Retired Marine Sgt. Tyler Vargas-Andrews, who survived the August 2021 Abbey Gate bombing at Kabul airport and lost his right arm and left leg in the attack, has said that Marines were left to improvise the Afghanistan evacuation because of inadequate preparation and support, and that the withdrawal was mishandled from the outset. Speaking on Fox News, he said the failures that led to the deadly attack began well before the explosion itself, and he renewed calls for accountability, arguing troops were placed in an avoidable, dangerous situation despite warnings from leadership.

Vargas-Andrews described troops at Hamid Karzai International Airport lacking basic support, including no tents to process refugees, and said Marines shared their own food and water with evacuees amid crowds he likened to scenes from the film "World War Z". He said intelligence had warned of a threat but nothing was done proactively to prevent it, and he declined to blame any single person, instead citing "decades" of poor decisions across multiple US administrations, the State Department and other agencies. He welcomed the Department of War's recent recognition of Marines who served in the evacuation but said this should not overshadow the continued lack of accountability for the failures.