Between 2010 and 2020, approximately 75 courageous Afghan women answered the call to work alongside US military on special operations that effectively took down known terrorist targets. Several of these women remain in hiding in Afghanistan waiting to be evacuated.

Following the withdrawal of US Military from Afghanistan in 2021, 50 women of the Female Tactical Platoon fled to the United States to escape reprisal from the Taliban. FTPs were resettled throughout the country and currently reside in 18 states.

The FTP was formed to access the female and youth population in Afghanistan by paying respect to Afghan culture. During the first 10 years of war, women and children encountered on military operations were not being searched or questioned because it was culturally inappropriate and for American male soldiers to put their hands on an Afghan woman. As women, FTPs could search and question without insulting cultural norms.

Your awareness is the perfect first step. The vast majority of America has no idea that Afghan women risked their lives to support US military operations in Afghanistan. They are deserving of our support just like any other veteran in this country. However you contribute, financially, as a volunteer, or attending an event will help to achieve our goals.

Funding for NXT Mission is managed carefully to prioritize the individual  needs of each FTP. Most of our funds are put towards case management and organizing advocacy events that help build new communities. In cases when financial assistance is needed, we first try to identify free or low-cost solutions more sustainable than providing grants. We help connect FTPs to educational scholarships and vocational training, identify and help register for affordable housing, and organize events to bring FTPs together in person to promote connectedness and well being.

No matter how much time passes, nothing changes the fact that these women made the ultimate sacrifice in order to protect US interests and work towards peace and security in Afghanistan and throughout the word. In order for them to find stability now after being uprooted from their former lives, they must adapt to an entirely new way of being. Acquiring a new language takes many years of consistent educational immersion, and these women have full-time, or multiple low paying jobs, to make ends-meet. We must stand beside them no matter how much time passes, as they become the leaders in the US as they were in Afghanistan.