Trying to verify father-in-law's story about being a Marine in Afghanistan in 1994
My father-in-law claims that in or around 1994 he was in the Marines and was deployed to Afghanistan, where he and his team were ambushed and held captive, and one of his teammates was shot in the leg. The captors eventually let hem go when they saw American soldiers approaching.
He also says he was a sniper trainer in the military.
I've been trying to figure out if any of this is plausible. From what I can tell, the U.S. had no military presence in Afghanistan between the Soviet withdrawal in 1989 and Operation Enduring Freedom in October 2001. The U.S. embassy in Kabul was closed in 1989 and didn't reopen until after 9/11. I can't find any record of U.S. Marines — or any U.S. forces — operating in Afghanistan in 1994.
Am I missing something? Is there any scenario where a Marine could have been deployed to Afghanistan in that window? And are there ways to verify his claims (DD-214, FOIA, etc.)?
Thanks in advance.