In 2021, General Austin Miller earned the distinction of becoming the longest-serving commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, overseeing operations for 915 days before retiring from the Army. As a four-star general, he was instrumental in directing the final stages of the military’s withdrawal from the region.
General Austin Miller was born to lead
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 United States and the Taliban reached an agreement for the withdrawal of 13,000 American troops from Afghanistan by May 1, 2021, contingent on the Taliban’s commitment to countering Al-Qaeda and other terrorist organizations. In exchange, the U.S. agreed to release 5,000 Taliban prisoners.
Despite ongoing Taliban attacks on Afghan government forces and their continued ties to Al-Qaeda, the withdrawal proceeded as planned.
In 2018, Austin Miller took command of U.S. Forces – Afghanistan and NATO’s Resolute Support Mission, succeeding Gen. John W. Nicholson Jr. Upon assuming command, Miller emphasized the global importance of the mission, declaring, “The world recognizes we cannot fail.”
Shortly after assuming his role, Miller was at the governor’s compound in southern Kandahar when a Taliban gunman launched an attack targeting provincial police chief Abdul Raziq. Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Smiley was among those injured in the attack.
Miller promptly ensured medical assistance was provided and personally accompanied the wounded during their evacuation.
History of America’s longest war
Since 2001, the role of the US military in Afghanistan has undergone big shifts. In the aftermath of 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 began on October 7, 2001, with military operations targeting Taliban forces under the banner of Operation Enduring Freedom.
As the conflict advanced, the Taliban retreated and seemed to disband, while Osama bin Laden remained at large. By 2003, major combat operations had largely subsided, and American officials shifted their focus to collaborating with the new Afghan government on nation-building efforts.
For a period, interactions between US soldiers and Afghan civilians were relatively calm. However, in 2006, the Taliban resumed their attacks, initiating a series of bombings. In 2009, during President Barack Obama’s administration, the US intensified its efforts to weaken the Taliban’s influence as violence persisted, often affecting civilians caught in the crossfire.
A pivotal moment came in 2011 when US Special Forces killed Osama bin Laden. As the war approached its 10th anniversary, Obama pledged to withdraw all US 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, 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, 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.”
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