Afghanistan, “Goi Special Forces Saved Lives” – Photo

They saved children from the crowd at the Kabul airport, provided treatment, offered food, water, medicines. They helped escape those on the evacuation lists and gave support to those who, although not on those lists, had arrived at the airport with the hope of being able to get on a flight. Among the Special Forces engaged in the airlift from Afghanistan in recent weeks, there were also the soldiers of the Raiders Operational Group (Goi) of the Underwater Command and Incursors (Comsubin) of the Navy (Photogallery). To testify to the Adnkronos their work on the front line for the evacuation of the population during the dramatic days consumed at the Kabul airport is Giuseppe Cossu, a retired Navy raider, who gives voice to the great work of his colleagues, a precious testimony of the commitment carried out in the field with determination and sacrifice by the Goi raiders, protagonists of the humanitarian evacuation operation in the “apocalyptic scenario” of the airport. ready to take the field in the most hostile and extreme situations. “But the Special Forces are made up of people with an important human side, committed to saving lives. And in fact, when they were called, many felt the duty to go, driven by a strong motivation linked to the twenty-year mission lived there”, underlines the incursor on leave. And this time, in Afghanistan, the tasks were not only aimed at security: “With a spirit of self-denial they worked for humanitarian purposes in the face of a tragic situation”. The Goi, called to operate at very short notice in emergency situations, is among the best Maritime Special Forces Units in the world. Those that the general public knows simplistically as rambo or with the expression “leather heads”. “They found themselves facing an apocalyptic scenario where thousands of people tried to cross the gates and enter the airport to find a safe haven – he says – They gave care and lent a hand, pulled children out of the crowd, without entering into conflict with the Taliban. , present in front of the walls “. “They tried to evacuate as much as possible all the people on the lists and gave support to those who were not on the lists, but needed medicine, food, water, moral support”, he continues. “Some desperate women could not get close to the gates, they were left alone because their husbands, interpreters, had already been evacuated some time ago and did not expect to find themselves within a few days with their families sought in Afghanistan – is the story reported by the interpreters and Afghan friends who, thanks to the commendable work of the raiders, managed to escape to Italy – The Italian base was in Herat, there were those who made a journey of hope, about 30 hours by car to Kabul, to pour into the I stop to try to take a flight. “Among the raiders of the Navy, who helped save many women and children with a spirit of sacrifice and determination,” there is concern. There are still many people there who need help and it is impossible to act. Someone passed the return trip speechless thinking about the people who remained there, people who collaborated with our country and helped us to complete important operations “. The tragic epilogue cannot and must not cancel the twenty years of mission and the results achieved. “That of the raiders is a department of excellence, the only one to which to access the coveted green beret, you have to complete all the phases, water (the specialty), land and air”, he explains recalling the work done by Goi in Afghanistan to the fight against terrorism and to train local special forces. “It is not true that the local special forces have surrendered and the work of our military has not served – he observes – The Afghan special forces trained by the Goi raiders have not surrendered. The problem lies in the regular Afghan army, which has become a sort social safety net, while in the special forces there were real motivations and a demonstration of civilization. I still remember a cook who in past years was not eligible for the selections and asked us in every way to help in the fight against the Taliban because they had hit the his village and killed his family. So he was found a role in the kitchen for the Afghan special forces. ” “I am proud to have been part of this special body: a ‘Bravo Zulu’ to everyone”, he concludes.