Francis (France) Q. Hoang is an Army veteran and entrepreneur who has worked in the law, aerospace, defense, government services, and technology fields. Currently, Hoang serves in leadership roles at several organizations, including multiple organizations intended to help evacuations from Afghanistan to the U.S. It appears that Hoang could have had a stake in keeping U.S. forces in Afghanistan. MAG Aerospace, a company for which Hoang has held multiple executive roles, benefited from U.S. involvement in Afghanistan as its products were used throughout the country by U.S. troops and Afghan U.S. allies. In his personal capacity, Hoang has donated over $56,000 to Republican Candidates for federal office and PACs that exclusively support Republican candidates since 2007.
Retired Lt. Col. David Scott Mann—who goes by Scott Mann—has “parlayed his military experience into a lucrative career,” with a corporate consultancy, five-figure speaking fees, and a play bankrolled by a conservative celebrity—all of these helping to finance a luxurious waterfront home. He claims to have worked on “unconventional, high-impact missions” in Afghanistan, Iraq, and elsewhere in his 23 years in the U.S. Army. Mann is most known for two bestselling books about his experiences. Mann has vocally criticized the Biden administration’s withdrawal from Afghanistan, calling it a “colossal failure of American leadership.”
WITNESSES
Francis Q. Hoang
Francis Hoang Has Served As An Executive of MAG Aerospace For Years, With Specific Intention to “Build An Afghan Air Force.” Hoang is on the board of advisors for MAG Aerospace, which was founded “to build an Afghan air force,” and provided various aviation-related services to support the US army, special operations forces, and the Afghanistan special missions wing throughout Afghanistan, [France Q. Hoang LinkedIn, Accessed 3/6/23; MAG Aerospace, Accessed 3/6/23]
- MAG Aerospace Provided Various Aviation-Related Services To Support The US Army, Special Operations Forces, And The Afghanistan Special Missions Wing Throughout Afghanistan. “Our aviation-related services included Fixed & Rotary Wing assets supporting US Army, Special Operations Forces, and the Afghanistan Special Missions Wing (SMW) operated Mi-17 helicopters. MAG provided qualified MI-17V1/V5 Instructor Pilots, Flight Engineers, and Crew Chiefs/Door gunners to the Afghanistan Special Mission Wing (SMW) that supported counter narcotic efforts throughout Afghanistan..” [MAG Aerospace, Accessed 3/6/23]
- MAG Aerospace Teams Conducted “Operational Missions With Afghan-US Mixed Crews,” Including “Counter-Narcotics Mission Support Requirements And All General Support Mission Requirements.” “The MAG Team conducted all required operational missions with Afghan-US mixed crews. Operational missions included Counter-Narcotics mission support requirements and all general support mission requirements. Mission profiles included day, night, and night vision goggle operations. We developed a ‘Green Platoon’ training (modeled after the 160th AVN SOAR Regiment’s internal training program) that has been scaled for Afghan utilization and sustainment. This program produced a 50% increase in manning to the Afghan Special Mission Wing night vision capable crews who performed strategically important counter narcotic missions.” [MAG Aerospace, Accessed 3/6/23]
Since 2007, Francis Q. Hoang Has Given Over $56,000 To Federal Republican Candidates Or PACs That Primarily Support Federal Republican Candidates. Hoang gave $50,022 to federal Republican candidates or PACs primarily supporting federal Republican candidates including Jeb Bush, Michael Waltz and Mike Pompeo. He also gave $1,900 to the Republican National Committee, state Republican Parties, or GOP-aligned PACs. [Federal Election Commission, Accessed 3/6/23]
David Scott Mann
Scott Mann Has “Parlayed His Military Experience Into A Lucrative Career.” According to the New York Post: “Living the good life in Tampa Bay, Fla., Mann was a highly decorated Green Beret who had parlayed his military experience into a lucrative career.” Mann claims he “teaches corporate leaders and their teams the relationship-building techniques that drove so many of his successful combat operations.” “In the same way, he empowered local tribes in Iraq and Afghanistan to make transformative decisions using very few resources, Scott teaches corporate leaders and their teams the relationship-building techniques that drove so many of his successful combat operations.” [New York Post, 9/24/22; Scott Mann Personal Website, Accessed 03/03/23]
Scott Mann Wrote and Starred In a Play About “The Afghan War And The Unforeseen Cost Of War On Our Veterans.” “Scott is also a playwright and actor in his recent play brought to film about the Afghan War and the unforeseen cost of war on our Veterans called ‘Last Out,’ which is available on Amazon Prime Video, Google Play, Apple TV, and VUDU.” [Scott Mann Personal Website, Accessed 03/03/23]
- Mann’s Play Was Sponsored By A Founder Of The Friends Of Abe, Known As “Hollywood’s Secretive Group Of Conservatives,” Founded In The Early 2000s. Scott Mann’s play “Last Out” was sponsored by the Gary Sinise Foundation, as of March 2023. Gary Sinise founded “Hollywood’s secretive group of conservatives” known as Friends of Abe: “Friends of Abe erupted in boisterous cheers at an election viewing party when Florida was projected for Donald Trump, fueling optimism that the anti-establishment candidacy has a clear shot at victory. […] FOA was founded more than a decade ago by actor Gary Sinise, along with early members Kelsey Grammer, Jon Voight, producer-writer Lionel Chetwynd and the late Andrew Breitbart. The group is less formal than it had been, and Sinise rarely attends the more partisan events, preferring to spend his free time supporting the men and women of the U.S. military through his Gary Sinise Foundation.” [Last Out Website, Accessed 3/6/23; The Hollywood Reporter, 11/08/16]
Scott Mann Has Authored Two Bestselling Books About Foreign Wars. Mann authored Operation Pineapple Express, an “Instant New York Times Bestseller” according to Barnes and Noble. The novel is described as “An edge-of-your-seat thriller about a group of retired Green Berets who come together to save a former comrade—and 500 other Afghans—being targeted by the Taliban in the chaos of America’s withdrawal from Afghanistan.” He also claims to be the “#1 International Best-Selling Author Of Game Changers, Going Local To Defeat Violent Extremists,” another loosely autobiographical book about defeating “Isis, Al Qa’ida, And Even Criminal Elements Here At Home.” [Barnes and Noble, Accessed 03/06/23, Accessed 03/06/23; Scott Mann Personal Website, Accessed 03/03/23]
Scott Mann Has Written At Least Three Opinion Pieces For Fox News Criticizing the Biden Administration’s Withdrawal from Afghanistan. In August 2022, Scott Mann wrote a Fox News opinion piece about the American withdrawal from Afghanistan. In the piece, Mann claimed “senior leaders from U.S. special operations command made no discernible moves or actions to help Afghans, abandoning allies without a thought. […] The United States military forces in HKIA—Marines, paratroopers, and Delta Force—were ordered to maintain defensive positions by the Biden administration, with limited authority to go outside the airport gates. The senior leaders from U.S. Special Operations Command made no discernible moves or actions to help Afghans, abandoning allies without a thought.” [Fox News, Accessed 3/6/23; 8/29/22]