Overcoming Fate

The Journey of an Afghan Military Officer

Part 1

This is the story of one of a young Afghan military officer who, despite many setbacks in life, never gave up and kept fighting.

After graduating from high school in Kabul, I always wanted to go abroad and study business administration. I tried many ways but never heard any good news until one day, my best friend called me and said that he could help with a fully sponsored Türkiye scholarship. My friend was financially stable and paid all the costs without informing me. 

When I arrived at the university in Türkiye in mid-August 2014, I heard some rather discouraging news: “I understand, sir, but it is not a scholarship. Someone just paid for your admission, and you need to pay a couple thousand dollars for your first year just to study the Turkish language. And we do not have a spot for you in our hostile. You must manage your own accommodation.” 

That was the first time I realized that life does not go according to plan. It was not a fully sponsored scholarship. Rather, it was nothing more than an admission to get a Turkish visa. The contact person disappeared after I landed in Türkiye. I was 17 years old, and it was my first time leaving home, dreaming that I would achieve something great in life. I had nowhere to go, and I could not share the disheartening news with my family because I wanted to make my parents proud by doing something great with life. As a student visa holder, I could not work, and my family was unable to assist me. I did not know how to survive those 5 years without any source of income. The prospect of facing each day without financial stability filled me with anxiety. Each day brought new challenges.

I paid the fees for the initial 3 months of Turkish language and started my journey, leaving the rest to God. After my classes, I hunted for jobs that paid cash, but I had no luck. Some nights, I slept in bus stations, some nights in public parks, and sometimes right outside the university just to cut off the public transportation cost. Later, I found an Afghan community that provided free accommodations until I could get a job.  Nevertheless, I was running out of money until one day, I decided to call my dad. My father is my hero and my role model. He is a retired Afghan National Army officer with decades of hard-fought wisdom.  

After listening to me and all my struggles while on the call, he asked my brother to borrow some money to book my tickets so that I could go back to Kabul. Only the divine knows the depth of my sorrows while I was leaving Türkiye. I landed in Kabul the first week of October 2014. I was deeply broken. I could not make my parents feel proud. I did not achieve my goals in life. I wanted to stay alone. However, after a few months of recovering from the setback, I rose again, eager to seize a new opportunity in life. 

It was early February 2015 when I got admission to a private university in Kabul to study Public Administration. Exactly two days after I passed the test, one of my father’s contacts asked me if I was interested in a 4-year military scholarship in India. The Indian government fully sponsored this scholarship. With my father’s help, I studied hard, and I became one of the 5 selected candidates. Some friends and relatives were trying to keep me from pursuing a military career. They all said basically the same thing, “the training is tough, and the security situation is concerning in Afghanistan. You can choose a safer career.” But my mind was already made. 

Around mid-July 2015, I arrived in India to undergo basic military training at the National Defense Academy, India. 

 This time I felt that God gave me another chance to prove myself and make my parents proud. 

The training was undoubtedly brutal, and many cadets committed suicide. There were days when I almost gave up. I had many injuries during the training, though my source of motivation was stronger than injuries. It was my father, my beloved country, and my people. There were times I used to write the name of Ahmad Shah Durrani, a previous Afghan king who ruled Afghanistan in the 1700s, on my hand. I  would look at it and ask myself this question: if he conquered many territories with no technology and never gave up, why the hell should I give up on military training in the 21st century? And the magic always worked. It gave me goosebumps and filled me with energy, even during my breaking points. 

During military training, I was able to get my bachelor’s degree in arts (Political Science and Economics), receive recognition as the most disciplined cadet, and receive a certificate in the Hindi language. 

Our graduating class was lucky to have the Indian president at our graduation ceremony at the end of May 2018. My parents were invited to India to attend the ceremony.. Someone hinted that I might be receiving a medal. Although I hadn't anticipated this, I was thrilled when, during the graduation ceremony, I was honored as the Best Foreign Cadet among participants from 15 countries. That was the first moment I truly felt the immense pride of making my parents proud. I realized that destiny would play its game; we just need to be patient and do our part. I understood that if God closes one door, he opens a better one. 

Afghan National Army Patch

After a month-long break,  I attended infantry training at the Indian Military Academy. This time, my vision was clear, and I was ready. I knew that I could become the Best Foreign Gentleman Cadet from this academy, too. All I needed to do was to give my best at every training and activity. During the training, I endured injuries, including a ruptured eardrum, but the magic worked once again, propelling me forward against all odds. In June 2019, I proudly received the esteemed medal and returned home with a heart full of honor.

I reached Kabul with so many aspirations and optimism, primarily focused on helping Afghan security forces. All day, I was making long-term plans for my career in the army. Unfortunately,  I was also struck by the level of corruption and lack of accountability in the defense ministry. I was sent to India by the defense ministry, and I was supposed to be deployed and start serving in the national army right away. Yet, due to a lack of accountability, I was staying home and staring at my medals in vain. My friends were reminding me of their old statements about the Afghan army. It was demotivating me day by day. I started losing weight. My eye vision changed, and I could not see clearly. I started plucking my mustaches uncontrollably. Plucking it used to give me satisfaction. I thought it was the end of my military career, and it was time to do something else.

I started preparing for the IELTS (International English Language Testing System) exam and was planning to continue my higher education. I applied for a United Kingdom based scholarship called Chevening. Even though the chances were below zero percent, I still applied because my current situation was even worse. It was during IELTS preparation when God opened another door to me. Because I had those achievements from Indian academies, some Afghan TV channels invited me for interviews to talk about my achievements. I attended all of them, hoping that someone would hear my voice and deploy me where I can serve my nation at its best. 

Towards the end of 2019, amidst a glorious morning, I was contacted by a high authority from the Defense Ministry who watched my TV interviews, and they asked me to meet them. That meeting led to my being appointed as an officer in an extremely critical and diplomatic position in the Defense Ministry. As a young officer full of energy, I did not care if I worked till midnight, and I would still be up the next morning with the same amount of energy. The motive was to serve my beloved nation even though I was living from paycheck to paycheck. 

I was handling multiple projects at the same time. Thanks to my former manager, who was exceptionally tough and mentored me excellently, that empowered me to maintain control over my tasks. I barely had time for my family during those days. Even so, I never cared. My country and my people were the ones who needed me the most. My family realized that they needed to come up with a plan so that I could give them time as well. And they succeeded in their plan, and they got me engaged with an amazing girl. 

Here comes the real struggle: balancing the career and personal life of an armed forces officer. Like anyone else, I never thought about sharing my life with someone else, and I was scared of how I would maintain the balance. I have one heart, and it was already filled with love for my nation. My fiancé, who is now my wife, is profoundly understanding, and it was significantly easier for me to maintain the balance. 

I was at the peak of meeting new people, making connections, and helping my countrymen. Everything was working according to my plan, and then one day, the Taliban took over, and like anyone else, they surprised me, and I narrowly escaped death. 

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1Lt Shir Zad Sarbaz served in Afghanistan’s Ministry of Defense for International Military Affairs. He currently lives in America with his family.