In 2021, General Austin Miller became the longest-serving commander during the U.S.’s extended involvement in Afghanistan, leading operations for 915 days before retiring from the Army. As a four-star general, he was instrumental in managing the final stages of the American military’s withdrawal from the region.
General Austin Miller was born to lead
General Austin Miller was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, on May 15, 1961. After graduating from the US Military Academy at West Point in 1983, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant. Following his completion of the US Army Ranger School, he was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 325th Infantry (Airborne), 82nd Airborne Division.
In 1986, Miller assumed the role of platoon leader with A Company, 2nd Ranger Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment. After finishing the Infantry Officer Advanced Course in 1989, he served as a company commander in the 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry (Mechanized), 2nd Infantry Division, Eighth Army, deployed to South Korea.
In 1992, Miller was selected to join the 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment Delta (Delta Force), where he demonstrated exceptional leadership, progressing from squadron operations officer to unit commanding officer. Throughout this period, he participated in various operations, including missions in Somalia, Bosnia, Afghanistan and Iraq.
By 2007, Miller had attained the rank of colonel and held esteemed roles, such as director of the Interagency Task Force at US Special Operations Command, MacDill Air Force Base, Florida. Serving as the commanding general of the Combined Forces Special Operations Component Command in Afghanistan from 2013 to 2014, he oversaw special operations forces.
From 2016 to 2018, he commanded the Joint Special Operations Command.
Becoming US and NATO commander
In February 2020, the US and the Taliban reached an agreement that mandated the withdrawal of 13,000 American troops from Afghanistan by May 1, 2021, contingent upon the Taliban’s adherence to their pledge to combat Al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups. In exchange, the US agreed to release 5,000 Taliban prisoners.
Despite continued Taliban assaults on Afghan government forces and their connections to Al-Qaeda, the withdrawal proceeded as planned.
In 2018, Gen. Austin Miller assumed command of US Forces – Afghanistan and NATO‘s Resolute Support Mission, taking over from Gen. John W. Nicholson Jr. Upon taking command, Miller emphasized the global stakes, stating, “The world recognizes we cannot fail.”
Shortly after beginning his new role, Miller was present at the governor’s compound in southern Kandahar when a Taliban gunman targeted provincial police chief Abdul Raziq. Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Smiley was also injured in the attack. Miller promptly made sure that medical aid was provided and personally escorted the wounded during their evacuation.
History of America’s longest war
The US military’s role in Afghanistan has undergone major changes since the conflict’s start in 2001. Following the 9/11 attacks, President George W. Bush signed a joint resolution on September 18, 2001, authorizing the use of force against those responsible. The War in Afghanistan officially commenced on October 7, 2001, with military operations targeting Taliban forces under Operation Enduring Freedom.
As the war progressed, the Taliban withdrew and seemed to disappear, while Osama bin Laden remained elusive. By 2003, much of the heavy fighting had diminished, and American officials began working with the new Afghan government on nation-building initiatives.
For a time, interactions between US soldiers and Afghan civilians were relatively peaceful, but in 2006, Taliban attacks resumed, marked by a series of bombings. In 2009, under President Barack Obama’s administration, the US ramped up efforts to weaken the Taliban’s hold as violence persisted, often impacting civilians caught in the conflict.
A major turning point came in 2011 when Osama bin Laden was killed by US Special Forces. As the 10th anniversary of the war approached, Obama committed to withdrawing all troops by 2014.
General Austin Miller held the line
The first decade of the war was incredibly costly. Some 1,800 US troops died and $444 billion was spent on the war effort. By 2018, President Donald Trump outlined a new policy that would ultimately lead to an escalation between Taliban and American forces.
When the Trump Administration excluded Kabul from peace talks with the Taliban in late 2018, General Austin Miller was put in a difficult position, which Jason Campbell, a policy researcher at Rand Corporation, said put the commander “in react mode very early on in his time in command.” He added, “Everyone was operating under some level of uncertainty as to what the White House was going to decide or state publicly next.”
After on-and-off peace talks between the US and Taliban, Trump announced the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan in 2020. Behind the scenes, Miller was working to convince the president not to pull out all troops, urging him to be “more patient and careful.” Miller was known for being an expert negotiator, bringing a “calm diplomatic demeanor” to the table while still remaining a strong presence in front of Taliban officials.
“He consistently pressed the Taliban to reduce violence and made clear to them that the US would continue to defend Afghan security forces if necessary,” an unnamed US official said. The official added that Miller “called it like it was when it came to levels of violence, going toe-to-toe with the Taliban in a way that we weren’t seeing from other US diplomatic officials.”
Under Miller’s command, the goings on behind US military doors became increasingly harder to discern. Journalists had more restricted access to NATO troops, officers and locations due to Miller’s heavy restrictions. Unlike his predecessor, he didn’t use the official NATO commander Twitter account, and also stopped publishing monthly statistics on airstrikes in Afghanistan.
General Austin Miller oversaw the complicated withdrawal
The withdrawal presented considerable difficulties. Kabul fell swiftly to the Taliban, leading to the collapse of the Afghan government. During the withdrawal, an attack at a checkpoint near Kabul International Airport resulted in the tragic loss of 13 Marines, amidst the ongoing evacuation of thousands. Furthermore, 170 Afghans perished in the attack perpetrated by the Islamic State – Khorasan Province.
Numerous Afghan citizens, fearing the prospect of living under Taliban governance, endeavored to depart the country on the very flights facilitating the return of personnel as part of the withdrawal effort.
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On July 12, 2021, General Austin Miller ceremoniously folded the flag representing the Operation Resolute Support Mission, symbolically concluding his tenure of two-and-a-half years as commander. Just over a month later, the 20-year conflict in Afghanistan reached its end with the full withdrawal of American personnel. In a brief farewell gathering, Miller promised, “The people of Afghanistan will be in my heart, and on my mind, for the rest of my life.”