Army general was the last soldier to leave Afghanistan

Maj. General Chris Donahue of the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division was the last soldier to leave Afghanistan, officials said Monday.

U.S. Central Command released a picture of Donahue preparing to board the final military C-17 cargo plane to leave Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul.

Marine Gen. Frank McKenzie, the head of U.S. Central Command, told reporters in a virtual briefing that will the 3:29 pm ET departure of the C-17, “every single U.S. service member is now out of Afghanistan.”

Aug. 30, 202101:43

Donahue “is the final American service member to depart Afghanistan; his departure closes the U.S. mission to evacuate American citizens, Afghan Special Immigrant Visa applicants, and vulnerable Afghans,” Central Command said.

The operation evacuated more than 120,000 American citizens, citizens of U.S. allies and Afghan allies in less than three weeks.

Nearly 2,500 service members and 3,800 U.S. contractors were killed during the nearly 20-year war, including 13 service members who were died Thursday in a terror attack outside the Kabul airport.