A series of anonymous text messages have recently circulated on social media. They appear to accuse Tim Kennedy of reckless behavior during the current evacuation of Afghanistan. Although the contents of the text messages have not been verified, many have taken to social media to slam the popular military influencer.

As a result, Tim Kennedy made the following post to address the rumors:

Picture via @timkennedymma

“I appreciate that some people are upset with my presence in Afghanistan. I have no desire to lash out. I assume they are trying to accomplish their missions the same way I am trying to accomplish mine, and I love them for it.

A few things, though:

1) I was not running around on my own. The Army doesn’t care that I have a lot of followers. It’s their battle space. The talented group I was attached to as a volunteer was listed in the command center as a supporting element. We were part of the team. Were that not the case, I would not have been allowed to run around outside the wire.

2) People have referred to it as “Tim Kennedy’s Team.” That’s false and does a disservice to the the talented Team Leader, a JPRA (joint personnel recovery agent) who has 10 years more experience than I do, as well as my incredible teammates. All of whom were extraordinarily talented. I have been in SF for 17 years and I didn’t deserve to be with them. I was proud to be a part of it. I’m proud of our work.

3) We did not bring in “buses of unverified Afghans.” We had multiple target sets coming from DC, as well as cultivated in our JOC. 300/500 we brought through the gate were orphans. Another 100 were Nazarene. The remainder were high value individuals assigned to us from higher echelon units, and family members of crews that were flying our chartered planes all week.

4) A few guys posted that they were unable to get their own personnel through the gate as a result of our buses. I’m very sorry about that. If the roles were reversed, I would be furious at me too. All I can say is that I was executing my assigned mission in order to save as many people as possible. When you’re a good person, and you’re motivated to help, passion runs high. They wouldn’t be as good as they are if they didn’t care”

Further context

The former MMA fighter does appear to express remorse about his actions impeding others from doing their job. However, he is adamant that some of the rumors are simply untrue.

The comments responding to his post were civil, if not mostly supportive. A few cast doubts on the validity of the accusatory text messages. Others commented with encouragement for Kennedy and his actions. However, some voiced their disagreement with some of Kennedy’s political stances. Others went as far as to label Kennedy a “glory hound,” or, a “clout chaser.”

We were unable to verify the claims with anyone on the ground. If you have news from the front lines, send them to us here.

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