12-12-2009, 02:15 PM
Horse Soldiers: The Extraordinary Story of a Band of US Soldiers Who Rode to Victory in Afghanistan by Doug Stanton
The heroes of âHorse Soldiersâ are members of the Armyâs Fifth Special Forces Group based in Fort Campbell, Ky., an elite corps trained to be both guerrilla fighters and wartime diplomats. In the weeks after 9/11, Fifth Group soldiers scrambled to prepare for the coming war in Afghanistan. Intelligence on the Taliban, Al Qaeda and the Northern Alliance was so thin that the men resorted to old Discovery Channel shows and back issues of National Geographic. There wasnât time to requisition supplies through the Army, so they scooped up tents at REI, ordered fleece jackets direct from the North Face and bought every Garmin eTrex GPS unit they could find.
As the soldiers stocked their kits, C.I.A. paramilitary officers slipped into northern Afghanistan and met with local warlords who, when they werenât feuding among themselves, came together as a loosely knit anti-Taliban coalition known as the Northern Alliance. A deal was struck: a small number of Special Forces soldiers would fight alongside the Alliance, calling in precision smart-bomb airstrikes on Taliban positions.
There was only one problem. Nobody told the Special Forces guys about the horses. Northern Alliance soldiers traveled and fought on horseback, which was why they hadnât had much success against the Taliban, who fought with heavy artillery, including anti-aircraft guns that when pointed groundward proved exceptionally effective at cutting men and horses in half. Upon being dropped in country, Special Forces Capt. Mitch Nelson climbed in the saddle and gave his men an impromptu lesson:
â âListen up,â Nelson croaked. âHereâs how you make this thing go.â He heeled the horse in the ribs and it walked a few steps. âAnd hereâs how you turn,â he said, pulling a rein and drawing the narrow muzzle around. âAnd hereâs how you stop.â He pulled back the reins and sat looking at the guys. âGot it?â â
I just found this book last night and I'm stunned I havn't found it earlier. It is about the 500 or so U.S. personnel in Afghanistan in the first months of Afghanistan. They were made up of around 300 U.S. Army Special Forces soldiers, 25 U.S. Air Force Special Operations Combat Controllers and about 100 C.I.A. para-military officers and field agents. As the article below says, this victory deserves the a hallowed place in American military history.
The reason I can't wait to read this book is that my cousin was part of this...he was one of the SF troopers on horseback. He's got a ton of pics and I've read of this in a few different books but I've never seen a book totally dedicated to this. AND, another reason I'm so excited is that I'm in the Cavalry and ya know back in the day we used to be on horses. I just can't wait for this book to get here tomorrow and I know that some of you will love it also..
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/17/books/...ott-t.html
The heroes of âHorse Soldiersâ are members of the Armyâs Fifth Special Forces Group based in Fort Campbell, Ky., an elite corps trained to be both guerrilla fighters and wartime diplomats. In the weeks after 9/11, Fifth Group soldiers scrambled to prepare for the coming war in Afghanistan. Intelligence on the Taliban, Al Qaeda and the Northern Alliance was so thin that the men resorted to old Discovery Channel shows and back issues of National Geographic. There wasnât time to requisition supplies through the Army, so they scooped up tents at REI, ordered fleece jackets direct from the North Face and bought every Garmin eTrex GPS unit they could find.
As the soldiers stocked their kits, C.I.A. paramilitary officers slipped into northern Afghanistan and met with local warlords who, when they werenât feuding among themselves, came together as a loosely knit anti-Taliban coalition known as the Northern Alliance. A deal was struck: a small number of Special Forces soldiers would fight alongside the Alliance, calling in precision smart-bomb airstrikes on Taliban positions.
There was only one problem. Nobody told the Special Forces guys about the horses. Northern Alliance soldiers traveled and fought on horseback, which was why they hadnât had much success against the Taliban, who fought with heavy artillery, including anti-aircraft guns that when pointed groundward proved exceptionally effective at cutting men and horses in half. Upon being dropped in country, Special Forces Capt. Mitch Nelson climbed in the saddle and gave his men an impromptu lesson:
â âListen up,â Nelson croaked. âHereâs how you make this thing go.â He heeled the horse in the ribs and it walked a few steps. âAnd hereâs how you turn,â he said, pulling a rein and drawing the narrow muzzle around. âAnd hereâs how you stop.â He pulled back the reins and sat looking at the guys. âGot it?â â
I just found this book last night and I'm stunned I havn't found it earlier. It is about the 500 or so U.S. personnel in Afghanistan in the first months of Afghanistan. They were made up of around 300 U.S. Army Special Forces soldiers, 25 U.S. Air Force Special Operations Combat Controllers and about 100 C.I.A. para-military officers and field agents. As the article below says, this victory deserves the a hallowed place in American military history.
The reason I can't wait to read this book is that my cousin was part of this...he was one of the SF troopers on horseback. He's got a ton of pics and I've read of this in a few different books but I've never seen a book totally dedicated to this. AND, another reason I'm so excited is that I'm in the Cavalry and ya know back in the day we used to be on horses. I just can't wait for this book to get here tomorrow and I know that some of you will love it also..
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/17/books/...ott-t.html