|
FAST special agents destroy a clandestine laboratory in Afghanistan.
FAST and the Kabul Country Office get New Memorial and Exhibits
In this special edition of The Informant, the DEA Museum highlights the exploits of DEA's legendary Foreign-Deployed Advisory Support Team (FAST) program and the Kabul Country Office that supported them. DEA Museum staff worked with DEA leadership, FAST, and KCO alumni to develop a new memorial dedicated to ten individuals who were killed in a tragic helicopter accident on October 26, 2009. A moving dedication ceremony was held at DEA Headquarters on September 4, 2025. New physical and online exhibits were developed to explain more about the work of these courageous teams.
As a response to the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, DEA formed the FAST program, which deployed specially trained DEA special agents to work alongside U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) and NATO forces. FAST units partnered with the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) to identify and dismantle Afghanistan's top drug traffickers, disrupt the opium and heroin trade, and cut off financial pipelines supporting terrorist organizations. The program later expanded to other regions, including Africa, Ukraine, the Caribbean, and Central and South America.
DEA unveiled and dedicated the FAST and KCO memorial at DEA's Headquarters in Arlington, VA on September 4, 2025.
New Physical Exhibit and Memorial
Dedicated to FAST, Kabul Country Office, and U.S. Army Members Killed in Afghanistan Unveiled at DEA HQ
On October 26, 2009, DEA suffered one of the most tragic losses in its history. Following a successful joint counter-narcotics mission in western Afghanistan, a U.S. military helicopter crashed during extraction. Ten brave men lost their lives—three DEA Special Agents and seven U.S. military personnel. Among the fallen were Special Agent Forrest N. Leamon (FAST), Special Agent Chad L. Michael (FAST), and Special Agent Michael E. Weston (KCO).
On September 3, 2025, the DEA Museum unveiled a new FAST/KCO exhibit, which includes a FAST uniform, tactical gear, an M6 that belonged to Special Agent Chad Michael, and other related artifacts.
On September 4, 2025 – one week before the 24th anniversary of 9/11 – DEA unveiled a new permanent memorial in honor of the Special Agents and allied military personnel killed in the 2009 helicopter crash. The new memorial stands alongside DEA’s 9/11 TFO memorial in the lobby of headquarters’ 700 building. At its center is a shadowbox originally built by surviving FAST personnel. It contains artifacts recovered from the crash site used to identify SAs Leamon, Michael, and Weston. These artifacts, such as the remains of a Mark 48 carried by SA Michael, the remains of an M6 carried by SA Leamon, and the U.S. Marine Corps dog tag worn by SA Weston, hold historical and personal significance.
A FAST chopper flies over a poppy field in Afghanistan.
New Online Exhibit:
History of DEA’s Foreign-Deployed Advisory and Support Team
Our newest online exhibit, History of DEA’s Foreign-Deployed Advisory and Support Team, presents a unique perspective on the extraordinary experiences and challenges of DEA agents in Afghanistan after 9/11. In collaboration with elite allied forces, FAST agents successfully dismantled Afghanistan’s drug trafficking organizations and their ability to support terrorist insurgencies. Viewers learn about FAST members, their international partnerships and collaborations, and those who made the ultimate sacrifice to make the United States, and the world, a safer place.
The U.S. military placed ten memorial stones at Camp Brown in Afghanistan to honor the October 26, 2009 helicopter crash. FAST members donated the three DEA memorial stones to the DEA Museum in 2014.
Stories from the Collection:
FAST Memorial Stones
In response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, DEA created the Foreign-Deployed Advisory Support Team - or FAST – program to target Afghanistan’s most notorious drug traffickers, dismantle opium trade, and disrupt the illicit finances used to support terrorist organizations.
On October 26, 2009, FAST experienced its first fatalities when a helicopter crashed resulting in the deaths of three DEA agents and seven U.S. military personnel - Special Agent Forrest Leamon, Special Agent Chad Michael, and Special Agent Michael Weston. Click the link below to learn more about DEA’s honorable tribute to our fallen heroes.
|
