Officer captain victor rolando rodriguez

Senior commanders often gave the toughest missions to the Ghosts of 2/1.

Ghost Company evolved from 2/1вЂ™s Ghost Battalion, which earned its name, according to Marine Corps legend, through a history of rapid helicopter assaults in Vietnam that left frustrated North Vietnamese commanders in their wake. Captain Ball returned to base to the news that Ghost Company of the вЂњ2/1,вЂќ as the 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines is known, should be ready to deploy in 96 hours. military had withdrawn from Afghanistan, so President Biden ordered 3,000 troops to Kabul to evacuate Americans. The Taliban had captured Kandahar and Herat, AfghanistanвЂ™s second- and third-largest cities. 12, Captain Ball, called вЂњSixвЂќ by his Marines, was on a training exercise in Jordan when he received a text from his gunnery sergeant. He said goodbye to his pregnant wife and deployed to Jordan with Ghost Company in April, his green seabag filled with 40 books, including Victor HugoвЂ™s вЂњLes MisГ©rables.вЂќ in international relations from George Washington University, and was commissioned in 2012. Geoff Ball, call sign вЂњGhost Six,вЂќ joined the Marine Corps because, he says, вЂњit didnвЂ™t feel right having other guys go out and fight, while I just sit at home and benefit from their sacrifice without doing anything myself.вЂќ After growing up in Littleton, Colo., he got a B.A. They had been coming by bus, car and foot for 10 straight days, assembling near the jersey barriers, or standing knee-deep in the foul-smelling canal near Abbey Gate, a main entryway to the airport.Д¬apt. The Afghans, who had been on their feet for hours, were passing out in the heat from dehydration. And, finally, the 82nd Airborne would fall back to the airport, to waiting planes, ending AmericaвЂ™s longest war. A few hours later, the 82nd Airborne would take up the MarinesвЂ™ forward positions, allowing Ghost Company to fold into the terminal. 26, the British troops stationed at the nearby Baron Hotel would fall back. The plan for the final вЂњretrogradeвЂќ of the American war in Afghanistan was clear: On Aug. Andres Rodriguez, 31, to scan the crowd for men who fit the descriptions in dozens of text messages from people in the United States trying to save their interpreters. Hunter Lopez, 22, to grab another child out of the sewage canal where hundreds jostled. Geoff Ball, 33, commander of 2nd Battalion, 1st MarinesвЂ™ Ghost Company, to pluck out a few more people with that elusive combination of affiliation and luck that would get them onto a plane out of Afghanistan. The crowd at the gate didnвЂ™t know it, but the Marines had been told to close it at 6 p.m. The Marines at Abbey Gate were racing against time.

Officer captain victor rolando rodriguez