Navy veteran Shawn VanDiver, who formed AfghanEvac after saving a friend during the fall of Kabul, is the special guest on the first episode of Tango Alpha Lima’ season seven.
The Tango Alpha Lima podcast has returned from holiday break with a new look but the same meaningful conversations about topics veterans care about most.
Kicking off the first episode of season seven is Navy veteran Shawn VanDiver, the founder and president of AfghanEvac. He is the special guest in today’s episode of The American Legion Tango Alpha Lima podcast.
After his service, VanDiver dabbled in politics and the Truman National Security Project, where he started working on Afghan CIV issues. “The confluence of civic engagement, immigration and national security led me to care about these issues. And then I started AfghanEvac because I had a buddy who was stuck in Afghanistan.”
VanDiver launched AfghanEvac in August 2021 after receiving a call from an Afghan friend “Lucky” during the fall of Kabul. Lucky called VanDiver from a mountaintop seeking a way out of the country and away from the Taliban.
Recognizing that thousands of veterans received similar pleas for help, VanDiver knew more had to be done. Under his leadership what began as a single emergency effort quickly grew into a coalition of veterans, military families, frontline civilians, NGOs and government partners committed to fulfilling America’s duty to its Afghan allies.
AfghanEvac has helped support the relocation or resettlement of more than 195,000 Afghans and continues to drive improvements in evacuation, processing and family reunification.
Among the highlights:
• Joining the military: VanDiver, an admitted troubled youth, joined the Navy after getting his GED. “It was the best decision I ever made.”
• His recipe for success: “You show up in Afghan spaces. You go to lunch in Afghan restaurants. You go around the country and I just talk with them. I don’t preach to them, I hear from them what’s going on with them.”
• His vision: “Afghans are special to us. But there are other people fleeing devastation, wars, from across the world. AfghanEvac is not about Afghans. It’s about civic engagement. We bring our communities to make sure that justice is served, and honor, commitment and courage are respected.”
• How to help: VanDiver says that people can help by contacting their members of Congress to support our Afghanistan allies, sign up to be a Battle Buddy to appear with immigrants in court and purchase gear at AfghanEvac to support their mission.
Also in this episode co-hosts Stacy Pearsall, Adam Marr and Joe Worley:
• Issue a warning to veterans to always use an accredited service officer for their VA benefit claims. To find an accredited American Legion service officer near you, use this tool. This is a free service to all veterans.
• Talk about Together We Served, the largest online veteran directory in the country, connecting more than 2.5 million veterans.
• Cover the Taliban’s impact on Afghan women.
• Pay tribute to World War II Army veteran Mort Walker, the creator of Beetle Bailey.
You can also check out the more than 300 Tango Alpha Lima podcasts available in both audio and video formats here. You can also download episodes on Apple Podcasts, Spotify other major podcast-hosting sites. The video version is available at the Legion’s YouTube channel.
- Tango Alpha Lima