Nineteen years, 10 months, and 23 days after the U.S. mission in Afghanistan began, Army Major General Chris Donahue, commander of the 82nd Airborne Division, was the last American soldier to leave Afghan soil shortly before midnight in Kabul on Monday.
“Tonight’s withdrawal signifies both the end of the military component of the evacuation, but also the end of the nearly 20-year mission that began in Afghanistan shortly after September 11, 2001,” said Marine Gen. Frank McKenzie, head of U.S. Central Command.
A mission that was not cheap.