WHEREAS, The United States war in Afghanistan began on October 7, 2001, in response to the September 11 terror attacks; and

WHEREAS, In 2010, United States troops in Afghanistan reached 100,000; and

WHEREAS, Between 2001 and 2012, members of the California National Guard were deployed overseas more than 38,000 times in the fight against terrorism; and

WHEREAS, Between 2001 and 2015, 1,330,000 individuals serving with the Army deployed abroad, including the Reserve and National Guard, along with 563,000 individuals from the Navy, 518,000 individuals from the Air Force, and 367,000 individuals from the Marine Corp; and

WHEREAS, California has the largest number of fallen soldiers in the nation from the war in Afghanistan, and as of August 16, 2021, 249 soldiers from California have died in Afghanistan; and

WHEREAS, On April 14, 2021, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. announced that the United States will withdraw all of the approximately 3,500 brave troops remaining in Afghanistan by September 11, 2021; and

WHEREAS, Thousands of military personnel may be coming home to civilian life with the potential of discovering unseen trauma to their mental health; and

WHEREAS, As the United States begins to move American forces out of Afghanistan, tens of thousands of Afghan allies who served as interpreters, drivers, engineers, security guards, and embassy clerks during the war will await visa processing, along with their families; and

WHEREAS, The Afghan American population in the United States is over 300,000; and

WHEREAS, The City of Fremont is home to the largest population of Afghan Americans in the United States and approximately 40,000 Afghans comprise the diaspora community based in the San Francisco Bay area; and

WHEREAS, As Afghan allies who fought alongside American forces await their approval of visas, they will be disbursed to various parts of our country, including California; and

WHEREAS, We must continue our responsibility to those who aided the United States and keep them and their families safe; and

WHEREAS, In Afghanistan, a total of 2,312 United States military personnel have died, and 20,066 have been wounded, since 2001; and

WHEREAS, The State of California will continue to honor the names of the fallen and those who served in Afghanistan; now, therefore, be it