The Afghanistan Episode with General Scott Miller

Send us Fan MailOn the fifth anniversary of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, General (Ret.) Scott Miller, the final commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, joins Joe for a candid conversation about the war, its ending, and what we owe the people who served there.General Miller reflects on watching Afghanistan collapse after he left the country, the anger he carried afterward, and why he ultimately decided not to let that anger define the rest of his life. He also addresses the questions many veterans still wrestle with: Was it worth it? What should we be proud of? And what lessons must we carry forward?Joe and General Miller also discuss:The habits General Miller believes veterans should carry with them into civilian lifeHow watching the fall of Afghanistan affected him personallyWhat Task Force Ranger taught General Miller about loss, brotherhood, trust, and learning from combatThe responsibility veterans have to remember the fallen and stay connected with their familiesWhy learning lessons may be more valuable than simply assigning blameHow repeated rotations and a lack of continuity hurt America’s understanding of AfghanistanGeneral Miller’s perspective on the closure of Bagram and the risks involved in keeping it openWhy senior-leader accountability is essential to maintaining trust in institutionsThe difference between winning tactical battles and achieving strategic objectivesWhy any serious assessment of a war has to begin with the objectives leaders were actually givenWhat General Miller believes a successful transition looks like five years after leaving the ArmyThis episode is for veterans still making sense of Afghanistan, the leaders responsible for learning from it, and anyone who has struggled to reconcile honorable service with a painful outcome. Five years later, the question is not only what happened in Afghanistan, but what we choose to learn from it—and what those who served there choose to carry forward.A special thanks to our sponsorsUltra Defense CorpsManTech International Corporation