Veterans react to America's role in Afghanistan war coming to a close, and some believe the country needs to be there for fellow soldiers and veterans during this time - WAFB

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BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - For John Summers, 10 years serving in the military has left him with some bad memories, he still has scars from his 16 months serving in Afghanistan, and it’s never easy to talk about. “It just brings up a period I don’t like to think about because I’ve lost a lot of friends over there, and I’ve lost a lot of friends from dealing with their personal demons from being over there,” says Summers.

Summers was communications specialist in the U.S. Army, he was stationed just 50 miles south of Kabul where he would go on missions risking his life for his country just like many others over the last 20 years. However, for now, it seems America’s role in Afghanistan is over. “It was going to happen, I know President Trump talked about it, even Obama talked about it, and eventually it was going to happen because we’ve spent too much money over there for not a whole lot of gain,” adds Summers.

Many service members are wondering if the amount of time they spent there was a waste, and veterans like Summers says some may even feel a sense of guilt watching the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan. However, he says he and his fellow soldiers can’t think like that, “I look at it this way from the people on the ground, we did our job and we did it well. We did the best we could do with what we could work with restraints, and sometimes it’s al you can do.”

Even after all of this time, Summers says he still thinks about the civilians he encountered in Afghanistan, how Afghans fought to protect their lives amongst the chaos. He says many other soldiers will carry that pain too, and it’s why the country needs to be there for our soldiers and veterans. “I say just stay the course the best you can, keep your held high and just do your job one day at a time, it’s all you can do,” says Summers.

Summers is also an advocate for soldiers and veterans struggling with mental health. He encourages anyone who may be going through a difficult time right now to reach out to the Veterans of Foreign Wars or the American Legion if you need to talk to someone.

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Veterans react to America's role in Afghanistan war coming to a close, and some believe the country needs to be there for fellow soldiers and veterans during this time - WAFB
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