[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 125 (Wednesday, July 27, 2022)]
[Senate]
[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)

                          ____________________