EAST GRAND FORKS, Minn. — For Matt Brown, it's been a busy few days between studying for flight school and watching the events unfold in Afghanistan.
"It's pretty surreal to see that it has gotten that bad, to see the aircraft with people just crammed in, and to see civilians or foreign nationals, or whoever, that they rather hold onto an airplane to get out," said Brown.
Brown said there has always been a fear that when the U.S. pulled out of the war torn country, how long was the Afghan government going to last?
"It's really sad to see it happen, especially this quickly and that things have gotten so dire this fast," said Brown.
The former Black Hawk pilot said the decision to withdraw by any political leader would have been hard to gauge, and how it should have been done or could have been done to prevent the violent takeover.
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"I think there was that initial thought, was it all a waste or for nothing, but I still think there was a lot of good done over there, 15-20 years, that's a lot of time, so if there was positive change that effected that generation while we were over there, there were people who could have a safer education, or further their education, I don't think it was all for not," said Brown.
When asked what may happens next, Brown said he will be watching to see what political and military leaders decide.
