Hiking For Heroes

My name is Tobin, and as of March 2024, I am participating in a fundraiser for Team America Relief, an organization devoted to providing resources for former US interpreters and partner force soldiers left in Afghanistan following the US withdrawal. Over the next four months, I will be thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail, using the opportunity to raise awareness for our friends and allies. I will provide the link to my fundraising page below, but before navigating to the page, I encourage you to read my story and affiliation with Team America. If you think it is a cause worth supporting, I invite you to sponsor Team America Relief’s mission with a donation for each mile I complete.

$.005 per mile = $11

$.01 per mile = $22

$.05 per mile = $110

. . . it’s around 2200 miles (2197.4 to be exact), so I’ll let you figure out the rest:

https://www.flipcause.com/secure/cause_pdetails/MjA0OTA0

Preface

First and foremost, I want to make it clear that my decision to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail is a selfish one. If I were solely determined to raise awareness and funds for Afghan relocation efforts, I would be much more successful going door to door for 2190 miles than hiking through the mountains. I am doing this for myself. And just as I would scoff at the absurdity of someone pushing a cause while sipping Mai Tais in Tijuana, I recognize my hypocrisy in believing I am doing anything more than going on a four-month civilization retreat. Nevertheless, the Appalachian Trail is a hub for hikers across the world. All of them creative, passionate, adventurous—qualities that drive people to the frontlines of change. These are the people whose attention I seek—who, when inspired, are capable of anything. For those people, I made this page.

But I also understand that many AT hikers, like me, want nothing more than to end their days flopping onto a sleeping pad and resting before the next 20 miles. Please do not feel pressured to read on.

Sami’s Story

In the summer of 2020, I served as a Special Forces Medical Sergeant in western Afghanistan. Part of my job was to manage the nine local and US interpreters that were assigned to our ODA. We quickly became friends and remained in contact long after I left Afghanistan.

Six months after I returned to the US, I received a voice message from my friend and former interpreter, “Sami.” Gunfire muffled his voice. The United States was withdrawing from Afghanistan, and I did not need to hear him ask for help to know he needed it. As I worked to create a plan to get Sami onto the Kabul Airfield and board a plan for the US, I began to receive more messages from former interpreters. Sami and I agreed that we could not leave them behind.

Over the next month, I created evacuation routes and organized link-up procedures while Sami led teams through sewer systems and over barbed wire onto the airfield. On August 26th, Sami was supposed to accompany our final group, but our plan quickly began to unravel.

My Air Force colleagues, who led our interpreters through the US security checkpoints, were called to another mission. The Italian military police agreed to help, but now we were behind schedule. By the time Sami started moving toward the airfield, weaving through the dense crowd was nearly impossible. The group separated. It was not until later that Sami called me. He could not make it. His children were struggling to breathe in the crowd.

We spent the rest of the night trying different gates, but nothing worked. As the sun began to rise, Sami and his family went home. That afternoon, my colleagues and I organized a team to take Sami from a local gas station to the base. He was 5 minutes away from the gas station when an IED detonated, killing 13 US service members, restricting access to the airfield, and leaving Sami and his family stranded.

The next three months were nerve-racking. Sami, desperate under the threat of the Taliban, was lured into paying for fake bus tickets promising to take him to neighboring countries. Food was scarce, and he was running out of money. I contacted US senators, congresspeople, and humanitarian organizations, hoping they could offer assistance while recruiting my friends to do the same. In mid-October, Sami sent me a picture with his name on a flight manifest. A week later, he called me—he and his family were boarding a plane destined for Germany.

I was proud of my role in helping Sami and my friends reach the US, but mostly, I was proud to be the one they asked for help. I was honored they trusted me, as I did with many colleagues and fellow service members in the following weeks. Through the relationships I formed during the US withdrawal, I witnessed the power of a community motivated by a sense of justice. The friends I made along the way were many, but none were as integral in helping me get Sami out of Afghanistan as Team America Relief.

After receiving Sami’s first message, I would attend daily conferences with Team America. What began as a handful of attendees steadily climbed toward 50, 60, 100. I would share my link-up procedures over the group chat and receive advice on the least crowded gates and the best time of day to arrive. When access to the airfield closed, I uploaded Sami’s information onto their database, and they worked to get him space on the sporadic flights that would surreptitiously get our allies to safety in the surrounding countries. Without their help, I believe Sami would still be in Afghanistan, moving from house to house, relying on donations, and living in secrecy to avoid the actualization of the threats he was receiving from the Taliban.

Sami helped my friends and I lead over 100 of our former interpreters, partner force soldiers, and their families out of Afghanistan, but we were only able to help those whom we could contact. Many former US partners don’t know where to turn.

My Purpose

The purpose of my hike is two-fold. The first is to ease my transition out of the military. The past ten years have taken me around the world, introduced me to friends that will last a lifetime, and given me experiences I will never forget. But it is important to know when to say goodbye. For me, that time is now. Before I begin a new chapter, I want to put a bookmark on the end of the previous one, reflecting on the years past and anticipating those to follow.

The second is to raise awareness for our allies still in Afghanistan and provide information so you can decide whether or not to donate to relocation efforts. While helping Sami and other former interpreters, I came across dozens of relief organizations, some of whom were unable to answer simple questions about where their donations go and their means of support. I know from personal experience that Team America Relief is a legitimate organization committed to providing resources for our partners. One hundred percent of the money donated goes toward food packages for the families awaiting relocation.

Thank you so much for your time, and happy trails!

https://www.flipcause.com/secure/cause_pdetails/MjA0OTA0