Military women share bond after war in Afghanistan

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - Next month marks the one-year anniversary of the dramatic fall of Kabul, Afghanistan.

Among the unsung heroes were the Afghan and American women who served alongside each other, hunting down the Taliban.

One of these Afghan warriors was relocated to Kansas City, where she met up today with her American military mentor to start the next chapter of her life in the United States.

The war in Afghanistan may be over but the sisterhood that developed between Afghan and American women who served in the military there is not.

“They have to have have those interpersonal skills to be able to relate to people,” said Rebecca Monaco. “On the American side, we got even stronger when our Afghan counterparts like Adila joined in with us. They brought that language capability and even more cultural knowledge to the fight.”

The courageous women conducted middle-of-the-night raids to hunt down Taliban leaders. They were extremely successful at getting valuable intelligence information from other women in the remote villages.

“We were able to bring a special skill set, especially with the differences between Western culture and the culture in Afghanistan and the Muslim religion,” Monaco said. “Me being a female, I was able to work with a population that was inaccessible by the males. I was able to gain a lot of information and a lot of insight from the female population.”

More than 7,000 miles from Kabul, Adila Jawadi is now reflecting on her time in Kansas City.

“Now I’m here, I’m safe,” Jawadi said. “Because I’m safe, I’m happy. I’m living with my brother here. Yeah, I like.”

She’s packing up what little she has and heading to Tempe, Arizona, for the chance to attend college. Her American military mentor is by her side, who says the bond the two women share is special.

“I don’t think it’s like a regular friendship,” Monaco said. “I would put my life on the line for someone like Adila, who I’ve worked with just as much as any American soldier who I’ve deployed or worked with alongside.”

Like many of the Afghan women who served, Jawadi has a new goal in her sights: to serve in uniform once again. This time, for the United States military.

To learn more about efforts to rescue and resettle the Afghan women who served, go to penfedfoundation.org.

Copyright 2022 KCTV. All rights reserved.