The Americans, up on the ridge, are using GPS units to finalize coordinates. But on the ground in Afghanistan, theyre on their own. Once the ODA 595 linked up with Dostum, they were to "render the area unsafe for the Taliban and terrorist activity," says Green Beret Mark Nutsch, portrayed by Chris Hemsworth in the movie. They were all quitting demanding to be sent to other units rather than put up with new commander ideas on what soldiering was. I convince the staff to move him to an upstairs bed, where Bill inserts an IV of Hespan into the mans dehydrated body to increase blood circulation. Theres the erratic chatter of AK-47s and the deep dut dut dut dut of Taliban machine guns. Dostum and the Green Berets drove by them as they headed for Kunduz. So, I'm playing my old boss in the movie." That, says Dostum, was when the war against terror began., Living in caves and raiding Taliban positions, Dostums men slowly began to harass the well-entrenched Taliban along the Darra-e Suf. When a Marxist government came to power in a bloody coup in 1978, the new regimes radical reforms ignited a guerrilla war with the mujahidin who based themselves in the countrys remote mountain ranges. . Robert Young Pelton, all rights reserved. They send off steam in the cold night, their brown skin white with dust. SFC Bill Bennett RIP Robert Young Pelton, all rights reserved. That group was disbanded and then re-formed in the early 1950s as Special Forces, which John F. Kennedy later nicknamed the Green Berets. Dostum points to the fresh dirt of new graves in the cemetery. We grabbed our stuff and ran., The team knew that their story would be stolen, rewritten and misused as Rumsfeld and others seized the moment. Various close ups of American Specia. I know because I counted the dead bodies. Marco Polo App Improves Communication for Military Families. Later, I find out that theyve come hoping to retrieve the body of Central Intelligence Agency officer Johnny Micheal Spann, who was killed by Taliban prisonersthe first American combat casualty in Afghanistan. Dostum and Mitch Nelson remain close friends to this day. The real-life Special Forces officer he represents is Mark Nutsch, who asked that his name be fictionalized in the movie. Its an important part of our countrys history and an amazing story of courage, brothers in arms, and the reasons we ended up in Afghanistan in the first place. We had unrestricted movement into the gap, which gave us the high ground.. The real-life base wasn't built up at that point and amounted to little more than a series of Soviet-era bunkers. The Regulators have served in the gulf war, Somalia, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and in other places they cant talk about. Later, several months after the Taliban fell, the special operations teams returned to Mazar-i-Sharif to bury the piece of the World Trade Center. Robert Young Pelton, all rights reserved, The joy was short-lived. We were at the right place at the right time, says Steve. They have been blowing themselves up with grenades. In exploring how accurate 12 Strong is, we learned that some members of the ODA 595 Special Forces team had been involved in a nighttime training exercise along the Cumberland River. When the television begins to blare, the men stare at the screen. What happened to General Dostum in Afghanistan? Chris Hemsworth plays Special Forces leader in '12 Strong' ODA 595 followed by ODA 555 were the first two teams to have boots on the ground in Afghanistan following 9/11. I whip my horse, it takes three steps, and stops. I figured I could whip my horse and run across an open area, Mike said. He did have trouble getting off his horse, and like in the movie, the medic gave him something for the pain. My opinion is an unequivocal yes. When the council broke up, Dostum stood and motioned toward the horses. We could see a bunch of Taliban come out of another bunker complex off to the south and disappear behind a hill. He was later shot in the leg when the makeshift prison he was in became the scene of a violent Taliban uprising. "Excellent." -SOFREP, In the movie, Chris Hemsworth's character's wife is not pregnant. Who were the 12 strong in real life? - JOUNIMARTIKAINEN The conflict began with several hundred Taliban troops moving into positions on an adjacent hill. Six months ago, he traveled to Kabul with some Pakistanis to join the Taliban. Captain Mark Nutsch, Special Forces commander on the mission and Chief Warrant Officer Bob Pennington, the real-life counterparts to the roles played by Chris Hemsworth and Michael Shannon, were both on set to ensure accuracy in the movies portrayal. They put the prisoners back on the truck. General Abul Rashid Dostum Robert Young Pelton, all rights reserved. Later on he had a dark premonition. Now the CIA and spec ops have been let loose., Dostums men were a loose alliance that grew with every victory against the Taliban. The men know their story and I wrote it down. Then theres Steve, a well-mannered southern medic; Pete, the burly chaw spitter; Mark, their blond, midwestern captain; and so on. Around eight oclock on Saturday night, while Im talking with the Green Berets, one of Dostums men comes into the house and asks us to follow him outside. The U.S. refused to work with Dostum until former UN envoy Charlie Santos pointed out to the CIA that the only functioning fighting group besidesthe Panjshiris ofMassoud wereDostums Uzbeks. Support Dostum. "If they got in trouble, there was very little I could do and nothing I could do quickly. In real life, Bob Pennington wasn't badly injured by a surrendering enemy fighter who blew himself up with his own grenade, an act that leaves Michael Shannon's character clinging to life as his fellow soldiers hurry to extract him. The deadline is noon. Outnumbered by enemy fighters 5,000 to 1, the men were also in extreme danger due to the huge bounties placed on their lives by the Taliban. They cleaned and stowed their gear and awaited the order. Nelson must convince Col. Mulholland (William Fichtner) that his team is ready to meet with Northern Alliance General Dostum (Navid Negahban) to fight the Taliban and Al Qaeda. The shelling, raping, pillaging, looting, and house-to-house fighting that then befell Kabul stained the name of every mujahidin commander, including Dostums, and fueled his reputation for brutality. The Regulators flew in from Uzbekistan at night on a blacked-out Chinook helicopter. General Abdul Rashid Dostum and Captain Mark Nutsch achieved this unexpected success in November 2001 by breaking out of a rebel pocket of the Hindu Kush Mountains and seizing Mazar i Sharif,. Is Captain Mitch Nelson still alive? DP hats, so I dig them out of my bag and pass them around. Horse Soldiers Analysis - eNotes.com The videotape cuts to the next morning. Armored personnel carriers jerk to life in clouds of black diesel exhaust. After four days of bombardment, the interior of the fort is a scene of utter devastation. In between conflict there was time to celebrate. America was fully committed to defeating the Taliban and ousting them from power. "For all of our teams, the risk was extraordinary," Lt. Gen. John F. Mulholland said. Dostum enlisted in the Afghan militaryone of the few ways for poor men to escape lives of labor and hardship in rural Afghanistan. When it looked like they would break the back of the position, he would ride through as fast as he could and keep the Taliban on the run., With their knowledge of military history, the Regulators appreciated the ironies of this strange war: The Taliban had gone from the muj style of fightingin the mountains, on horsebackto working in mechanized columns, says Will, another member of 595. Men wept as the imam prayed and thanked Dostum for deliverance. "We slept on the ground the first couple of nights." ", Yes. At first I thought, Why not let them rule? he says. Their rooms are filled with green Army cots, dirty brown packs, and green flight bags. It was about this time that Abdul Rashid became Dostum. In Uzbek, dost means friend; dostum means my friend. It was a nickname that the young soldier was given for his habitual way of addressing people. The men who first defended this post with me are all dead now. Buzkashi is the way Afghan boys learn to rideand its the way Afghan politics is played: There are few rules and the toughest, meanest, and most brutal player takes the prize. Our warhad been big footed by Iraq. Our commanders said they didnt know what to expect, but at least they were honest enough to admit it, the Green Beret continues. They said, You guys will be on the ground; you figure it out. , Within half an hour of meeting Dostum at the mud-walled compound in the Darra-e Suf, the Regulators swung into action. We had an entire 250-man cavalry ready to charge. The Regulators wanted Dostums right-hand man, Commander Lal, to hold off while they got their aircraft in position, but Lal had already given the order. We moved our targeting up along the ridgeline to the second bunker. Dostum stays in contact with the Americans by radio, working to help focus the bombing: a man with a seventh-grade education directing the fire of the worlds most powerful military. They sit patiently for hours, clutching tiny pieces of paper, seeking his aid. The info I had was that he was MIA, Mark says. After a cinematic pause to allow the implications of his arrival to sink in, Dostum phones the village leadership from the Audi: Send out your weapons and any fighters or were going in. As we explored the accuracy of 12 Strong, we discovered that a group of both currently-serving and retired U.S. special operators were involved in the making of the movie, mainly to make sure that the filmmakers represented soldiers and combat accurately. One key point noted repeatedly (and military spouses already know this!) Mark Nutsch Age, Wife, Family, Story, Biography & More The enemy was 700 meters out and moving quickly. They were potentially facing about 50,000 Al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters. He told them his name was Abdul Hamid. These are the soldiers I saw back at Qala Jangi preparing to go in and retrieve the body of the dead CIA agent, Mike Spann. This is where Alexander ruled, where Zoroaster was born, where Buddhists came on pilgrimages, a center of art, poetry, and study where lions were hunted and where Genghis Khan came to conquer. He ended up in the Takhar Province, in the northeastern part of the country. I looked at Lahl and said, Bombs away. We had 30 seconds till impact; meanwhile, the Afghan horde is screaming down this ridgeline. The entrance to the bunker was pierced by cannon shots and is blackened from explosions. Until a group of 480 al Qaeda and talibs showed up at the gates of Mazar. Within hours, they are gone. Military historians have called it one of the most successful unconventional warfare campaigns in U.S. history. Dostums first stop was the blue mosque at the tomb of Hazrat Ali, the revered son-in-law of the Prophet. Then the concussion: ka-RUMPH! "12 Strong": The Inside Story of the Making of a (Refreshingly Accurate At first, their mission was one of personnel recovery, tasked with rescuing any pilots shot down during the air war in Afghanistan. The tape now shows Dostum, leaning against a mud wall, watching through large binoculars. Of course, war is cruel and brutal; any person who has ever read a single page of history understands the unfortunate necessity and commonality of war in all cultures, in all countries around . Fittingly, a lot of the actors in the movie had very little or no experience on a horse as well, so there wasn't very much acting needed to convey the team's lack of experience riding horses. I am surprised, then, to see Dostum wrap his blue turban around his head and chin and stride into the village . As the Hespan drips into his veins, I fire up the video camera, and the man begins to tell his story. The pilot asked us, Whats the effect [of the bomb attack on the truck]? We yell over the radio, We dont know! The CIA had begun to work with Massouds people in October of 1999 hoping to pay him to kill Osama bin Laden. But I never travel without a few Mr. What we are doing now has not occurred since Vietnam. Instead of the expected handful of holdouts, no fewer than 86 foreign Taliban emerged after a week in the agonizing dark and coldstarved, deaf, hypothermic, wounded, and exhausted. In the bewildering matrix of Afghan politics, Dostum has frequentlyand nimblyswitched allegiances. Its more like, I am coming to get youwhether I hit you is another story. Its Old World combat at its finest. The unexplained feeling of relief when you know your loved one is safe. It was put on display across from Ground Zero in 2012. Im looking through the optics while rounds are zinging all around us. At this point in the tale, Mike nodded toward Paul, who was sitting next to him on the couch at Dostums guest house. On the morning of September 11, the team was returning to base after an all-night training exercise. This time there is no convoy; just a son paying his respects to his father. General Dostum knew the area and how to reach the goal faster by cutting through the mountains and finally communicated this when he felt more trusting of Captain Nelson. Submit an Article The B-Team had already set up shop at theTurkish School in Mazar and was getting ready for the push to Tora Bora. Nutsch was the commander of the 12-man Green Berets from 5th Special Forces Group on a mission to Afghanistan in the weeks after 9/11 terrorist attacks. The first thing we wanted to do was to say to Dostum, The Americans are here, Paul explains, and to make it a fearsome prospect to mess with us. The Americans set up their gear at Dostums command postwhich overlooked Taliban positions about six miles awayand immediately began the process of calling in close air support, or CAS. An odd case of alack of evidence being brought forward as the evidence. Yes, but the tagline is a bit of an exaggeration. Our Team I saw this look in Fakirs eyes, says Mark, like, Why didnt you help?, Dostum, triumphant on a return to the simple village of his brith. Mitch Nelson (1963-) was a US Army captain during the Afghanistan War . In a village on the outskirts of Balkh, the convoy rumbles to a halt near an ancient castle that is now a rounded mound of tan mud. Bill and the team were wearing armor decorated with my logo when he died. (19 Dec 2001) 1. The Horse Soldiers monument in New York City is not based on any one person. Its like a casting call for The Dirty Dozen. A clock sounds loudly. The risk they were taking was indeed that great. The moments of shockIs this really happening? The old creed is that we never leave a guy behind. The Regulators wanted to find the prisoners who had killed Spann and attacked a second CIA man who was questioning the Taliban. He never sacrificed his men. Then, here is Dostum, says Will, a guy trained in tanks whos using tactics developed in Genghis Khans time.. The madrasah was surrounded for about a mile on each side by identical buildings, which made it difficult for the pilots to pick out the school. The two Green Berets are solemn; they insist on driving through the gap so they can tell their story from the right perspective. He is so sincere; whenever I see him, I feel joy. He pauses for a moment, lost in reflection. They chose not bullets or grenades but ordnance that ranged from Maverick missiles to laser-guided bombs. In the book, Bowers had planned to give the piece of metal to Afghan General Dostum and warlord Atta Muhammad Noor, if needed, to bind them in their common fight against the Taliban. -The Fayetteville Observer, ODA 595 was an experienced, mature team of Green Berets that had recently worked with special operations forces in Uzbekistan, Afghanistan's northern neighbor. "When I went to Afghanistan, I reported to Lieutenant Colonel Max Bowers. What happened next was the first of many distortions and fictional retelling of their story. Robert Young Pelton, all rights reserved. Nelson and five of his men set off behind General Dostum and his forces, leaving Cal Spencer, Pat Essex, Charles Jones, Scott Black, Ben Milo, and Fred Falls behind to coordinate logistics and . William Fichtner portrays Mulholland in the movie and Homeland's Navid Negahban plays General Dostum. A few yards before the turnoff to Khvajeh Do Kuh, he gestures to a place where 180 of his men died fighting the Taliban. Dostums meetings do not end until well after midnight. Nelson commits to leading 595 into Afghanistan as word of the disastrous terrorist attacks that day breaks. In all, less than 100 Special Forces soldiers toppled the Taliban government. Despite knowledge of the mission being available to the public, it had remained largely unheard of until the book. The Turks, long staunch enemies of Islamic extremism, contributed a small sum as well, and, on April 22, 2001, General Dostum and 30 men were ferried into northern Afghanistan on Massouds aging Soviet helicopters. 12 Strong Best Quotes - 'We're on our own.' - MovieQuotesandMore He lies staring at the ceiling. The Real Story of General Dostum and 12 Strong Green Berets But the US Armed Forces were thin on the ground, and were potentially facing around 50,000 Al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters. At the time, General Dostum did have a reputation for violence and turning on allies during battle. I feel he is my brother. ODA 595 Prepares to retrieve the body of Mike Spann from Qala-i-Jangi Robert Young Pelton, all rights reserved. One Leadership Skill That Turned 12 'Horse Soldiers' Into An Elite Both are awake, both unwilling to break the silence as their young child sleeps nearby. Dostum implores the mullahs to call down to the bunker and tell the remaining men to surrender. I have been to America and know the quality of life they enjoy. Payback was certainly on the minds of some members of the team, while others focused primarily on the mission at hand. How do you love your family and leave them to go to war? The morning after Heavy Ds return from Kunduz, he greets me with a deep, booming Howareyou? Today, he tells me, he is eager for me to meet his trophy mullahs. It feels even more odd when I discover that these are Green Beretssoldiers who truly specialize in the worlds hot spots. Hemsworth and Negahban convey the tension between the two men brilliantly, and Negahban had this to say: This was the first film that truly shows what Afghans went through and how we united with them to achieve our goal.. Our Afghans are running out of ammo. -ABC News. But when he smiles, he looks like a naughty 12-year-old. To this day the war continues and Dostum as First Vice President remains a staunch ally of America. Even the CIA was reticent to land paramilitaries and officers to set up the conditions for an Special Forces ODA to be inserted. Wide four members of American Special Forces and General Abdul Rashid Dostum of the Northern Alliance2. When noon comes and goes, I expect the order to fire. "They didn't expect us to survive," Mark Nutsch said. The post was in an uproar, says Paul. It was the finest sight I ever saw. This included Detachment Commander Mark Nutsch (Chris Hemsworth onscreen) and Assistant Detachment Commander Bob Pennington (Michael Shannon in the movie). Dostum tells me that he has fought on every inch of Afghan soil and can recite the names of his men who have died, describe each battle in detail, and tell you what he has learned from every encounter. Dostum has decided to clean up the regions last remaining pocket of Taliban himself. When we got there, we were sitting on our asses. It was while they watched the drawn-out surrender that Mike Spann was attacked at Qala Jangi and the uprising began. Shannon's character is wounded in the movie for dramatic effect. Also, there was hardly any assurance that the team would be safe with the Afghan fighters they were working alongside. is the manner in which military members tend to downplay their service or push aside thanks, rarely focusing on themselves, but on their team or country as a whole. Although nighttime gunfire is normal in Afghanistan, there is an urgency to the sound of the deep explosions that come from the 19th-century fortress of Qala Jangi, just over a mile east from Khoda Barq, a Soviet-era apartment complex west of Mazar. They formed an alliance with Afghan rebels led by Gen. Abdul Rashid Dostum, played by Numan Acar. None of the 12 soldiers died during the 2001 Afghanistan mission. Dostums men had finally flooded them out by sluicing frigid water into the subterranean room. Most of the fallen look as if they were killed instantly. Newsweek, The New York Times and other outlets insisted that eyewitness had seen American soldiers laughing and shooting into containers. Perhaps theyll convince any surviving prisoners to surrender. Three or four bombs hit right in the middle of the enemy position, says Will. The next morning, about 60 Afghan cavalry came thundering into the compound. Mitch Miller died on July 31, 2010 of natural causes. This is the back jacket of The Hunt for Bin Laden ghostwritten by the late Jack Idema and published as non fiction by Random House editor Bob Loomis. This time I had less worries with just a few hours waiting for Uzbek guards to look the other way while we hustled our kit over the blockade Friendship Bridge at night. From there, American and Afghan forces would liberate Kabul in the east, Herat in the west, Kandahar in the south, and Jalalabad, resulting in the Afghan forces taking control of the country from the Taliban. If there is no enemy, then bureaucracy is the enemy, he says. Toward the end of September, the word came down: Pack your shit., Fifteen days later, the team boarded a C-5 Galaxy with a secret flight plan. Mitch Nelson (Aussie Chris Hemsworth, aka Thor) is the highly trained but not combat-tested leader of the small team dubbed Task Force Dagger and sent by Col. Mulholland (William. Right next to where I am staying. Moments later Mike would be murdered by prisoners. In Hollywood I was asked to join meetings during which actors and producers pitched the story, read half a dozen books in which the idea of John Wayne like cavalry charges and Dostums ogre like cruelty were fictionalized into cartoons. Ironically, it was this sort of diplomatic triumphthe surrender at Kunduz just before my arrivaland not a battle that gave the Regulators their most bitter experience of the war. "They weirdly are a formidable force that will continue to fight, no matter what.". "Sir," he said. He rolls in a John Wayne walk to Commander Lal, whos in charge of the standoff. you die. We were focused on calling in an air strike to take out this truck that had rumbled into view, and now RPG rounds are flying over our heads. we discovered that all but one of the 12 Horse Soldiers depicted in the movie were married and 10 of them had at least two kids. real general dostum and mitch nelson Uncategorized September 20, 2021. That heavy reliance on tanks and trucks meant the Taliban wound up fighting a defensive, Russian-style war.
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