Taliban fighters on the back of a vehicle and on a motorbike gather in front of a mural wall outside the US Embassy in Kabul on April 12, 2022. Photo by Wakil KOHSAR /AFP via Getty Images.
Last August the United States told Afghanistan that it was just heading to the store to pick up a pack of smokes. Then the US quickly loaded up only what it could fit in the back of its ’73 Ford Pinto, queued up the Allman Brothers, and left a destitute, war-torn country standing in the driveway along with $7 billion worth of military hardware.
Most of that hardware ended up in the hands of the Taliban. The militant group was suddenly flush with billions of dollars worth of American-grade military arms and equipment, and the world shuddered at the thought of what they would do with it all. Now, thanks to a video that recently surfaced on the news aggregator site Reddit, we have an idea. Take a look:
Yes, they can’t even make it down the fucking street. But there’s more to this situation than meets the eye. The video allegedly shows members of the Taliban operating an American High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle that many commenters on Reddit consider to be in terrible condition; however, those of us who have served in the US military know that this HMMWV is not that bad. It’s a 10 level task at most, guys. Just circle X on the maintenance sheet and carry on. You’ll be back on the road in no time.
Why are we offering the Taliban this hard-earned motor pool advice? Because there’s a part of us that hopes the Taliban establishes a functioning maintenance division. That way they can get these vehicles operational and back out on the roads that they have spent the last 20 years filling with IEDs — because you know damn well they don’t remember where they put every single bomb.
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Eric Miller is a former Army Combat Medic from Parkersburg, West Virginia. He holds a bachelor’s degree in history and has worked with homeless populations and veteran services throughout the state. He is an avid outdoorsman and has recently become interested in woodworking.
