#5--Conner Fuller (Voices of HKIA Series)

Controversy & Clarity

In this episode, we discuss:

*Connor’s Marine Corps career before joining the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit

*What his deployment was like prior to the HKIA mission

*The training Connor received in preparation for HKIA

*The organization of CLB 24

*Connor’s reaction to learning about the HKIA mission

*His understanding of the situation on the ground before arriving at the airport

*Connor’s first day at HKIA

*His reaction to learning that the Marines were working with the Taliban

*Processing evacuees and the challenges that arose therein

*Running logistics for the evacuation

*Leading Marines during the operation

*The role Connor’s leaders played at HKIA

*What Connor’s platoon was doing August 20-22, when the gates to the airport were closed

*The bombing at Abbey Gate

*Connor’s reaction to the death of Sergeant Nicole Gee

*The operations of Connor’s unit before it departed HKIA

*What Connor observed in his Marines after HKIA

*His advice to future NCOs on talking with and supporting their Marines after a mission as intense as HKIA

*The nations Connor served alongside at HKIA and how these interactions generally went

*Connor’s experience returning to Camp Lejeune

*Working with the State Department

*The MEU’s Female Search Team

*The effects of allowing Marines to keep their personal cell phones computers during the HKIA mission

*The roles that discipline and exhaustion played in the evacuation

*The most frustrating and rewarding aspects of the HKIA mission

*The actions of Connor’s platoon and CLB 24 that he’s proudest of

*The toughest decisions Connor made at HKIA

*Where he thinks he excelled as a leader and decision maker and where he fell short

*The lessons Connor learned from the mission

*Connor’s thoughts on the experiences of Dustin Casey, his cousin, at HKIA

*The one thing he wants Marines and other service members to know about CLB 24's actions at HKIA

*Connor’s advice for Marines transitioning back to the civilian world

Links

US Central Command's "Findings and Recommendations—Attack Against U.S. Forces Conducting NEO at Hamid Karzai International Airport on 26 August 2021"