On August 30, 2021, General Chris Donahue stepped onto the ramp of the last American C-17 in Afghanistan and into the pages of history. At the time, he was a major general commanding the 82nd Airborne Division, leading his paratroopers as the United States withdrew from Afghanistan after almost twenty years of combat. He would go on to serve as a corps commander and, since December 2024, the commanding general of US Army Europe and Africa. Donahue joins this episode of The Spear to describe the evolving and complex mission on the ground during the 2021 deployment to Afghanistan, during which he relied on trust and relationships to lead his troops and oversee the evacuation of more than 120,000 Afghans. He also reflects on his career and the leadership lessons he learned along the way, sharing advice for junior and aspiring leaders.
In 2008, Major Corey Faison was a scout platoon leader at Combat Outpost Lowell in Afghanistan's Nuristan province. The area was a hotbed of...
In October 2008, Maj. Nick Eslinger was a lieutenant on his first deployment as a platoon leader in Iraq. While on patrol one day,...
In this episode, we talk to retired US Army Apache pilot Dan McClinton. He tells two stories from a 2007 deployment to Iraq. Together,...