- Inayatullah Yasini and Swaminathan Natarajan
- BBC World Service
image source, Mohammad Edris Momand
“Some may not be happy with me. Opinions may differ. But I will tell them this. A country is like a mother. No one should betray it,” says Mohammed Edris Moment.
Moment was selected as one of the Afghan military pilots who received extensive training in the United States. But when the Taliban took over the country, he took a stand against his American ally. He flew to his home village in a Ulankurti to hand over the Ulankurti, which he had been driving till then, to his former enemies, the Taliban.
“My intention is to protect an asset that belongs to Afghanistan,” he told the BBC.
A year after this happened, he explained his decision.
image source, Mohammad Edris Momand
Moment joined the Afghan army in 2009. He went to the United States to undergo a rigorous four-year training program at West Point, a US military training center.
Initially, he was posted to Herat in western Afghanistan, where he operated Russian-made Mi-17 helicopters. A few years later he got a break again.
“At the end of 2018, a small group of young pilots trained in the latest Air Force technology were selected to fly the Black Hawk aircraft. From there I started flying Black Hawks,” says Moment.
Black Hawks were used for locomotive, freight and troop transport.
Biden announces decommissioning
US President Joe Biden announced his intention to bring home all troops from Afghanistan in 2021, before the twentieth anniversary of the September 11 attacks on the US. At that time Momanamd was in Mazar-i-Sharif.
In July of the same year, the date for the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan was announced as August 31.
The United States and its allies have spent billions of dollars training and arming the Afghan military in the hope that once the Taliban leave the country, they can completely prevent their return.
image source, Mohammad Edris Momand.
That hope turned out to be a nightmare.
The Afghan army lost control of the country to the Taliban at breakneck speed.
Taliban fighters overran much of Afghanistan’s countryside in July. On August 6, the provincial capital came under Taliban control.
After securing most of the province, the Taliban captured Kabul unopposed on August 15.
A group of Islamist militants overran the last remnants of resistance in the Panjshir Valley, north of the capital, on September 7.
Order to leave
Moment’s six-month stint at Mazar-e-Sharif ended in July, with the country plunged into chaos at the time. He returned to Kabul Air Force Base on 14 August.
Top political and military leaders were rumored to be fleeing Afghanistan. This made the situation tense.
The Taliban were waiting outside the gates of Kabul. The airport there was under US military control. But it was doubtful how long it would be safe.
“Our Air Force Commander has ordered all pilots to fly out of the country with their planes and helicopters. He told me to go to Uzbekistan,” Moment recalls the old incident.
image source, Mohammad Edris Momand.
Moment was outraged by the order. He decided not to obey.
“My commander forced me to betray my country, why should I obey such an order? Betraying the motherland is the worst crime. That’s why I disobeyed that order,” explains Moment.
He asked his family for advice. Especially his dad is strong.
“My father warned me that he would not forgive me if I left the motherland.”
“This motorcycle belongs to Afghanistan. It should not leave the country,” Momand said her father said.
Act of deceiving the task force
At that time, Momandin province was already in the hands of the Taliban. His father spoke to the local governor. He assured that there would be no harm if the aircraft were allowed to fly there.
image source, Mohammad Edris Momand
Moment prepared an escape plan. But first he had to deal with a major obstacle in his train journey.
“Each Black Hawk has a crew of four. I knew that my plan would not convince them.”
“I was sure they would not agree. They would risk my life and even the destruction of the helicopter,” said Moment.
So Moment made a ruse to deceive his fellow soldiers.
“There are technical faults in the train. I told them that I had told the Air Force Commander that I could not take off. On hearing this, the three soldiers jumped into another vehicular train ready to leave for Uzbekistan.”
image source, Mohammad Edris Momand.
Minutes left for Kunar
After all the other aircraft had taken off, he started his engine alone on the 30-minute flight to Kunar.
“At that time the Americans were controlling air traffic. So, I said on the radio that I was leaving for Uzbekistan. After leaving the airport I switched off my radar device and went straight to Kunar.”
“I landed in my village near my home. After getting assurances from the Taliban, I took the motorcycle to a refueling point where motorcycles have been refueled in the past,” says Moment.
Family, friends and neighbors fully supported my decision, says Moment.
Moment says he does not regret his actions. He said he wanted to leave Afghanistan with his wife and children but decided to stay in the motherland.
image source, Mohammad Edris Momand
“American advisers sent me information three times. Even if you can’t bring a motorcycle, come with your family members and leave by road. But I declined the offer,” says Moment
Strength of Afghan Air Force
At the end of June 2021, the Afghan Air Force operated 167 aircraft, including helicopters and airplanes, according to a report released by the US-based Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR).
Some of these planes were flown out of the country by Moment’s fellow soldiers. On August 16, an analysis of satellite imagery from Uzbekistan’s Termez Airport showed that two dozen aircraft, including Mi-17s, Mi-25s, Black Hawks, and several A-29 light attack aircraft, including C-208s, were in Uzbekistan.
Damaged American soldiers
Most of the planes and motorcycles left in Kabul were damaged by US troops beyond their ability to operate.
It is not clear how many helicopters and planes are operational in Afghanistan today.
“We now have seven usable Black Hawk motorcycles. Afghan engineers with limited resources were able to repair them. Gradually we will use other Black Hawk motorcycles,” says Moment.
He accused his colleagues of causing huge losses to Afghanistan by blindly following the order to leave the country.
“Those who flew to Uzbekistan with their helicopters have actually betrayed the motherland. Motorcycles belong to our country. They are very expensive motorcycles. “I don’t think we’ll ever get those motorcycles back,” says Moment.
I will continue to serve
image source, Mohammad Edris Momand
Moment was told during training in the US that it costs $6 million to train a pilot.
So he values that opportunity. He still remembers the day he made his first trip to America.
“I was very happy and excited that day. I couldn’t believe that such a day would come in my life,” he says.
During his four years of training, Moment remained in the United States without visiting his family in Afghanistan.
Trained to fight the Taliban, Moment now flies a Black Hawk helicopter for a government controlled by the same Taliban. He saw no contradiction in this.
“Governments always change. People like us respect the nation. We serve the nation. Army should not be involved in politics. The country has invested a lot in people like me,” he says.
Although the Taliban ruled the country for a year, no country recognized them as legitimate rulers. Nevertheless, Moment is determined.
“I will remain in my field till the last day of my life to serve my nation,” he said.
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Source: BBC.com