Locals reflect on service in America’s longest war

The end of U.S. involvement in Afghanistan last month after almost two decades likely prompted many who deployed there to reflect on their experiences during America’s longest war.

The U.S. Department of Defense estimates 832,000 American soldiers served in Afghanistan. A report from the Associated Press seeking to quantify the costs of the war in Afghanistan — both in lives and dollars — stated there were 2,448 American service members killed there through April. At least 13 more were added to that toll following an Aug. 26 suicide bomb attack outside the airport in Kabul as evacuations were underway in the waning days of the presence of U.S. troops.

Also killed were 3,846 U.S. contractors, 1,144 other allied service members, including from other NATO member states, 444 aid workers and 72 journalists. Approximately 66,000 Afghan national military and police members died, along with 47,245 Afghan civilians and 51,191 Taliban and other opposition fighters.

Closer to home, KROCnews.com reports 29 Minnesotans were among the war dead, including Spc. George W. Cauley, a 24-year-old from Walker who died in October 2009 when his vehicle was hit by a homemade bomb. Minnesota National Guard combat veteran Justin Doerfler of Brainerd, who shared his story with the Dispatch in the Sunday, Sept. 26, 2021, edition , served with Cauley. Doerfler’s truck bears a flag graphic with Cauley’s name along with the names of others in his company who’ve died since their deployment.

Although the Crow Wing County Veterans Service Office was unable to provide an exact number of residents who served in Afghanistan specifically, Veterans Service Officer Erik Flowers reported a total of 2,301 veterans in their system with Persian Gulf War service. This includes those who served in Afghanistan and Iraq as well as the first Gulf War.

The war wasn’t only about combat — a significant part of the U.S. effort involved establishing infrastructure and helping to train Afghan soldiers and police officers. Crosslake man and Navy veteran Tim Bray’s engineering and infrastructure management skills brought him into the Middle Eastern country this way as a U.S. Navy individual augmentee. In the Sunday edition, Bray recalls his deployment as a rewarding experience during which he learned about leadership while stationed at the Herat base in western Afghanistan.

The two local veterans featured here have different stories and disparate experiences, but what they have in common is military service of which they are proud. Here are their stories.

• ‘Lifting a darkness off my shoulders’: Brainerd man proud of Afghanistan service that impacted his life The recent events in Afghanistan did not take away from the pride Justin Doerfler feels about what he and his comrades in the 114th Transportation Company accomplished while in Helmand province.
  
• Crow Wing County engineer shines light on his role in nation-building during Afghanistan deployment Far removed by time and space from the Herat base in western Afghanistan where he spent much of his deployment, Tim Bray of Crosslake is still reminded of that period of his life in both small and big ways.