A diplomat who was pressed into leading the Afghanistan withdrawal was so flummoxed by his last-minute assignment that he had to run to REI for gear: book

• Former Afghanistan ambassador John Bass was pressed to return to Kabul in August 2021.
• Bass was called by a top State Department official to return to the nation to help lead the US' withdrawal.
• Bass was so unprepared for the assignment that he had to run to an outdoor store to get gear.

Former US ambassador to Afghanistan John Bass was in the middle of teaching future US diplomats when he was called to return to the country and help lead America's chaotic withdrawal as Taliban forces swarmed Kabul, according to a forthcoming book.

Bass was so unprepared for the assignment that he needed to make a quick run to REI to get the necessary gear that he no longer had since he didn't live in the nation's capital.