Country star Travis Tritt has been thinking of military veterans who sacrificed so much in Afghanistan to defeat the Taliban. In a rapid advance that stunned the Biden administration, the Taliban retook the entire country this week as American forces withdrew.
So on Tuesday morning, the Grammy-winning musician took to Twitter to share his sympathies.
“As we watch current events unfold in Afghanistan, my thoughts and concerns are for military veterans and their families who lost life and limb there over the past 20 years,” Tritt tweeted Tuesday. “I can’t imagine the heartbreak you all must be feeling. I pray for God’s comfort and reassurance for all.”
U.S. Military Veterans Wonder If Afghanistan Was Worth It
Travis Tritt has clearly been watching the news closely. As the Taliban stormed into Kabul, Afghanistan’s capital, many veterans of that conflict were left with complicated feelings. Some had argued that the U.S. should leave that country. Others saw a U.S. military presence there as necessary, the Wall Street Journal reports. But few of them wanted to see the war end with a capitulation to the Taliban.
Jordan Leitsch deployed to Helmand province with the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment. He expressed frustration with how the drawdown played out. Leitsch pointed to the Obama administration’s announcement that they planned to leave the country as the starting point for the scenes playing out in Afghanistan this week.
“I want someone to tell me now why we went,” he told the Journal. “We pride ourselves that America is a force to be reckoned with, that we have a backbone and know to use it. We aren’t doing it.”
Kevin Brewington lost both his legs to an IED in Afghanistan in 2011. But he said he’d do it all over if given a second chance. At the same time, he wanted to see U.S. troops leave Afghanistan.
“I tend to want to think we did some good and protected some village people and were on the good guy’s side,” he told the Journal. “On the terrorist side, hopefully we took out as many as we could.”
Travis Tritt Is a Proud Supporter of the U.S. Military
Tritt has been a major backer of military groups and causes. From helping combat veterans get security dogs to commemorating D-Day on social media, he has been there for veterans. And he’s urged his fans to never forget that those who served did so to protect our freedoms.
Tritt has also recognized veterans’ struggles in his art. In the music video for “Anymore,” the second single off his 1991 album It’s All About to Change, Tritt played a wheelchair-bound Vietnam War veteran who wrestles with emotional baggage from the war.
Tritt has also performed for the USO and, with the Special Operation Warrior Foundation, honored the volunteers who attempted to save American hostages in Iran.
