First published in the Feb. 3 print issue of the San Marino Tribune.
The San Marino Rotary lunch meeting on Thursday features Gen. David Hicks, who will tell the club about Operation Sacred Promise in Afghanistan.
The meeting begins at noon and the Zoom transmission will begin at 11:30 a.m.
Operation Sacred Promise was founded in August 2021 when the Taliban took control of nearly every major city in Afghanistan. The United States withdrew all troops by Aug. 31, and Western countries were left largely unprepared to execute the safe and swift evacuation of those in need.
Born from this need, Operation Sacred Promise, comprised entirely of more than 200 volunteers, provided wide-scale evacuation and resettlement assistance to American allies from the Afghan Air Force and Army Special Mission Wing and their families. Operation Sacred Promise has assisted 1,000 Afghans relocate to the United States, but more than 2,500 Afghan military pilots and their families are still in hiding in Afghanistan. Many of them are running for their lives to avoid being found by the Taliban, and they are dealing with unprecedented levels of hunger and poverty, including more than 700 women and 500 children, according to the operation’s estimates. Operation Sacred Promise is committed to help them in every way possible.
Hicks served 30 years as an Air Force fighter pilot and officer. He retired as a brigadier general on the Air Force Headquarters Staff in the Pentagon. As the Director of Strategy, Concepts and Assessments, he was responsible for developing and synchronizing Air Force Strategic Planning efforts. His most recent assignment was as the commander of all U.S. and NATO forces tasked with training, advising and assisting the building of the Afghanistan Air Force.
Hicks graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1989 with a degree in engineering mechanics, and holds a master’s in systems engineering. He led multinational and multi-service forces in Operations Southern Watch, Iraqi Freedom, Enduring Freedom and Resolute Support.
Please contact J.P. Mainguy, president of the Rotary Club of San Marino, at mailservice@dacdb.net to attend the meeting.
