The Veterans Helping Resettle Afghans
Meet some of the Team Rubicon Greyshirts putting their experience in the military to use serving Afghan citizens in the U.S.
Deborah Lamere, U.S. Army
Deborah Lamere joined the Army because of 9/11. She served in Iraq in ‘05, Afghanistan in ‘08, and was medically retired in 2011. Injured in an incident in her helicopter while serving in the U.S. Army, Deb Lamere is a very active Greyshirt who has supported COVID-19 response in Kansas, flooding in Missouri, tornado responses in Iowa, and hurricane response in Alabama and Louisiana.
Now, she’s also participating in the resettlement operations with Team Rubicon because she wants to help Afghan guests forget about the negative situation they left behind, and be a part of their positive future in the U.S. It also helps her to close the circle on some experiences serving overseas.
“The most meaningful part of serving on resettlement? Feeling the hate and anger that had stayed with me for years flip off like a switch, and my humanitarian soul be allowed to come through and connect with our Afghan guests in need.
My fondest memory was when I made friends with and earned the trust of the female Afghan interpreters volunteering at the “store.” They were my lifeline in finding out what the Afghan women were needing for themselves or their children. Every time my helicopter flew over an Afghan home or village, the women and children would run and hide from us. Now, women and children were coming to talk to me!”
Dave Melancon, U.S. Army
Dave Melancon served as a public affairs specialist in the Army for more than two decades, including a couple tours of duty in Afghanistan where he worked work beside local citizens. Now retired, he’s serving on resettlement operations with Team Rubicon.
“There are several reasons why my small contribution to the Afghan resettlement effort—Operation Eagle Landing, Fort McCoy, WI—is meaningful to me. Most of all, I was repaying a debt of honor to those Afghans who put their lives on the line to help us.
While the focus of the operation was to support our Afghan guests, I also see my service at Fort McCoy as a repayment to the Iraqis who served along our side during my deployment with the 1st Armored Division during Operation Iraqi Freedom.”
Ben New, U.S. Air Force
Ben New is an Air Force veteran who served over 34 years in both the enlisted and officer ranks; completed two tours in Southeast Asia and two tours in Korea; commanded an Air Force squadron; completed Air War College, and survived the 9/11 terrorist attack on the Pentagon. After leaving the Air Force, he continued his government service, supporting the Department of the Army and the Department of Defense, as a Federal Civil Service employee for another 13 years before finally retiring.
During the course of his military career, he supported two Noncombatant Evacuation Operations (NEO): Operation Frequent Wind, the evacuation of Saigon, South Vietnam, and Operation Eagle Pull, the evacuation of Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
“Similar to the evacuation and relocation of Vietnamese and Cambodian evacuees, assisting with the Afghanistan resettlement is another way of giving back to many Afghans who have supported our military forces and allies during the past 20 years at great risk to themselves and their families,” says New.
“The most meaningful part of serving on the Afghanistan Resettlement Operationhas been working alongside highly-motivated Greyshirts to tackle the enormous task of receiving, sorting, organizing, inventorying, documenting, repackaging, and delivering charitable contributions of clothing, shoes, toiletries, recreational equipment, hygiene, and an assortment of infant and children items for timely delivery to our Afghanistan guests located on Marine Corps Base Quantico. Accomplishing this unfamiliar mission is akin to helping others on their worst day and is one of the reasons why I am a Greyshirt today.”
Karissa Roudebush, U.S. Army National Guard
Karissa Roudebush’s military service was sparked initially by her dad and grandfather, but it was cemented by taking part in JROTC in high school. She spent almost 10 years with that organization in three different companies and had the opportunity to deploy to Iraq with them as well.
Roudebush just recently joined Team Rubicon and quickly deployed to Fort McCoy. She says it feels just like the Guard did. “People have all different skill sets, from so many different backgrounds, but come together for one mission. I’ve missed that part of my life, and I’m so happy to have found it again.”
That reconnection went deep. “I would say that serving on the resettlement mission gave me that sense of mission and camaraderie that I’ve missed since I left the military. I met so many wonderful people with the same desire to serve that I have. It meant a lot to be able to help the Afghan people through this very traumatic time in their lives.”
John Stuhlmacher, U.S. Army
As an Iraq veteran, John Stuhlmacher knows how important the local civilians are in the success of overseas missions. And, as a former Wisconsin Army National guardsman, he spent a lot of time training at Fort McCoy. Team Rubicon’s resettlement operation hit very close to home for him.
“As a veteran, I feel a responsibility to serve these evacuees. As a Wisconsinite I want our Afghan guests to look back at their time at Fort McCoy as a positive first step in their new American experience,” says Stuhlmacher.
