It was the right thing to do. And someone had to do it.

This is Force Recon Marine Chad Robichaux’s story about rescuing his interpreter from Afghanistan once the announcement was made that America was withdrawing. After 8 deployments to Afghanistan, Robichaux considered Aziz a friend and a teammate and upon hearing Biden’s evacuation plan, he knew he had to get Aziz out of the country before the Taliban took over.

The story of Aziz’s rescue began as just that - a plan to rescue Aziz and his family. It quickly grew into a calling. ‘Saving Aziz’ highlights Robichaux’s mission to rescue Aziz along with 17, 000 evacuees in a matter of weeks. In fact, 12,000 of those rescued were taken to safety within the first 10 days. It’s an enlightening account of how people with different nationalities, beliefs and religions, worked together to do the impossible. You’ll read about how a Jewish organization donated $1.6M through a Christian nonprofit to help rescue Muslims, the incredible generosity of the UAE both monetarily and in providing planes and temporary shelter, and about a group of heroes who, rather than complain about the withdrawal plans, stood up and risked their lives to rescue the thousands of people who were left to face the Taliban regime alone.

I devoured this book in one sitting and had goosebumps reading about how “looking into a stranger’s eyes breaks down prejudice and apathy” and why “risking it all is worth it when it comes to loving one another.”

I may not be American and I may not have understood all the politics discussed, but I appreciated Robichaux sharing his point of view and enlightening the rest of the world about what he believes really happened after April 14, 2021. He claims America was “set up for failure from the onset of the withdrawal.” Considering what he gave and what it cost him, I needed to ‘listen’ to what he had to say. There are many sides to a story. It behooves us all to learn from all those who were involved.

I also read Mitchell Zuckoff’s ‘The Secret Gate’ and was shocked at the courage and sacrifice.

I was gifted this copy by Thomas Nelson and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

My rating reflects the execution of this book and NOT the admirable actions of the author related to helping Afghan allies escape and build lives elsewhere as well as helping veterans.
The description of the book (on Goodreads) only touches in a small portion of the actual writing. That storyline is engaging and heroic. But even that storyline is left unfinished.
Additionally, the author uses a very preachy and egotistical tone throughout the book about a range of things including military skills, politics, foreign policy, and Christianity.
I listened to the audiobook and found the topic/section changes to be quite choppy. Maybe it works better in text, but by audio I found myself going back to make sure I didn't miss anything because the subjects jumped around.
Finally, the author reads the audiobook version and, while I respect his passion, his style is overly intense and lacks the annunciation that makes listening enjoyable.

Truely a heroic story! Very inspiring to help others!