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IN AFGHANISTAN
David Lemoine, a Cottonport native (left), and interpreter Fraidoon “Fred” Akhtari pose for a photo at their outpost in Afghanistan in 2008. Lemoine worked for several years to secure immigration visas for the long-time interpreter and his family. “Fred” was targeted for execution by Taliban insurgents after he was instrumental in tracking, identifying and apprehending a high-ranking Taliban officer.
{Photo courtesy of David Lemoine}

David Lemoine helps bring Afghan hero to U.S.

Cottonport native worked to cut through red tape for visa

One man can make a difference in many lives if he cares more about those lives than he does his own. Fraidoon Akhtari, an Afghan interpreter for the U.S. military, is one such man. One of those he affected is David Lemoine, a Cottonport native now living in Omaha, Neb.

When the man the U.S. soldiers called “Fred” ran into bureaucratic red tape in his efforts to immigrate to America to escape a Taliban death threat, Lemoine engaged in a battle to save the man he calls a “hero” and credits with possibly saving his life and others’ in Afghanistan.

Lemoine is a retired FBI agent with family still living in Cottonport. When Fred arrived in the U.S., his story was featured on Fox News. Lemoine’s comments were also included in those reports.

On July 16, Fred and his wife and two children arrived in Washington, D.C., and then began a new life in Omaha -- thanks in large part to Lemoine.
in Afghanistan

Lemoine said he met Fred at an Afghan base in February 2008.

Lemoine retired from the FBI in 2005 and was hired as a private contractor for a U.S. military project in Afghanistan that used law enforcement officers to identify insurgents in an effort to reduce the number of roadside bombs plaguing U.S. and Afghan government forces.

In the type of war waged by Taliban insurgents, “the enemy looks just like the civilians,” Lemoine said. Native interpreters were vital to the success of those efforts. Lemoine said that while he was on base, he noticed a lot of interpreters hanging back and providing interpreting for individuals brought to them.

“Then I saw one that seemed to always be leaving in a Humvee with the troops, going out into field,” he noted. That interpreter was “Fred.”

Lemoine said Fred participated in 500 combat missions with U.S. and allied units during his 13 years as an interpreter and then as a paramilitary unit supervisor in charge of security for U.S. outposts.

“He had the right to say, ‘I’m tired of this crap,’ and stay on base to do his work as an interpreter,” Lemoine said. “But he’s not that kind of man. He was a combat interpreter who wanted to be shoulder-to-shoulder with other soldiers.”

The operation that meant the most to Lemoine and others at the Najil outpost occurred on Sept. 13, 2008.

Ryan Craig, then a sergeant in the 28th Infantry Division’s 103rd Infantry Maneuver Company, wrote an account of the insurgents’ attack on the base and Fred’s role in averting disaster.

Craig was another American soldier who came to Fred’s aid to be granted asylum in the nation he served for more than a decade.

ATTACK ON NAJIL

After a pilot was shot down and killed by Taliban forces, the insurgents became emboldened and began making plans to attack the Najil outpost.

While monitoring the large amount of routine radio chatter in the area, Fred picked up the attack plans.

“Fred warned command that contact was imminent and the base defense posture was elevated,” Craig wrote. “Several vehicles and fighting positions were manned in accordance with SOP (standard operating procedures) in anticipation of the attack.”

The attack began at 7 p.m. and lasted for almost 30 minutes. Fred picked up additional chatter indicating the Taliban fighters were reorganizing near a mosque to attack again.

When small arms fire erupts in that vicinity, U.S. forces are in position to respond. Two F15 fighter jets are also called in for air support, forcing the enemy to retreat. An hour later, Fred intercepted Taliban orders to move enemy casualties out of the valley. Shortly after that transmission, two vans drove down the road in front of the base.

When shots were fired from one of the vans, the base tower returned fire and disabled the vans. The Army found nine combatants in the vans -- two dead, five wounded and two unharmed. Fred questioned the prisoners and learned the location of a group of insurgent fighters a few miles away.

“During the course of this complex attack, despite being unarmed, Mr. Akhtari stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the men of the (103rd) Maneuver Company, and continued to relay intel to command. ... Throughout the entirety of the attack, Mr. Akhtari demonstrated courage, true faith and fidelity to the United States and our mission.”

Lemoine said that during that attack, 12 enemy were killed and nine were captured. The U.S. sustained no casualties, which he credits in large part to Fred’s actions in alerting the base to the impending threat.

“There is so much radio chatter to sift through,” Lemoine said. “A less committed interpreter would probably have missed those communications among all the other radio traffic.”

DEATH THREAT

In addition to that action, Fred aided U.S. forces in tracking, identifying and apprehending a high-ranking Taliban official. Unfortunately, villagers witnessed the arrest and Fred’s role in it.

Lemoine said Taliban insurgents questioned villagers to learn the identity of the interpreter that led the U.S. forces to their leader. When Fred was identified, the Taliban left a message at his father’s home in Kabul saying, “We know where your son is going ... he will be captured alive and he will die like no other.”

The death threat resulted in Fred being transferred to another station. However, there were no interpreter slots open at his new assignment. He was told to go home and they would call him when a position became available. He was never called.

The Army then listed him as terminated for refusing to go on a mission -- which never happened.

During this time, Fred became supervisor of a 256-man Afghan paramilitary unit providing additional security to U.S. bases.

APPLIED FOR VISA

Fred applied for a special immigration visa in 2010. He was told the Army had lost his paperwork.

“After that, he gave up,” Lemoine said. “I convinced him to reapply. He was rejected for ‘derogatory information’ in his file.”

Lemoine felt that any derogatory information would either have been an error or intentional misinformation. He contacted the International Refugee Assistance Project organization. Attorney Sari Long took the case and, after three years of “kicking brass,” convinced the military to greenlight Fred and his family for a visa.

“At one point during that effort, I was told that the decision was made and would not be changed, that he was denied the visa,” Lemoine said. “I told that official that I trust Fred so much that he was going to be living with me in my house until he found a place of his own.”

Fred resubmitted the application. Lemoine and other former comrades of Fred’s went to Washington, D.C., to lobby for their cause.

U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and U.S. Rep. Steve Scalise of New Orleans “were very helpful.”

Lemoine said that while the personal reason for the effort was for Fred, the men and women who worked on this project want to “shed a light on those men who are still stuck over there. They risked their lives to help us in the fight against the Taliban. It isn’t right to leave them there.

“We are hoping the publicity about Fred’s case will help others.”

Lemoine was able to secure a job for Fred at a prison in Omaha.

AVOYELLES VALUES

“I did what anyone in Avoyelles Parish would do,” Lemoine said. “If someone needs something, we will help you. I learned that value growing up, and it is still with me.”

One thing about this “happy ending” that makes it even happier is the global lesson to be learned.

“You have Muslim men helping the U.S. to defeat terrorists,” Lemoine said. “These men are helped by an organization established by Jews dedicated to providing people safe refuge in America. Then, when they get here, they are helped by Christian non-profits to start a new life.

“It is refreshing to see so many people throwing politics and bigotry aside and just doing what’s right,” Lemoine continued. “It shows me that decency still lives in America. It is alive and well.”

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