Task Force Pineapple is a task force set up by a volunteer group of U.S. veterans to evacuate American citizens, as well as Afghan allies and their families, following the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan. As of 30 August 2021, the group had evacuated over 1,000 refugees.

History

Task Force Pineapple was founded on 15 August 2021 by Scott Mann, a retired

Green Beret The green beret was the official headdress of the British Commandos, a special-forces unit active during World War II. It is still worn by members of the Royal Marines after passing the Commando Course, and personnel from other units of the Roy ...

, to rescue an Afghan

commando A commando is a combatant, or operative of an elite light infantry or special operations force, specially trained for carrying out raids and operating in small teams behind enemy lines. Originally, "a commando" was a type of combat unit, as oppo ...

he had served with. The commando was receiving death threats from the

Taliban , leader1_title = Supreme Leader of Afghanistan, Supreme leaders , leader1_name = {{indented plainlist, * Mullah Omar{{Natural Causes{{nbsp(1994–2013) * Akhtar Mansour{{Assassinated (2015–2016) * Hibatullah Akhundzada (2016–present) ...

for having served alongside

SEAL Team Six The Naval Special Warfare Development Group (NSWDG), abbreviated as DEVGRU ("Development Group") and unofficially known as SEAL Team Six, is the United States Navy component of the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC). The unit is often r ...

for a dozen years. After rescuing the commando and his family of six, the group began planning to rescue more people. Communicating with each other via an encrypted chat room, a group of 50 Task Force Pineapple members collaborated with U.S. Special Forces and the U.S. embassy to rescue 500 more people on August 25 in a mission called "Pineapple Express". The slow and steady system of maneuvering the Afghan families in the darkness was modeled after the

Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was an organized network of secret routes and safe houses used by freedom seekers to escape to the abolitionist Northern United States and Eastern Canada. Enslaved Africans and African Americans escaped from slavery ...

. In order to confirm their identities, the refugees (referred to by the group as "passengers") had to show the volunteers a picture of yellow pineapples on a pink background. Task Force Pineapple members acted as "conductors"; they were led by former Green Beret Captain Zac Lois, who was the group's "engineer". The group was planning the next stage of its week-long rescue operation when the

suicide bombings A suicide attack (also known by a wide variety of other names, see below) is a deliberate attack in which the perpetrators knowingly sacrifice their own lives as part of the attack. These attacks are a form of murder–suicide that is ofte ...

at the Hamid Karzai International Airport occurred. Several of the task force's refugees were injured in the bomb blast or went missing. As of 30 August 2021, the group had evacuated over 1,000 refugees.

References

Humanitarian aid organizations 2021 establishments in the United States {{Afghanistan-stub