Local lawmaker reflects on his time in Afghanistan

COLUMBUS — As he joined the rest of the world in watching the images of thousands of desperate Afghans clamoring to board aircraft out of a country in collapse, Haraz Ghanbari reached out to a former interpreter he'd worked with in Kandahar a decade ago.

“He is now living in Canada with his wife, children, and mom, but he fears for the rest of his family still back in Kandahar,” said the state representative from Perrysburg. Mr. Ghanbari last served in Afghanistan in late 2010 and 2011 while with the Navy Reserve.

“I have been calling all of the people I deployed with and served with that I had contact information for, just to check in,” he said. “He was a guy I worked with in the office.... He is someone who risked his own safety and well-being to serve alongside the U.S. military. I value his contribution and I consider him a friend, although I haven't seen him since.”

Mr. Ghanbari, interviewed before Thursday's terrorist bombing that killed U.S. military and civilians outside Kabul airport where airlifts have been taking place, also served alongside U.S.-trained Afghan soldiers on and off base. These soldiers ultimately proved no match for the insurgent Taliban that swiftly swept over Afghanistan as its president fled and the United States closed its embassy.

“There were and are many brave Afghans who fought alongside us,” Mr. Ghanbari said. “They had taken lead on multiple missions. Certainly, we had a lot of U.S. and coalition and allied partners who spent an untold amount of time training not only the Afghan military but the Afghan police and security forces as well.

“There were many untold examples of the bravery of Afghans who fought alongside our troops in Afghanistan,” he said. “I don't think it's appropriate for me to speculate as to why some of these Afghans have decided to take the route that they have right now.”

Mr. Ghanbari is a first-generation American whose family emigrated from Iran. While a 17-year-old high school senior, he enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1999. He served in Bosnia in 2001 and 2002, becoming a sergeant E-5 in the Army National Guard. Later he volunteered for deployment to Afghanistan as a Navy ensign.

He also worked as an Associated Press photojournalist, traveling in 2007 with U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, who'd served under Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama.

A former Perrysburg city councilman and a Republican, he joined in 2019 the Ohio House of Representatives, where he currently chairs the Armed Services and Veterans’ Affairs Committee.

Mr. Ghanbari said he still thinks about “Sam Eighty” in Kandahar Role 3 Hospital.

“That was the name given him in the hospital,” Mr. Ghanbari said. “He lost both legs and had other severe injuries. He was coming home from school one day with his family and buddies. He went after a soccer ball and stepped on an improvised explosive device. Every day I visited him.”

He doesn't know what became of him.

“I've been trying to find him for several years,” he said. “It's been challenging.”

Even in the current images he sees from Afghanistan, he sees “pieces of hope.”

“Pockets of hope are emerging out of Afghanistan despite everything that's going on right now,” Mr. Ghanbari said. “This is an opportunity for many Afghans to step up and lead in a time of uncertainty.”

The legislator said he finds comfort in talking with fellow servicemen who've been through something similar. But even before the current crisis in Afghanistan, he was alarmed at the suicide rate among veterans, and worries about long delays to get government mental-health services.

He has talked with Gov. Mike DeWine in hopes of reducing those delays. The governor’s office confirmed that discussions continue to take place.

“It may be some short-term bridge of mental health services where we can stand up for those of us who have served,” Mr. Ghanbari said. “I've talked to other people who've worn the uniform in similar situations. For those service men and women in combat zones, they've seen realities of war: sights, sounds, and smells that will never leave you,” Mr. Ghanbari said.

“That's certainly the potential for the men and women deployed on the ground in Afghanistan who are engaged in the current operation,” he said. “Some of them may want to engage in some peer-to-peer counseling or additional services just to process their time there and what they have seen.”

That may be particularly true after Thursday's bombing at the Kabul airport, whose casualties included Maxton Soviak, a Navy corpsman from Erie County.

“To my fellow veterans, your service matters and, more importantly, you matter,” Mr. Ghanbari said Friday. “Each of us and our families will process and grieve the developments in Afghanistan in our own ways and on our time.”