“Good afternoon. On my orders, the United States military has begun strikes against Al Qaeda terrorist training camps and military installations of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan.” That was the start of the U.S. war in Afghanistan. “We need the freedom to operate on the ground and in the air.” It’s now America’s longest war. About 18 years. Yet few battles or notable events from Afghanistan have taken root in America’s collective memory. And that means fewer signposts to mark the long passage of time. But if we look at how long it took to reach seminal moments in other wars, it might bring America’s 17-year presence in Afghanistan into clear view. We’ll start with the Battle of Gettysburg. This bar represents the number of days the U.S. has been fighting in Afghanistan. The fighting at Gettysburg began 811 days into the Civil War. Many consider this the most important battle of the conflict. And it took place after half the war was fought. Now apply it to Afghanistan time. It would bring us to just Dec. 27, 2003. There were about 13,000 American troops in Afghanistan back then. That number would eventually peak at 100,000. “In England, General Dwight D. Eisenhower and his deputy commanders chart the liberation of a lost continent.” Then there’s the Allied D-Day invasion at Normandy. One of the most iconic moments of World War II. The culmination of extensive planning in years of fighting in Northern Africa, Italy and elsewhere. That invasion began 913 days after America entered the war. In Afghanistan time, that brings us to just April 4, 2004. Hamid Karzai hadn’t even been elected as president of Afghanistan yet. And when World War II neared its end with the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, that came after 1,339 days of battle. In Afghanistan time, that would reach to June 2005. Not even a quarter of the way through. Vietnam was America’s second-longest war. And the final pivotal moment was the fall of Saigon in April 1975. That occurred 3,706 days after U.S. Marines landed in Da Nang in 1965. And in a final comparison to Afghanistan time, that would bring us to Nov. 30, 2011. Osama bin Laden was killed about six months earlier. And President Obama had already announced plans to completely withdraw U.S. troops. He would later reverse that decision. The Obama and Trump administrations would unveil new strategies – continuing the fight, which goes on to this day.