Veterans are facing a difficult couple of weeks, with the US officially exiting Afghanistan just days short of the 20th anniversary of the September 11 terror attacks.

Veterans’ Affairs Minister Andrew Gee told Jim Wilson it’s important current and former Australian Defence Force personnel know their service made a difference, and saved lives.

“Who knows how many terrorist attacks they actually stopped by being there.

“They actually made Afghanistan a better place: they built schools, they ran clinics, they helped girls get and education.”

The challenge now for governments and humanitarian agencies, he said, is to continue to work hard to get more allies in Afghanistan out.

“There are stories coming back of so-called ‘wives’ being taken by the Taliban, which we know are … people taking slaves to commit crime and sexual assault.

“We’ve just got to keep … a spotlight on it, and the attention on it, and we can’t forget them.”

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Image: CAPT Lily Charles/Australian Department of Defence via Getty Images