#RescueQ13! - Rescue Mission, Afghanistan

#RescueQ13! No one left behind! 

We did it!! Q13 and family are safe outside of Afghanistan.  Yet they still need help to restart their lives.  Please consider donating.  

Back story: 

Hi, my name is Karl, a Veteran Marine who served in Afghanistan and Iraq. When I came back you thanked me for my service. I never asked for anything, I never needed for anything, but now I need your help. We left people behind. RescueQ13! is an effort to raise funds to help an Afghan Soldier and his family escape to safety. Read below for more information on how you can help.

 

Leaving people behind isn't something that sits well with me. It goes against my being, as a Marine, an American, and as a human. When the last planes left Kabul at the end of August we knew not everyone who needed to get out was going to make it, those that did not where just unlucky. Pragmatically I understood this reality, it was an inevitability of the withdrawal. 

 

Flash forward. Afghanistan is forgotten. We have moved on to the next big things in our lives. School, elections, football, you pick it. Afghanistan is no longer in our thoughts, it is a world away. This is a reality for the people left behind, they are not in our thoughts and they are not our problem anymore. Or so I thought. On Sunday the 24th of October at 12:03 pm things changed, it became personal.

 

As I sat at a light before heading home after visiting my daughter at College, I received a simple message on my phone. "Sir, I know you are retired now, but you know the situation in Afghanistan... we tried our best but we were not so lucky, we did not get out. If you know anyone who might be able to help my family please let me know "- Q13.

That simple message brought it all back. Q13 was a soldier in the Afghan National Army. He was a student of mine. He risked his life to defend his country, he fought alongside us. No doubt his actions saved American and Allied Lives. But he was unlucky, he was left behind. More than that, his family, his wife and children, were left behind. This family needs our help. Make this a personal moment for you. Time is not on their side. We have to act now.

 

The Taliban are searching for former soldiers like Q13 who served with us. They are marking them for the moment when no one in the outside world is looking, and then they will just disappear. It is a perilous time for Q13 and his family. They hide as best they can, they run when they have too. Q13 and his wife and children should not just disappear. Help me help them. Let us rescue Q13.

 

The cost is staggering. There is no way to sugar coat it. Private planes, safe passage costs, etc. I want to be transparent and open with you.  But some of the details have to be kept secure for the safety of Q13 and his family.  However, I estimate it will cost One Hundred Thousand U.S. Dollars... and there is no guarantee it will even work. I am going to put up what I can, but I can't do it alone. This is a moment for you to meet a daunting challenge against the odds. You can be part of a historic rescue mission just by donating.

 

You thanked me for my service once, you may have even said "if you need anything..." Now I am asking you to join me. It is the time to be more and do more. It is the time to do something you can be proud of. Something you can tell your grandchildren about. Give Q13 and his family a fighting chance to survive. Be a part of the mission to rescue Q13. Donate today.

 

Act now, save lives. #RESCUEQ13.

 

All funds collected will go to resettlement efforts.  

 

Thank you and Semper Fidelis, Karl