SOLD OUT
The Daniel Island Community Speaker’s Series will continue on Wednesday evening, January 24, from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. in the ballroom at the Daniel Island Club. Their speaker will be U.S. Air Force Colonel (retired) Alex Pelbath who was the Commanding Officer for the mission charged with evacuating all U.S. military and civilian personnel from Kabul, Afghanistan in August 2021. He piloted the final U.S. aircraft off the ground.
You have all seen the pictures of Afghans clinging to the struts of the C-17s that were attempting to take off from Kabul. Air Force officers are taught how to respond in various situations. But the rule book cannot cover every possible situation. At that point, it puts its trust in its officers to make the right decision. There is no word to describe the situation that day other than chaos. Those Air Force pilots performed a nearly impossible mission admirably. Every one of them found a way to deal with chaos. Those air men and women evacuated over 124,000 people, many of them women and children. But they were unable to get every last person out of the country. They had to leave behind many Afghans who undoubtedly needed to get out. The tragic end of the U.S. presence in Afghanistan is disturbing for every person who participated in that operation.
Alex is a 2001 graduate of the United States Air Force Academy. At the time of this mission in August 2021, Alex was Director of C-17 Special Operations at Joint Base Charleston. He has since retired from the Air Force. Alex, along with his wife and two children, have chosen to make their home in Charleston.
This is a special occasion that you and your children do not want to miss.
This event will be held on Wednesday evening, January 24, at the Daniel Island Club. There will be a cash bar and passed hors d’oeuvres between 6:30 and 7:00 pm. The program will begin promptly at 7:00 pm and will conclude around 8:00 pm.
Please click on the link below to register.