Afghanistan Veteran questions if Coalition's presence in Afghanistan was 'all in vain'

The atrocities in Afghanistan are no surprise to Afghanistan veteran Nathan Dean who suggests a Barack Obama speech offered the Taliban an opportunity to plan a takeover.

The Wagga man was a member of the Royal Australian Airforce but was attached to an army unit at Tarin Kowt in southern Afghanistan in 2009 and 20011.

IN OTHER NEWS:

"Anyone could see it coming when Obama made that cluster---k of a speech when he was president and spoke about a troop surge of about 30,000, but then said they were going to pull out," Mr Dean said.

"That's the best intel the Taliban could get, so It doesn't surprise me that this has happened - I just didn't think it would be as quick.

"No matter what, the Taliban were always going to take over.

"I think it's tragic but the writing was on the wall there - It's like Vietnam 2.0."

Medically discharged with post traumatic stress disorder, Mr Dean, who worked in a logistics department, witnessed much heartbreak in the war-torn country, including the murder of his friend, who he shared living accommodation with.

"Being there was addictive; it was a rush," he said.

"When you're getting fired on your training kicks in and your adrenaline is pumping and when a mortar is quite close it can be very frightening.

"I wanted to come home but when I got home I couldn't stop thinking about going back - it was confusing.

"One of the worst times was when my friend flew out to the patrol base and it was basically for a morning briefing so they were relaxed, but armed.

"But an Afghan national Army member turned rogue and killed three - one was my friend.

"I recall it was his brother who was serving there at the same time had to do the inventory of his belongings - that just really hit me - it was a terrible time.

"I didn't trust the Afghan army after that and I went to the War Memorial when I came back home and saw his name there and it really upset me."

Mr Dean wonders if the Coalition's presence in Afghanistan was "all in vain".

"My heart breaks because we went with good intentions and helped build schools and hospitals but what was it all for?" he said

"I'm mentally broken when I see these images on the television.

"I'm now unemployed suffering post traumatic stress disorder and I just think to myself, is this what the Vietnam veterans felt?"

Mr Dean said he found the Afghan people to be "quite loving and friendly" and believes an effort should be made to extract those who had helped Coalition troops.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: