Veteran who works on United States of Al: "I went to war again" in trying to help Afghan refugees flee their country

The Hollywood Reporter

"When I left the military after three tours in Iraq, I thought my last battle was over," writes Chase Millsap, a military consultant and writer on the CBS comedy. "But in August, as the Taliban took over Afghanistan, I went to war again, coordinating with fellow veterans to get Afghans out of their country. Even though I was thousands of miles away from the Kabul airport — in the safety of my own home — I knew I could accomplish more with my phone than I ever could with a weapon in my hand." He adds: "As we began production on our second season in August, we watched the horrifying takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban, giving rise to a humanitarian crisis the speed and scale of which we could not have imagined. Sadly, I’d seen this story before. In 2014, Iraq faced the very real possibility of collapse from ISIS, and interpreters and other Iraqi allies I had served with were on the run for their lives. I worked every option I could to help one man who had saved my life, but our SIVs and refugee programs were too slow. He was left behind and still waits for a visa. The weight of that failure lives with me every day. So when our Afghan allies faced a similar fate, I knew it was time to act, but this time I was not alone. Everyone on our United States of Al staff, including seven veterans and five Afghans, wanted to help as many people get out as we could. We found ourselves living through our characters’ worst fears. Staff members, who would’ve never met but for our work on the show, came together to get as many people out of Afghanistan as we could. We clustered around screens reviewing maps and searching for breaking news. We called in every favor from every person we knew. We cried tears of relief every time we helped someone make it onto a plane and felt despair whenever a family was turned away at the gate. By connecting with and through each other, we were able to help many Afghans escape the Taliban."