Active military members at Fort Lee react to Trump's policies in Afghanistan
FORT LEE, VA (WWBT) - On Monday, President Trump made a speech on the War in Afghanistan, where he laid out the United States' new policies.
Everyone NBC12 spoke with at Fort Lee on Tuesday said the president is correct in keeping the military in Afghanistan, including one man who served over 20 years in the Navy and whose son is being deployed to Afghanistan next month.
Prakash Upadhyaya served as a hospital corpsman in the Navy for 23 years and agrees with the president's new policy.
"Two nuclear countries there, and if they get a hold of one of the country's nuclear, all of humanity will be gone," said Upadhyaya.
President Trump reversed his original opinion on Monday night, announcing a new policy he says will not remove troops from Afghanistan, which include Upadhyaya's son, who has been in the Army for years and who will be deployed next month.
This will be his third trip to Afghanistan, and twice he has been stationed in Iraq.
"We pray to God everything will work out all right," said Upadhyaya.
In his speech, President Trump said, "A hasty withdrawal would create a vacuum that terrorists, including ISIS and Al-Qaeda."
Upadhyaya agrees, as do other current and former military members.
"I consider the option if we're not there, how much worst does it get?" said one person at Fort Lee.
Another part of the policy includes keeping military operation details, like beginning and end dates and number of troops, private.
"I'm glad he did not give any details, and that is how it should be," said a soldier.
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