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Last Team Out of Kabul
- Surrounded by the Taliban
- Narrated by: Ben Jacobson
- Length: 8 hrs and 27 mins
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Last Team Out of Kabul
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Summary
The first eyewitness account of the fraught evacuation of Kabul.
As a Royal Marine Commando, H. Collins served in Afghanistan in 2001 on combat operations. He took part in the invasion of Iraq in 2003, and returned for a second tour the following year. In 2005, now a private security contractor, he spent five years in Ramadi and Fallujah, Iraq’s so-called ‘triangle of death’.
In 2014, H was back in Afghanistan, providing security for the Japanese Embassy in Kabul. In 2021, when the chaotic evacuation of the Afghan capital began, it was a tough call for the Japanese government to leave behind their significant investment in Afghanistan’s future. When H finally got the go-ahead to extract the embassy’s diplomats and staff, he was leading the only security team remaining in a city rapidly filling with Taliban fighters.
This is an eyewitness account of the final, fraught six days that H and his team spent in Kabul. Their first attempt to reach the airport ran into a firefight between Afghan government forces and the Taliban and had to be aborted to ensure the safety of their Japanese clients.
H decided on a late-night extraction under cover of darkness, following which his small team of twelve men were forced to speed through Taliban-controlled checkpoints in order to get back to their HQ compound, where the remaining ops staff and seventy-two unarmed Ghurka waited.
A live feed from a special forces drone revealed that they had been tailed back from the airport and Taliban fighters were now surrounding the compound. Special forces had also let them know that three of the Taliban who had demanded a meeting in the compound had been wearing suicide vests.
Surrounded by the Taliban, for six days, H and his men manned their defensive positions day and night. H knew that no help would come and the Taliban’s intentions were far from clear. If they could not make it through the increasingly chaotic city to the now completely surrounded airport, they would inevitably be overrun, and could expect the same fate as so many before them. Or they could try to punch their way out of the encircled capital and head to the border, or a Northern Alliance stronghold.
H’s ability to keep his team calm and focused would be key to their survival. If they made it, they would be the last team out of Kabul.
What listeners say about Last Team Out of Kabul
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- te allen
- 23-09-22
Hard to put down
This was a great read having known H for longer than I care to admit to it was great to listen to this account from someone who I know is a warrior through and through. The flip side of what the job is the family side and it was great to have the “leave” section of our time together in Iraq filled in … most of the guys leave was always good but to have the family side of our lives and the sorrow we feel leaving was expressed in such an awesome way. It’s the human side of the grey world we worked in … as a person H is a very good guy fantastic operator … trust is earned and anyone who is in H’s inner circle knows your back is covered 100% the team bond is hard to explain to an outsider but H manages to get it over … worth a read but clear your diary … you will want to finish it in one sitting
1 person found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Nicholas Hanson
- 20-03-23
Great start but slows towards the end
Really great start and enjoyable hearing the background but becomes boring. The narration is bad and mispronounced a lot of military terms. Story become a boring late on as it becomes a real self brag story.
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- Amazon Customer
- 17-12-22
Fantastic insight!
Well worth a listen.
A fascinating insight into the events that unfolded last year from someone on the ground.
What an inspiring person H is.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Mr N Bennet-Williams
- 27-10-22
Really Good Listen
Couldn’t stop listening to this one. A brilliant and honest story about personal protection contracting.
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- C. B. Walker
- 16-09-22
Fascinating insight
Enjoyed the story, and appreciated the insight to the role of the private security companies in this war zone, but struggled with the halting monotonous narration.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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- Amazon Customer
- 07-09-22
Not my usual listen, but throughly enjoyed
I don’t usual listen to this type of book but having seen the author market it on my Facebook feed for weeks I thought I’d give it a listen. I was so pleased I did. It was gripping, fascinating, and emotional at times.
The insight into the life of a royal marine was fascinating as was a contractor. It gave a history lesson throughout and firsthand account of a very dangerous country too.
The narrator was great too, well paced and clear. I’d highly recommend.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Amazon Customer
- 07-09-22
What a life !
A great book about an amazing military and close protection career. This book doesn’t over glamorise anything like some of the American counter parts. An honest portrayal of some scary life experiences.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Mrs Manc M
- 06-09-22
Captivating
I listen to a lot of audio books and this is definitely within my top 5 war/military books.
Very interesting the life our military lead and how they overcome adversity and tours they have to do just to keep others safe.
Deffo worth a credit.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Steve Dietrich
- 21-01-23
Great Account of Professional British Soldier
Collins writes an account from his early days in the British Special Services the training the worldwide missions , the teams . Also about his somewhat dilettante love live until meeting THE woman.
The adventures are riding along with some of the most professional soldiers on the planet . And of course the off duty happenings that preserve the Regiment's reputation and more . Lots of action in dangerous places and training that just hearing about it makes you ache .
The accounts from combat are gritty and real. In the end Collins has left his wife and child to return to Afghanistan during the chaos of August 2021. As he notes , they, a civilian team made up of all former Special Forces the very last team in Afghanistan, working for the Japanese Embassy. While the final encounters are not huge firefights they are much more challenging accounts of talking the Taliban to allow they and their Japanese subjects to exit the Embassy and get to the airport. It's the chaos and confusion of dealing with Taliban, intoxicated with their success well beyond their expectations and wanting to miss no opportunities to punish, humiliate or exterminate the infidels.
Highly recommended along with several other books. It is always great to read accounts of major events written from the view of different participants.
Also highly recommended Schiller, Crisis in Command / Operation Pineapple Express/ Promises Betrayed/