Remember when Biden directed our military to abruptly leave Afghanistan? So abruptly, in fact, that he ordered military personnel to leave over $85 BILLION dollars in weapons and equipment—all for the taking. Of course, one can easily deduce exactly what happened to this equipment; the Taliban, along with other terrorist groups, seized the weapons for their own use. Now reports are coming forward that the Biden administration is charging former and active military members for the equipment that HE told them to leave behind. These sums are reported to range upwards of $3,500, which most individuals, especially in Biden's economy, do not readily have on hand. Biden CANNOT be allowed to do this! Congress needs to stand up to Biden; they need to stand up for our military members, active and retired, and SAY NO to these equipment charges! 

A few months after Biden was sworn in, he announced that U.S. troops would exit the country by September 11, 2021, saying, "It's time to end America's longest war."

His administration set a self-imposed August 31, 2021, deadline, with evacuations of between 13,000 and 18,000 people per day. The withdrawal, which was nothing short of a scramble, led to 13 U.S. service members being killed—the first service members killed in action since February 2020—and at least 18 others were injured during an attack at a checkpoint outside Kabul's airport. In addition, 170 Afghans were killed. In total, more than 120,000 people were evacuated before September 2021.

After all of this chaos, the Biden administration is now PUNISHING military members for leaving their gear behind, gear that they were DIRECTED to leave behind to meet the evacuation deadlines. 

On Monday, a former U.S. soldier spoke on TikTok that it was his gear turn-in day following approximately four years of active duty in the Army's 82nd Airborne Division. He stated: “They want to charge me $500 to $1,000 for gear I was ordered to leave in Afghanistan two years ago because as the last two birds were sitting on the tarmac ready to leave, there wasn't any room for extra gear, extra weight. Therefore, we were told to leave it. Some lower-level dudes, including myself, were like, 'No, this stuff is expensive. I'm not leaving this. I'm gonna get charged for this when it's time to leave.'"

The ex-soldier then showed a sheet of paper with costs attributed to his name, and the name on the sheet seemed to match his own. The total cost for the gear and other items/services was shown to be $3,561.26!

This is unacceptable! To charge our veterans for equipment that they were TOLD to leave behind cannot be allowed! Our troops do not deserve to be subjected to financial penalties for fulfilling their duties in a situation where they had no control over the circumstances. Our elected officials must SAY NO and put a HALT to these charges NOW!

Congress needs to put an END to this! It was the Biden administration that called for a hurried, chaotic, and impossibly difficult and dangerous evacuation of over a hundred thousand people in an extremely short time frame. It was the Biden administration that ordered our troops to leave equipment behind, in order to meet said deadline, and it IS the Biden administration's responsibility for the $85 BILLION of equipment left behind—NOT our Troops—NOT our Veterans!

Congress must stand up for our military members, both active and retired! No troop in Afghanistan during the evacuation should be held responsible for leaving behind equipment that they were ORDERED to leave behind! Our troops, for their sacrifice and for faithfully serving our country, deserve better! Congress, DEFEND our Troops, DO NOT allow Biden to punish them for HIS mistake!