The Power of a Promise

Phil Caruso, a former Air Force officer and current Chair of the Board for No One Left Behind, stands alongside Afghan allies navigating the Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) process, seeking immigration to the United States. (Photo provided by Phil Caruso). During his second deployment to Afghanistan in 2014, Air Force officer Phil Caruso worked with an Afghan intelligence operative who collected information on behalf of the United States. They never used his real name. Caruso st

FOB Salerno, Afghanistan – 2009 The mission was falling apart before it started. France Hoang needed to coordinate with local Afghan leaders for an operation. The cultural barriers were insurmountable. The linguistic gaps, wider. Trust? Nonexistent. Then Jabar stepped in. He was more than a security guard. He was the bridge. The translator of more than words, of intent, of tactics, of why a group of Americans needed these leaders to believe in them. "Without Jabar bridging th

Qalat, Afghanistan – 2007 JP's introduction to the cost of service came on a routine patrol. An IED. One American soldier killed. One interpreter, Abdul, killed beside him. "They faced the same threats we did," JP said. He served as Senior Enlisted Advisor on an Embedded Training Team from July 2007 to July 2008, working with the 2nd Kandak, 2nd Brigade, 205th Corps, Afghan National Army. But Abdul's death wasn't the end of his family's nightmare. It was the beginning. "Our i