By Lauren Schulz-Carnes

It had been a whirlwind two-and-a-half days with an incredible group of veterans. More than seventy of us had descended on Washington, D.C. to train, share meals, trade stories about war and home, and on that day, fan out across Capitol Hill to talk to members of Congress about the importance of following through on our commitment to wartime allies. 

Now four of us—three veterans who served in Iraq and one interpreter from Afghanistan—were in the back of an Uber, winding down from a long day and heading to dinner. We were meeting the rest of the VFAI team for one last meal. We were looking forward to celebrate and reflect on our experience, and we were expecting a visit from the Afghan Ambassador. 

As we bantered, our Uber driver piped up to say that he was from Afghanistan. He asked what we’d been up to, so we told him about Vets for American Ideals’ mission. and our day of advocating for our wartime allies. We mentioned how we urged Congress to pass the Afghan Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) program, explaining that the program allows Afghan allies to find safety in the United States.

“You’ll never believe this,” the driver said,“but I was an interpreter for NATO forces and I am here on a Special Immigrant Visa!”

He told us more about his story: His name was Ahmad. He was from the same region in Afghanistan as Samey, the interpreter riding with us. He told us about his family, and about how his wife—who he showed us photos of—is still in Afghanistan. He told us about his experience serving with the U.S. military, the friendships he made, and how that is the reason he came to be here. It was because of that experience, and because he believed in the American dream and he felt in his heart that what we were doing was the right thing. He wanted to be part of that, and to bring his family here. 

We were floored. “You have to come to dinner with us,” we implored him. “You’ll meet some great people, and the Afghan Ambassador will be there!”

He agreed and pulled into a garage, we paid for his parking and brought him up to meet the rest of the group. Scott Cooper, VFAI’s founder, introduced him to the room, and we all got to laugh about how small this world of ours can be. 

So many people wanted to help. For example, Ahmad is working on a bachelors in information technology, so I’m hoping to help him in the future when he’s ready to pursue a career. You see, in my day job, I work with veterans on their transitions, helping them join corporate America, so I hope there may be ways I can help him as he continues on his path. All in all, it was a perfect end to the day: Ahmad symbolized why we had all come together, reminding us why our work matters.

I’m glad Ahmad made it safely to the United States, and I’m glad a few of us veterans ended up taking a ride in his Uber. I hope we’re able to make his transition a little easier and more welcoming, and I hope we’re able to help him bring his wife here. I look forward to one day soon greeting her warmly in the airport upon her arrival.

As we left Washington, we were energetic and optimistic, but we knew the task set before us. We’ll keep on fighting for Ahmad and his family, absolutely, but we’ll fight for other brave men and women like him too. We’ll do it because we’re inspired by Ahmad, we’ll do it because it’s the right thing to do, but we’ll also do it because we have to defend the ideals that made Ahmad stand by us in the first place. That’s our mission. That’s our duty.    

Lauren Schulz-Carnes is a U.S. Marine veteran who served in Iraq. She is currently the Exectuive Director at FourBlock, a veteran career readiness program for transitioning service members across the nation.