Levison Wood - Escape from Kabul: The Inside Story

Levison Wood is an award-winning author of ten books, including several Sunday Times bestsellers. He fought in Afghanistan with the Parachute Regiment and continues to serve as a Reservist Officer. He spent ten years working in defence engagement and media operations alongside the MOD.Geraint Jones is an author and military historian who served as an infantry soldier in Iraq and Afghanistan. His war memoir Brothers in Arms was published in 2019, and his co-written account No Way Out was a Sunday Times bestseller. Geraint has also published several fiction titles, including titles with James Patterson.

Also by Levison Wood

Walking the Nile

Walking the Himalayas

Walking the Americas

Eastern Horizons

Arabia

Incredible Journeys

The Last Giants

Encounters

The Art of Exploration

Endurance

Also by Geraint Jones

NON-FICTION

Brothers in Arms

FICTION

Ambush (Blood Forest)

Siege

Legion

Traitor

Rebel

Escape From Kabul

The Inside Story

Levison Wood and Geraint Jones

www.hodder.co.uk

First published in Great Britain in 2023 by Hodder & Stoughton

An Hachette UK company

Copyright Levison Wood & Geraint Jones 2023

The right of Levison Wood and Geraint Jones to be identified as the Author of the Work has been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

Cover image: MediaPunch Inc / Alamy Stock Photo

Every reasonable effort has been made to trace copyright holders of images reproduced in this book, but if any have been inadvertently overlooked the publishers would be glad to hear from them.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library

Hardback ISBN 9781399718127

Trade Paperback ISBN 9781399718141

eBook ISBN 9781399718110

Hodder & Stoughton Ltd

Carmelite House

50 Victoria Embankment

London EC4Y 0DZ

www.hodder.co.uk

For those who never came home

Contents

Timeline

11 September 2001	World Trade Center attacked in New York.
October 2001	Operation Enduring Freedom begins.
December 2001	UN authorises ISAF (International Security Assistance Force).
20 June 2002	Operation Herrick begins.
August 2003	NATO assumes ISAF command.
March 2006	16 Air Assault Brigade deploy to Helmand Province.
June 2006	ISAF mandate expanded.
2009	Counterinsurgency operations begin.
20112014	Three-year transition to Afghan-led security operations.
October 2014	End of UK combat operations.
December 2014	End of US and NATO combat operations, withdrawal of ISAF. Operation Herrick ends.
1 January 2015	Afghan forces assume security responsibility. NATO establishes Resolute Support Mission. Operation Toral begins.
February 2020	Doha peace agreement signed by the US and the Taliban.
April 2021	US and NATO announce revised withdrawal plan.
1 May 2021	Coalition forces begin withdrawing, to be completed by 11 September 2021.
8 July 2021	Operation Toral ends.
13 August 2021	Operation Pitting begins.
15 August 2021	Afghan Government falls.
28 August 2021	Operation Pitting ends.
30 August 2021	The final US troops leave Afghanistan.

Glossary

2 Para 2nd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment

3 Para 3rd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment

82nd 82nd Airborne Division, United States Army

9 Squadron 9 Squadron, The Corps of Royal Engineers

23 Engineer Regiment 23 Engineer Regiment, The Corps of Royal Engineers

1/8 Marines 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, United States Marine Corps

A400M Transport aircraft used by the Royal Air Force

A/B/C Coy Designations of rifle companies: an infantry company being a subdivision of a battalion, typically made up of 100150 personnel

Ally Slang used by Paratroopers to describe something as good looking/cool/exciting/fun

Al-Qaeda Islamic terrorist organisation headed by Osama Bin Laden

ANA Afghan National Army

ANP Afghan National Police

ANSDF Afghan National Security and Defence Forces

ARAP Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy

ATF 444/333 Afghan Commando Unit

Buckshee British Army slang used to describe either something easy to do or something free/gratis/complimentary (or possibly stolen)

C-130 and C-17 Transport aircraft types

Card Alpha A category of British military Rules of Engagement

Casevac Evacuate a battlefield casualty

CENTCOM Central Command, the US military command responsible for the region which included Afghanistan

Chevron Named for its shape, this was a combat engineer-installed structure of shipping containers to enable the processing of evacuees between the Baron Hotel and Abbey Gate

CIA Central Intelligence Agency

CO Commanding Officer

COC Combat Operations Centre

Cpl Corporal

C-RAM Counter Rocket, Artillery, and Mortar: C-RAM is a weapons system designed for intercepting incoming fire

CS gas A form of tear gas

CSM Company Sergeant Major

DAB Da Afghanistan Bank, the central bank of Afghanistan.

Daesh Derogatory term for the Islamic State

Doha Agreement Peace agreement signed by the United States and the Taliban on 29 February 2020 in Doha, Qatar

DShK Soviet heavy machine gun

DZ Flash Coloured insignia worn on the sleeve of a Parachute Regiment soldier to denote their battalion

EOD Explosive Ordnance Disposal

FCDO Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office

FIFA Fdration Internationale de Football Association, the governing body of international football (soccer)

GRO Graduated Response Option

HKIA Hamid Karzai International Airport, Kabul, which became the hub of the evacuation efforts

Humvee High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV)

IDF Indirect Fire

IED Improvised Explosive Device

IOC Infantry Officers Course: specialisation training for United States Marine Corps infantry officers once they have graduated from The Basic School (TBS)

IS Islamic State, a militant Islamic group

ISAF International Security Assistance Force

IS-K Islamic State of Khorosan, an affiliate group of Islamic State operating in Afghanistan

JFHQ Standing Joint Force Headquarters

JIC Joint Intelligence Committee

Jihad Islamic principle of the struggle, often used to describe violence and warfare against non-believers

JOC Joint Operations Centre

JTAC Joint Terminal Attack Controller

LES Locally Employed Staff

LO Liaison Officer

M4 5.56mm carbine weapon

MATTs Mandatory Annual Training Tests

MEU Marine Expeditionary Unit

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