Panel discusses Afghanistan evacuee presence at Fort McCoy

The first of three panel discussions regarding relocation of evacuees from Afghanistan being housed at Fort McCoy took place Wednesday night at La Crosse.

The discussion was also live streamed at Tomah's Western Technical College campus. A small group of people at Tomah listened to the five person panel that was moderated by Lisa Klein of UW-La Crosse.  The panel was a coordinated effort by Viterbo University, UW-La Crosse and Western Technical College.

Panel members included Lt. Col. Erik Archer, who served two deployments in Afghanistan, Beth Archer, Fort McCoy Moral, Wellness, Recreation (MWR) recreation coordinator, Anthony Chergosky, a political science instructor at UW-L, Holly Kirking Loomis, a diplomat with the State Department and Roberto Partarrieu with Catholic Charities.

Each panel member was asked questions that were predetermined, followed by questions submitted by those attending in La Crosse. Those viewing in Tomah had the opportunity to submit questions as well.

The discussion lasted approximately 90 minutes. Klein said a second panel is tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 19 with a third being considered toward the end of the year.

Both will be available via live stream at Tomah's WTC campus.

Lt. Col. Archer shared a sentiment common among many soldiers deployed to Afghanistan during the 20 year war.

"A lot of my peers still ache, we hurt for the people still there," he said.

Evacuees had little choice but to leave their homes when United States troops pulled out of Afghanistan. Staying in Afghanistan would have been worse than boarding a passenger jet and flying thousands of miles to a foreign country.

Thousands of refugees opted for interim location at Fort McCoy and two other military bases because, "home was worse than staying," Lt. Col. Archer said.

The soldier shared a poem he read. One line of the poem, "no one leaves home unless home chases you away."

The Afghan evacuees at Fort McCoy were chased from their homes due to circumstances beyond their control. Lt. Col. Archer acknowledges those who question providing assistance to refugees while many American veterans struggle with homelessness and other problems. He feels there is enough humanity to help both.

"It's not a zero sum game," he said.

Loomis has returned to familiar territory for her role in the Afghan relocation project at Fort McCoy. The Sparta High School alumnus has lived all over the world in her role as a diplomat. She was very precise as she answered questions with an emphasis on calling them guests. When asked the question, who are the evacuees, Kirking Loomis said, "the guests at Fort McCoy are my peers. They believed in the American dream and helped support that dream in Afghanistan. They shared are values. They had to flee because they were at risk."

Kirking Loomis encouraged anyone interested in helping the evacuees to spend time on the welcome.us web site. She said there is a significant effort to relocate evacuees to parts of the United States with established Afghan populations.

Despite rogue media accounts, Chergosky believes the American public is more supportive than critical of the evacuation of thousands of Afghans to American military bases as they await relocation. Chergosky said there have been ample samples of "false and misleading stories" on social media.

"The court of public opinion is what matters and we need to monitor that," Chergosky said.

Elizabeth Archer said MWR has been working closely with Catholic Charities. Since the arrival of evacuees the first learning center recently opened its doors to help teach English. That center will compliment other Afghan education efforts to teach English, she added.

There is focus to help women and children assimilate.

"We try to set up a fun atmosphere while they catch up with the serious things in their lives," Lt. Col.  Archer said.