Afghanistan's Top Gun Pilots Struggle for New Flight Paths

The Kindness of Strangers; the Nightmare of Red Tape; the Dream of Getting Back in the Air (Photos by Massoud Hossaini)

PHOENIX, Arizona, May 20, 2025 — For almost two decades, they were brothers-in-arms. Afghanistan’s top guns, trained to fly helicopter gunships against the Taliban, were the key battlefield asset in America’s longest war, which ended in ignominy almost four years ago. Evacuated to the United States when their country collapsed, these elite airmen sometimes feel like they are now the enemy.