Meet The Team
Arash Sikandar, CEO
Arash Sikander supported Special Operations Command as a cultural advisor on key leader engagements.
working with the local population on needs for basic human necessities, city improvements, school
development and other major infrastructure needs. Arash began working with the military in 2006 and
has developed deep domain knowledge, relationships, and a community of support. Arash worked with
US Special Operations units up to division level supporting and building Afghan National Army Special
Operation Command (ANASOC), developing coordination between ANASOC and other Resolute Support
(RS). Through his work, he also developed skill building programs for women, girls and future leaders.
and classroom learning environments. He developed teams to do humanitarian aid in the rural areas of
Afghanistan increasing life expectancy, reducing child mortality, and bringing preventative care in under-.
developed areas. Through these efforts, Arash helped build and empower civil society groups of young.
leaders. When the Taliban took over, Arash and his colleagues formed a small group to support these.
ANASOC and ANSF personnel running risky operations in support of the evacuation operations. Since
August 2021, his team has evaluated and supported the evaluation of 138 families of young ANASOC.
commanders, around 386 people. 11 families, 57 total people, still supporting through his own pocket.
He is supporting high-profile ANSF individuals who the Taliban is directly targeting and need to remain in
hiding.
Rakhi Shah
Rakhi Shah is an aeronautical and astronautical engineer from The Ohio State University. She has
supported the military as an engineer for 20 years and deployed to Iraq as a weapons inspector for
WMD and returned to help the Air Force bring sensor fusion techniques to the Triangle of Death for 15
months. She then deployed to Afghanistan in 2012 and continues to support units working in war-time
environments. Through her time, she has developed relationships and a deep appreciation for the
foreign military working shoulder-to-shoulder with the US Military.
Al LaFleur
Al LaFleur is a combat veteran with three tours of duty. He served as a Combat Advisor to ANA Forces
and Linguist Manager during his last deployment to Afghanistan in 2019. He formed several close
relationships during this rotation, and those relationships grew exponentially more important when the
Taliban seized control of the country. Al continues to be a beacon of hope for his Afghan allies. He is a
volunteer in a number of Afghan recovery organization and supports eight families (53 Afghans) with
materials, finances, and immigration documentation.
In August 2021, during the evacuation, nearly 80,000 refugee families were evacuated. Afghan military
partners make up only a fraction of the number of the refugees rescued. This organization aims to
support those who stood by the US and NATO allies in the most intense fighting in a generation.