Afghan Female Tactical Platoon: First Person Accounts of Assisting in the Evacuation and Resettlement of Key U.S. Allies

Event description
Katie Richardson is a native of Tempe, Arizona and attended Arizona State University on an ROTC scholarship and graduated with degrees in Political Science and Psychology. After commissioning, she was assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division. She held various leadership positions before being selected to become a part of the Cultural Support Team program. She deployed to CENTCOM and supported Army Special Operations units on direct action raids. She was part of a small cohort that worked to evacuate the FTPs during the fall of Kabul. Katie is currently an officer in the US Army Reserve and works for a non-profit that is helping to resettle all FTPs and their families.
Arifa Naibi was born and raised in Ghazni Province in Afghanistan. After finishing secondary school, she attended the university for a semester before joining the Afghan National Army. In 2016, Arifa was selected to attend the yearlong Afghan National Army Officer Academy which was operated by the British Army. The academy was known as “Sandhurst in the Sand” after the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in the United Kingdom. Following officer training she was selected by members of the US Special Operations Command to join and train to become part of the Afghan Female Tactical Platoon. As an FTP, Arifa accompanied US Special Operations forces in direct action combat missions against the Taliban. She served as an FTP until 2021 when she was evacuated to the US. Since arriving in the US, Arifa has studied English and is currently working in the security field.