[Pages S3739-S3740]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

AFGHANISTAN

Mr. HAWLEY. Mr. President, following my submission in a previous
session of the U.S. Senate, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in
the Record the next part of an investigation directed by the U.S.
Central Command concerning the Abbey Gate bombing in Afghanistan in
August 2021.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:

Report of Proceedings by Investigating Officer

SECTION I--APPOINTMENT

Appointed by LTG Ronald Clark, Commander, Third Army/ARCENT
(Appointing Authority) on 20210917

SECTION II--TIMELINE

1. The (investigation) commenced at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait at
2000 on 20210917
2. The (Investigating officer) finished gathering/hearing
evidence at 1100 on 20211022 and completed findings and
recommendations at 2000 on 202111022

SECTION III--CHECKLIST FOR PROCEEDINGS

A. COMPLETE IN ALL CASES
1. Enclosures
Are the following enclosed and numbered consecutively with
Roman numerals: (Attached in order listed)
a. The memorandum of appointment? YES
b. All other written communications to or from the
appointing authority? YES
c. Privacy Act Statements (Certificate, if statement
provided orally)? NA
d. Explanation by the investigating officer of any unusual
delays, difficulties, irregularities, or other problems
encountered (e.g., absence of material witnesses)? NA
e. Any other significant papers (other than evidence)
relating to administrative aspects of the investigation? NA
f. An Executive Summary, Index of Exhibits, Chronology of
the Investigation and lists of all persons interviewed and
evidence gathered. (Complex, serious and/or high profile
cases)? YES

[[Page S3740]]

2. Exhibits
a. Are all items offered (whether or not received) or
considered as evidence individually numbered or lettered as
exhibits and attached? YES
b. Is an index of all exhibits offered to or considered by
investigating officer attached before the first exhibit? YES
c. Has the testimony/statement of each witness been
recorded verbatim or been reduced to written form and
attached as an exhibit? YES
d. Are copies, descriptions, or depictions (if substituted
for real or documentary evidence) properly authenticated and
is the location of the original evidence indicated? NA
e. Are descriptions or diagrams included of locations
visited by the investigating officer (Appendix C-3, AR 15-6)?
NA
f. Is each written stipulation attached as an exhibit and
is each oral stipulation either reduced to writing and made
an exhibit or recorded? NA
FOOTNOTES: Explain all negative answers on an attached
sheet.
Use of the N/A column constitutes a positive representation
that the circumstances described in the question did not
occur in this investigation.

SECTION IV--FINDINGS

The (investigating officer), having carefully considered
the evidence, finds: SEE MEMORANDUM

SECTION V--RECOMMENDATIONS

In view of the above findings, the (investigating officer)
recommends: SEE MEMORANDUM

SECTION VI--AUTHENTICATION

THIS REPORT OF PROCEEDINGS IS COMPLETE AND ACCURATE.
(TEXT REDACTED)
(Investigating Officer)

SECTION VII--ACTION BY APPROVING AUTHORITY

The findings an recommendations of the (investigating
officer) are:
a) Approved. (TEXT REDACTED)
b) Approved with the following modifications:
(4) The following recommendations are modified as follows:
The Mental Health Evaluation/treatment priority will apply
to Service Members at ALL gates HK (TEXT REDACTED)
[Signed]--NOV102021
Ronald P. Clark,
Lieutenant General, USA, Commanding.
____

United States Central Command,

Office of the Commander,

Macdill Air Force Base, FL, 22 Nov. 2021.

Memorandum for Secretary of Defense

Thru: Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff
From: General Kenneth F. McKenzie, Jr., Commander, U.S.
Central Command
Subject: Abbey Gate AR 15-6 Investigation

Mr. Secretary, I have reviewed the AR 15-6 investigation
completed at my direction by U.S. Army Central (ARCENT) and
concur with and endorse its findings and recommendations. The
investigation was exceptionally comprehensive in its scope,
as appropriate to the tragic events that precipitated its
initiation. The investigating team, led by BG Lance Curtis,
conducted 70 separate interviews, many of which were held in
a group setting to facilitate a free flow of information. A
total of 139 people were interviewed at seven different
locations spanning five countries. Interviews ranged from
between one hour and six hours in duration, with the average
interview lasting between two and three hours, and the
average transcription totaling nearly 11 pages. I
specifically concur that:
The task organization worked. This was in large part due to
pre-existing or quickly forged relationships among leaders at
the highest echelons and adaptability at the lower echelons;
By 25 August 2021, Abbey Gate was the main effort for
``walk-up'' gate operations at Hamid Karzai International
Airport;
There was no complex attack; it was a single suicide bomber
not accompanied by enemy small arms fire;
There is no evidence that Afghans were killed by return
fire from U.S. forces in the immediate aftermath of the
attack;
The attack was not preventable at the tactical level
without degrading the mission to maximize the number of
evacuees;
The attack was not the result of any act of omission or
commission by forces on the ground;
The wounds sustained by the service members Killed in
Action were so catastrophic that none could be saved; and
Although not assigned as a task to ARCENT or the
investigating team, it is my judgment that all injuries
sustained by U.S. personnel incident to the Abbey Gate attack
occurred in the line of duty and were not due to any
misconduct by the killed or injured U.S. personnel.
I further concur with the recommendations detailed in the
ARCENT investigation. Accordingly, I have directed the
following actions:
The Findings and Recommendations will be forwarded to all
USCENTCOM Service Component Commanders to ensure that all
U.S. servicemembers at Abbey Gate during the attack, and
present in any of the blast zones detailed in the
investigation, are afforded the opportunity to be evaluated
for Traumatic Brain Injury (Recommendation (a));
The Findings and Recommendations will be forwarded to all
USCENTCOM Service Component Commanders to facilitate
prioritized access to appropriate mental health evaluations
for personnel involved in executing entry control point
operations from 17-26 August and personnel involved in the
medical response to the attack on 26 August (Recommendation
(b));
The investigation will be forwarded to the Joint Staff to
inform any efforts that might be undertaken to develop
interagency doctrine for Noncombatant Evacuation Operations
(Recommendation (c)); and
Relevant portions of the investigation will be forwarded to
U.S. Marine Corps Forces Central for appropriate action
regarding the potential serious injury or death of an Afghan
civilian on or about 20 August 2021 resulting from the
alleged improper deployment of a flash bang grenade by a U.S.
Marine from 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment
(Recommendation (d)).
Based on the totality of the facts and circumstances
detailed in the ARCENT investigation, I do not believe that
any adverse administrative or disciplinary action is
necessary or appropriate for any U.S. personnel involved in
our operations at Abbey Gate.
The ARCENT investigating team and the ARCENT Commander, LTG
Ron Clark, briefed me in person on 11 November 2021 regarding
this investigation. The presentation was as comprehensive as
the investigation itself, and it included detailed PowerPoint
slides, embedded video, and exceptionally well scripted
speaker notes that complemented the written investigation and
facilitated an informative exchange of questions and answers.
I highly recommend you take the brief in person, and set
aside two hours to this purpose. If you concur, my
headquarters will work with your staff to make the ARCENT
team available.
Enclosure: AR 15-6 Investigation (Enclosures and Exhibits
available via Sharepoint)

____________________