, who owned the final authority, won. He kicked the group of 334 outside the safety of HKIA and back beyond the Taliban checkpoint. The group included 27 American blue-passport holders and over 100 orphan children. We were unable to reassemble that group for another attempt. Who knows what happened to the American citizens that one of our military leaders forced back to the Taliban? The incident was immediately reported, the officer was relieved of his post, and the incident is currently under review by the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations." (96) // during one of the initial evac events by Save Our Allies

"The general [] is correct that the young service members on the ground at the tactical level did everything they could to protect and evacuate the innocent given the spot they were put in. That spot included being told to coordinate with the Taliban for security at the ground level, necessitating that some of these young service members communicate with those terrorists over their own cell phones - an unimaginable personal security debacle.
Thus, for true accountability, what is needed is a full investigation of the military and civilian leadership's actions at the strategic and operational level, where we clearly failed." (111)

"I had not realized it at the time, but the State Department had closed the back valve on us - intentionally, I now believe." (113) // in reference to the embassy closure

"A man has no duty more important, no responsibility that's greater, than to those in his own home." (122)

"Dennis remarked, 'These guys complain about anything. You can be a water-walker, and they'll say it's only because you can't swim'
Dennis was my kind of guy." (129)

"I had to catch my breath and mentally take a step back from the onslaught of thoughts and questions. From the counsel I received at the height of my PTSD and panic attacks, I recognized that if I did not deliberately reject these thoughts and questions, I would be on the verge of losing control again. Doubt creates fear, and when fear takes root in the human mind it can take over and manifest those fears into reality. I had been there before.
But unlike back then, this time I had one more place to turn to for help: my faith." (140)

"We also purchased medical equipment and carabiner clips and D-rings for securing the rope to the family members. I was concerned about the cold river causing the pregnant woman to panic or go into labor because if she screamed, she could get us all killed. I grabbed an inner tube that we could put over her head and down to the top of her belly to float and tow her.
Just in case Chinese or other soldiers came upon us, I told Dennis we also needed to buy duct tape and zip ties.
'And a magic marker,' he added.
'Why a magic marker?' I asked.
'After we duct-tape and zip-tie them, we can draw penises on their heads,' he said 'When their buddies find them, they'll be made fun of for the rest of their lives.'
We purchased one marker." (158)

"...nautical twilight, when both the horizon and the brightest stars were visible..." (171)

"From my observations, morale started sinking because of COVID-19. Training was being shut down because of the pandemic, and over recent years units are being monitored for their coronavirus infection rates. Commanders' level of success for unit readiness became based on how few cases showed up in the unit. To keep case numbers down, our troops often were prevented from going on leave or traveling home. Case count was an unfair metric.
Then vaccine mandates became an issue because commanders were essentially placed in competition against each other to see who could achieve 100 percent vaccination rates. The number of COVID-19 cases and vaccines administered became more important than training and combat readiness. Service members are being discharged for refusing to take the vaccine without regard to valid religious and medical exemptions, in the process losing their benefits, retirements, ability to serve their nation, and the dignity of an honorable discharge. All this was taking place while, during the third quarter of 2021, more service members died by suicide than from coronavirus." (190)

"The consensus among the military members and veterans we help is that the United States has betrayed our integrity and failed to keep our word to our allies. They are questioning whether other countries still respect us and will support us in future wars. They're asking how our military could ever become involved in another war again and if we'll regain support for our military from within our own country." (192)

"Unfortunately, the US government refuses to study the doctrine of Sharia or investigate the networks that propagate it worldwide (including in the United States), such as the Muslim Brotherhood. Organizations working with the Muslim Brotherhood are in part responsible for the push toward political correctness and a purging of factual information about Sharia in the military, federal law enforcement, and intelligence communities.
When you refuse to study your enemies' belief system, you can't name the actual problem. If you can't and won't name it, you won't know how best to fight it. This is how we lose the war on terror. We need to learn from the mistakes of our past and prepare ourselves now for the Taliban of the future, because they certainly will not look to coexist with America and the rest of the world. And, unfortunately, they now possess tens of billions of dollars' worth of our weapons and equipment. Worse yet, the same Muslim Brotherhood networks that influenced American foreign policy to be willfully blind to Sharia are still intact and as strong and influential as ever in American politics." (197)

"While Aziz and his family were in Virginia and I was in Ukraine, we had a conversation in which we reflected on how a mission to save Aziz had turned into rescuing seventeen thousand Afghans. We relived the six years of anguish and prayer working to obtain his SIV. The delays had seemed so needless back then.
'Maybe God didn't allow it to happen because it wasn't His timing,' Aziz said. 'I still had to be there when the US withdrew because God knew that you would come to get me, and that would result in a great rescue of all those other people.'" (206) // God's timing is always perfect.

[Joshua · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really interesting read. There was a lot of chaos when the US announced we were leaving Afghanistan, but I didn't realize what a logistical nightmare it was.

Fans of 13 Hours, this book is similar as the author details their plans to get allies and passport holders out of Afghanistan as the Taliban increasingly took hold of the country.

It was a fast-paced read, and my heart breaks for the nation of Afghanistan. Readers of The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns will also, I think, enjoy reading this memoir as 'average joes' stood up to help in Afghanistan when our government failed. You're not reading about these rescues in the mainstream media, that's for sure.

I received an advanced copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Christine Barth · Rating 3 out of 5]

This isn't the most eloquent story but it's clear and poignant and absolutely needs to be told. I was never sure about the U.S. being in Afghanistan but it was an absolute crime to leave the way we did and it will have far reaching consequences.

[Michelle Kidwell]

Saving Aziz
How the Mission to Help One Became a Calling to Rescue Thousands from the Taliban
by Chad Robichaux
Pub Date 17 Jan 2023
Nelson Books, Thomas Nelson
Christian


I am reviewing a copy of Saving Aziz through Nelson Books , Thomas Nelson and Netgalley:



It started as a prayer to save a best friend, and ended up becoming a mission to rescue more than seventeen thousand souls.




Chad Robichaux a former Force Recon Marine details the incredible rescue missions that evacuated not only his long-time friend and interpreter, Aziz, but also more than 17,000 Afghans and allies who were left in the grip of the Taliban's violent regime as the United States military withdrew from Afghanistan.



Force Recon Marine Chad Robichaux and his friend and Afghan interpreter, Aziz, carried out over a hundred dangerous missions as team members on an elite JSOC (Join Special Operations Command) task force dedicated to capture or kill the highest levels of the Taliban's terrorist regime, during his eight special operation deployments to Afghanistan. It was during those years, Chad was welcomed into Aziz's growing family, and the two men developed a brotherly bond as they stood against the Taliban's violent oppression.



Fourteen years after Robichaux's final deployment, in April of 2021, the Biden administration announced that the United States military would end its twenty-year occupation in Afghanistan and would pull its military forces from the country by the twentieth anniversary of 9/11 Immediately, Robichaux knew he had to save Aziz and his family. As he began to organize efforts, he realized a greater need to help more of the Afghan people he had come to know and respect. As the deadline for withdrawal drew near, he formed a coalition of nonprofits called Save Our Allies and created Task Force 6:8, which consisted of twelve former special operations veterans, to evacuate American citizens, green card holders, and special immigration visa (SIV) applicants out of the volatile country. They successfully extracted 12,000 evacuees in a period of ten days and took them to the United Arab Emirates. Then, by partnering with several other nonprofits, they continued to evacuate an average of fifty people per day over the next few weeks so that more than 17,000 were rescued, the largest number for any rescue group and second only to the United States military.




After those rescue efforts, Robichaux carried out a two-man reconnaissance mission over the span of ten days that provided flight paths across the border into Tajikistan. Operating at night and tracked by the Russian KGB, they successfully evaded capture by the Taliban and Chinese special forces, and were the first on the ground providing real-time intelligence for outside intelligence agencies, which made way for additional evacuations.



I give Saving Aziz five out of five stars!


Happy Reading!

[Barbara Tsipouras · Rating 3 out of 5]

Saving people from Afghanistan is important and basically the duty of all those countries who sent their military there. After 20 years the country fell back to the Taliban and all they did there will be lost very soon.
The adventures while saving people are really interesting and enlightening, but are are described in a too lengthy and wordy way.
It's only natural that the author is patriotic and proclaims that without America there's no free world. Personally I doubt that American interventions made the world safer or freer.

[Dustin · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s impossible to read this, and to hear the stories from those who were actually on the ground, and not swell with admiration of our men and women in uniform (99% of them anyway), while hanging your head in shame when thinking about our officials. It’s sickening. If only the cowards in office who send these heroes to war weren’t cowards. We need more people with the character of the Robichauxs and Willinks, and less with those of Biden, Swallowell, Pelosi, and Schiff (again, ask the ones serving how they feel; the fact that they went halfway around the world before seeing a Biden sticker speaks volumes).
We couldn’t leave an unsupervised cache of weapons, but we can leave them a whole military arsenal. I hope they all rot in hell.

These men who step in and do what their government will not bring tears to my
eyes. Spoiler alert: The Biden administration had our service members clean the toilets and burn their own possessions (including over 100 American flags) before handing over the airport, and then Kabul, to the Taliban. Due to the rush of the exit a huge number of those who served there left with only the clothes on their backs. Make you feel proud.

Why people affiliate themselves with one political party and EVERYTHING THEY DO vs. individual candidates is beyond me.

“The forest was shrinking but the trees kept voting for the axe, for the axe was clever and convinced the trees that because his handle was made of wood he was one of them.”

[Marsha Dixon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Saving Aziz by Chad Robichaux
What a great book! I think the whole world watched the video of the plane leaving Afghanistan with people clinging to it, and then falling off as the plane rose in the air. This book tells the story not just of the saving of Aziz and his family, but also a mission to help save veterans and the military community with PTSD and life issues. Save Our Allies became the next mission to help save interpreters, family members and so many others that needed to be rescued. It’s hard to imagine that so many were left behind in such a hostile environment. It also is hard to believe that it’s so difficult to get the help and paperwork done so that these people can be rescued. It’s awesome and amazing that there are organizations like this that can and do help so much. ‘We are all part of mankind, and when we have the ability to do the right thing for our fellow man in their most critical moment, we must!’ That’s what it’s all about. I highly recommend this book!
I received a complimentary copy from Nelson Books through NetGalley. The opinions expressed here are my own.

[William R · Rating 5 out of 5]

informative, fascinating, maddening

I am ashamed of the US and the debacle the Biden administration allowed to happen in Afghanistan. Chad does an amazing job giving the facts and revealing what truly happened at the Kabul airport. The American people were lied to and Chad’s book lays out the details of what actually happened.

[Frode · Rating 5 out of 5]

Revealing, for those of us not involved in the Afghan situation and dependent on the news, revealing describes this book. In synopsis, Chad, the author, set about trying to get his interpreter, Aziz, out of Afghanistan when he heard of President Biden’s decision to withdraw US forces by a given date. The red tape, bureaucratic inadequacies, and faulty high level decisions all put pressure on Chad to “do what is right.” Aziz, having helped the US forces, became a hot target for the Taliban, so he and his family were targets.

Trying to help Aziz turned out to helping thousands of others escape. Chad calls them the vulnerable, girls, orphans, US citizens, Afghans who worked for the US, women who had become professionals, Christians, and anyone who spoke against the Taliban. That represented a lot of people, and getting many of them out represented a lot of time, money and effort. Along with others Chad formed a group called Save Our Allies. It became an NGO, non-government organization. As such it had some recognized status but also some limitations. SOA was not the only NGO; there were others, but this is Chad’s story, so SOA and its work figures highly in the book.

What was revealed in the book? Here’s a short list: the true nature of the Taliban, the ineptitude of the Biden administration, the false numbers given by the media, the dire nature of many of those who needed to get out, the complexities of moving people by various means to the airport and then out of the country, the costs and cooperation needed to be successful in extracting folks. Literally, it was a zoo to get things done during the final days prior to the deadline set by President Biden.

Chad’s personal story of overcoming PTSD , conversion to Christ, setting up Mighty Oaks, and his experience as a Marine recon guy all qualified him to do the job. He had lots of connections and some valuable experience. Above and beyond that, he had the heart and will to do it. It is his story, a good and uplifting story, and he tells it well. As a former Navy Seal says on the back jacket, “It will leave you disappointed in America’s leadership but proud to be an American.” Thank you, Chad, for writing this book and for your above and beyond service.

[Antonietta tesfaye · Rating 2 out of 5]

The fact that he wanted to take care of those who helped US was at the very least what needed to be done. However going rogue could have caused so much damage not only to lives but any other covert operation that the author was not access to. The author had no idea from my understanding, of what was the negotiated or planned behind the scenes. His actions could have Destroyed and caused so much damage. So many red flags in the storytelling. He praised Trump for flexing his muscles to the Taliban when he should have known that negotiating with the Taliban is ridiculous. The author should have been irate at the fact that Trump skirted around the Afghan government and dealt with the Taliban in the first place. The author claims that the Afghan people are wonderful and therefore he should've fought for them instead of praising negotiation with the Taliban. And getting his information from the book that Meadows wrote is simply inexcusable. Meadows revealed he lied throughout that whole book. The author chastise President Biden for following through the negotiation that Trump had made to leave Afghanistan. Should President Biden not keep the United States word when Trump had promised to leave?
The author wanted the military to stay in Afghanistan forever. He went as far as comparing that there's military presence in Germany and Japan and compared the two scenarios. Are you kidding me? You're comparing our base in Germany and Japan to that of Afghanistan? Although we were at war with both Germany and Japan, It's different when you're dealing with a war that can never be won. Our presence in Afghanistan would always be hostile. And the fact that you couldn't make that distinction. I know it's very admirable that you wanted to save your friends and all of those who deserve to get what was promised, But encouraging rogue behavior is unconscionable. It was a horrible exit from the country. We should have done better. But we're dealing with a terrorist religious evil.

[Cat · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel like I may have rated this higher if I hadn't listened to the audiobook from the library (read by the author). While the author was a brave soldier and loyal friend to Aziz and his family, you can tell that he isn't used to much public speaking and his reading aloud isn't as smooth as you would like in a narrator. Also, because he presented the book to be looked at by members of Congress, some words were redacted and he simply says the word redacted and carries on quickly with the rest of the sentence or paragraph.

There are lots of positives about the book as well, though. It is a firsthand account of non-government-led operations that were sparsely reported on at the time. It sheds light on how important the trust between our soldiers and the interpreters hired by our military overseas really is. I agree with the author that if we abandon our allies in other countries that we will cease to have allies when our soldiers need them. I also really enjoyed hearing about Aziz personally and his family. It is good that when we think about the people of Afghanistan that we can see their faces clearly and they are not simply statistics.

Overall, this a story of bravery, compassion, brotherhood, honor, and conviction. I am thankful for all of the non-military organizations that have and continue to extract Americans and our allies from the country. The are keeping our governments promises. While the author does talk about the context of our withdrawal from Afghanistan and the claims that a complete withdrawal of all of our was even necessary, I don't feel like the book got as deep into the political territory as it did matters of faith and the obligation of Christians to never turn away from those in need and to keep our promises.

[L Frost · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to the audiobook. If I was giving a rating based on that version, it would be a 2 or 3 star. The author reads it himself and he’s obviously not an actor or professional narrator. He stumbles at times and his words aren’t always clear. He doesn’t use inflection or vary his speed or use pauses for effect.

However, the subject of the book is what elevates it to 4 stars. Unless we have served in places like Afghanistan in conditions like these, it’s almost impossible for the average US citizen to comprehend what that is like. It’s a very personal story as well as a historical one. The reader may or may not agree with the politics, but it happened because many of us watched it play out on television. The book tells stories that happened behind the scene, not just of Aziz but of other Afghani people too. It describes events after the withdrawal and ongoing efforts. There is insight into the geographical, political and historical side of Afghanistan that many may not know.

It’s a heartbreaking story. Personally, I’m just as frustrated with the handling of the withdrawal and some of the other decisions as I was then.

The writing isn’t eloquent. It’s pretty raw. There are even some subject verb agreement issues. So the editing wasn’t extensive. But the story is still told in a compelling way.

Yes, there is a faith component to this that some readers may not relate to. But it’s a central part of who the author is and to leave that out would be to only tell about a shell of the actual person. Since it is the author’s own story, if he felt compelled to incorporate that, then I appreciate its inclusion.

There hard some difficult scenarios that are described. Very little profanity. No descriptive sexual situations.

[Yibbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Be prepared. Emotions, not pleasant ones, but rather guilt, anger, sorrow, pity, frustration, and shame, will overwhelm you. The shameful actions of the President of the USA that catalyzed this story became even more clearly horrifying as the book went on. Perhaps that’s the most terrible part of this story, the knowing before hand what’s going to happen, the helplessness and despair. Because our country is so culpable in that disaster, it’s hard not to feel guilty. But you will also learn to respect individuals and their integrity as you get to see their selfless actions displayed against such evil. Their actions will spur you on to stand for truth and justice in your own life.
Unfortunately, the first half or so of this book is highly repetitive. He points out the mistakes being made over and over, as well as the effects they have on Afghans, our military, and veterans. Perhaps, this is because of the chaos and frustrations of those days, but it did make it hard to follow the time line as it kept jumping back and forth to the roots of the problems they faced. You really do get a feeling of the desperation and pandemonium they were working through, though.
Based on the publisher I was prepared for a Christian book. Robichaux is very clear that faith is a huge part of his life. Unfortunately, aside from a few mentions of prayer and how deeply he holds his faith and how it has brought him peace, Christianity is almost never mentioned. The Gospel is completely missing. That was disappointing.
I received this as a free ARC through NetGalley and Nelson Books, Thomas Nelson. No favorable review was required. It was my honor to provide my honest opinions.

[Kim Caschette · Rating 5 out of 5]

I couldn't put this book down. I do recall hearing about how people were so desperate to escape the country, they were willing to cling to a plane as it took off from the local airport. I was shocked however, to learn that this incident was only the beginning of what the author describes as an ongoing rescue mission to save, not only U.S. citizens, but local people that put their lives in danger to help our troops push the Taliban out. This book saddened me, for all those people left behind who suffered the Taliban's cruelty, but it also warmed my heart to learn how so many people, from different religious backgrounds and from different countries, pulled together to donate time and money to rescue thousands of people. I just can't believe I didn't hear more about this horrific situation. This book triggered a feeling in me to want to help this cause. I wish I would have known. Chad's dedication to this cause was inspiring. He also gave credit to others that were putting together similar missions and thanked many the organizations and individuals that stepped up to help. I hope those that read this book don't dimmish the importance of the story by inserting a political rant. This book opened my mind to the possibility that in some situations, it is important for the U.S. to remain present in certain countries strategically, but also from a humanitarian standpoint. Each situation is different, and I am encouraged to want to research more before I jump on a bandwagon based on a snippet from a local news station.

[Scott County Library System · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chad Robichaux deployed 8 times to Afghanistan. Later, he battled PTSD and suicidal thoughts and founded a faith-based organization to help other vets do the same. When President Biden announced in April 2021 that U.S. troops would leave Afghanistan, Robichaux embarked on a journey to save his friend’s life. Aziz was his interpreter in Afghanistan, but also a friend and someone who had saved Chad’s life multiple times before. Now he and his family were at risk of being hunted by the new Taliban government for helping U.S. troops. What Chad did not expect was that his journey to save Aziz would lead to the evacuation of thousands of vulnerable people from Afghanistan in the terrifying and tumultuous months before withdrawal. In fact, an entire organization was born, and Save Our Allies is still helping political refugees from Afghanistan and Ukraine today.

Robichaux isn’t the most eloquent writer, but his care for those in danger is clear and poignant, and the story of Aziz and his country’s struggles is compelling. It can be hard to do a true analysis of events so close to when they happened, but Robichaux openly states his own biases and provides insider details on a story many followed in the national news.

For a more detailed analysis of the U.S. involvement in Afghanistan check out The Afghanistan Papers by Craig Whitlock.