The operation was called “Pineapple Express.”
This codenamed signified an effort that involved a “group of special op soldiers including retired Green Berets and SEAL Team commanders,” the Daily Mail and Daily Wire notes.
In recent days, these veterans of the United States Special Forces have “secretly saved” hundreds of Afghan Special Forces members and their families.
These allies had been “left for dead” by the Biden administration, according to the report from Daily Mail.
After one of the Afghan commandos they fought with called them, the veterans were inspired to take matters into their own hands and run for their lives.
“His visa had not been approved when the Taliban took over on August 14 and thousands ran for the airport,” the Mail added.
“The special ops soldiers first devised a system with US troops at the airport where they sent their comrades to a gate and told them to identify themselves with the password ‘pineapple’ to be put on a plane by the Marines on the ground,” the report continued.
“Some also showed the troops pictures of pineapples on their phones.”
ABC News also covered the story:
“Moving after nightfall in near-pitch black darkness and extremely dangerous conditions, the group said it worked unofficially in tandem with the United States military and U.S. embassy to move people, sometimes one person at a time, or in pairs, but rarely more than a small bunch, inside the wire of the U.S. military-controlled side of Hamid Karzai International Airport,” ABC News stated.
“As of Thursday morning, the group said it had brought as many as 500 Afghan special operators, assets and enablers and their families into the airport in Kabul overnight, handing them each over to the protective custody of the U.S. military.”
“With the uniformed U.S. military unable to venture outside the airport’s perimeter to collect Americans and Afghans who’ve sought U.S. protection for their past joint service, they instead provided overwatch and awaited coordinated movements by an informal Pineapple Express ground team that included “conductors” led by former Green Beret Capt. Zac Lois, known as the underground railroad’s ‘engineer,’” ABC News added.
“That is an astounding number for an organization that was only assembled days before the start of operations and most of its members had never met each other in person,” he stated.
Lois told ABC News that he was proud of the effort and was astonished by it.
