Some government contractors continue efforts to move their staff out of Afghanistan even after the U.S. completed troop withdrawal and evacuation operations late Monday, the Washington Business Journal reported Tuesday. PAE told the publication in a statement Friday that employee safety remains a top priority for the company.
“We are doing everything we can to ensure the security of our remaining local national workforce there, working closely to support the Department of State and Department of Defense in their evacuation efforts,” PAE added.
Some Washington, D.C.-based GovCon firms, including PAE, CACI International and Amentum, have either started the process of reducing contract work or were planning to retain employees in Afghanistan in support of the former government since President Joe Biden’s troop withdrawal announcement in April.
Howard Lind, president and executive director of the International Stability Operations Association, said ISOA member companies have adopted “Plan B” operations to evacuate their staff and Afghan allies from Afghanistan.
“Now that the U.S. military has left, the means of getting out is reduced — it’s not impossible. So we are trying to provide information to them, nontraditional means of leaving through aviation or on-ground routes across the country,” Lind said.
ISOA is a trade group representing nongovernmental organizations and companies that provide military, humanitarian, construction and development support in fragile countries.
