‘Never lose hope’: How an ex-CIA officer is helping wounded Afghan combat veterans heal

Whenever Monir’s fellow soldiers left for a mission without him, he felt a pit in his stomach. He couldn’t eat, sleep or think of anything other than the safety of his brothers. So as his unit prepared to leave in early August 2021 for a multi-day operation against the Taliban, Monir convinced a friend to fake sick.

Monir took over as the rear gunner in the front vehicle of his convoy.

Midway through the mission, the vehicle hit a roadside bomb. The blast shredded his right leg and damaged his left. He lost consciousness and was pronounced dead on the blood-soaked dirt road.

Now, Monir lives in Texas and is working to get back on his feet with the help of FAMIL, a nonprofit started by a former CIA officer who spent years tracking terrorists in Afghanistan.

“The particular Afghan veterans that FAMIL works with, they have made tremendous sacrifices on the battlefield,” FAMIL founder Geeta Bakshi told Fox News.

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As Bakshi watched the collapse of Afghanistan last year, she knew she had to do something to help. She quickly started FAMIL with the help of some former colleagues, initially setting out to help refugees secure education and jobs so they can become self-sufficient. Now FAMIL focuses on refugees who worked directly for the U.S. government, primarily through the National Strike Units, elite CIA-trained counterterrorism forces who worked shoulder-to-shoulder with American troops.

“They played a very important role in the effort to go after the most significant terrorists and most significant leaders of the Afghan Taliban and the Haqqani network,” former CIA Director Gen. David Petraeus, a FAMIL supporter, told Fox News.

Bakshi said the Americans who served during the war on terror formed lifelong bonds with their Afghan counterparts, giving FAMIL the opportunity to make a significant impact in their integration in America.

“We’ve worked with them for years,” she said. “We speak in a language they understand. And I don’t mean English, Dari or Pashto. I mean, we speak in a way that our hearts are connected.”

Education and employment are still the foundation of FAMIL’s work, but this year the organization has also become the leading nonprofit to establish a program focused on the physical and mental health needs of Afghan combat veterans, Bakshi told Fox News. 

They call it the Wounded Heroes Program and have engaged with around 30 amputees, hundreds of soldiers with traumatic brain injuries or spinal cord damage, and thousands with mental health concerns such as post-traumatic stress, Bakshi said.

“FAMIL is the only organization that is working with me and did a lot of things for me,” Monir told Fox News with the help of his brother Mark, also an Afghan combat veteran, to translate. They come from a family of five brothers who served in the National Strike Units. Two were killed in action. Monir almost became the third.

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He woke up in a body bag in a helicopter after the explosion. An American doctor unzipped the black plastic and uncovered Monir’s face. To his alarm, Monir’s eyes were open and looking around.

After weeks of treatment in Afghanistan, Monir was evacuated to the U.S. where he underwent 33 additional surgeries at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, the best hospital he’s ever seen.

“Walter Reed doctors worked really hard, and they saved my second leg,” Monir said. “I’d been told by the doctors back in Kabul, ‘You’re going to lose both legs.'”

Monir, his wife, and their two daughters have now settled in San Antonio, where his two surviving brothers also live.

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FAMIL has helped Monir navigate the American healthcare system, start physical therapy at Brooke Army Medical Center, and prepare for a career in information technology. But Monir recently suffered a setback when doctors told him he would need a new prosthetic leg because the original no longer fit.

“My right leg is getting damaged really badly,” he said. “We don’t have that much money to provide for my prosthetic leg. It’s not cheap. It’s really expensive.”

“FAMIL jumped in and FAMIL said, ‘I’m going to work with you, no matter how much money it takes. We’re going to work with you and we will find you a prosthetic,'” Monir said.

But in order to keep helping veterans like Monir in 2023, Bakshi is looking to her fellow Americans for help.

“One thing that we’re really hurting for is manpower and resources,” she said. “We have a window of opportunity to help these Afghans be successful here, to give back to them what they gave to us.”

Petraeus said the U.S. has a “moral obligation” to help those who served alongside Americans in Afghanistan.

“FAMIL is one of the organizations that’s doing a very good job in helping us to discharge this unmet moral obligation,” Petraeus said. 

Despite his ongoing health challenges, Monir continues to inspire other wounded Afghan soldiers.

“I’m working with FAMIL too, just making videos for them,” he said. “That gives them morale and tells them never, ever lose your hope. Even if you lost your limbs, just be strong and live and work hard and be strong for your kids, for your family.”

Visit FAMIL’s website if you’re interested in helping veterans like Monir. To hear more of his story, click here.