Download or read book The Lion of Sabray written by Patrick Robinson and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2015-11-03 with total page 233 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Patrick Robinson, coauthor of the #1 New York Times bestseller Lone Survivor and “preeminent writer of modern naval fiction” (The Florida Times Union) shares the gripping untold story of Mohammed Gulab, the Afghani warrior who defied the Taliban and saved the life of American hero and Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell. Bestselling author Patrick Robinson helped Marcus Luttrell bring his harrowing story of survival to the page and the big screen with Lone Survivor. But the Afghani man who saved his life was always shrouded in mystery. Now, with The Lion of Sabray, Robinson reveals the amazing backstory of Mohammed Gulab—the brave man who forever changed the course of life for his Afghani family, his village, and himself when he discovered Luttrell badly injured and barely conscious on a mountainside in the Hindu Kush just hours after the firefight that killed the rest of Luttrell’s team. Operating under the 2,000-year-old principles of Pashtunwali—the tribal honor code that guided his life—Gulab refused to turn Luttrell over to the Taliban forces that were hunting him, believing it was his obligation to protect and care for the American soldier. Because Gulab was a celebrated Mujahedeen field commander and machine-gunner who beat back the Soviets as a teenager, the Taliban were wary enough that they didn’t simply storm the village and take Luttrell, which gave Gulab time to orchestrate his rescue. In addition to Gulab’s brave story, The Lion of Sabray cinematically reveals previously unknown details of Luttrell’s rescue by American forces—which were only recently declassified—and sheds light on the ramifications for Gulab, his family, and his community. Going beyond both the book and the movie versions of Lone Survivor, The Lion of Sabray is a must-read for anyone who wants to know more about the brave man who helped the Lone Survivor make it home.

Download or read book Soldiers of God written by Robert D. Kaplan and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2008-12-24 with total page 306 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: First time in paperback, with a new Introduction and final chapter World affairs expert and intrepid travel journalist Robert D. Kaplan braved the dangers of war-ravaged Afghanistan in the 1980s, living among the mujahidin—the “soldiers of god”—whose unwavering devotion to Islam fueled their mission to oust the formidable Soviet invaders. In Soldiers of God we follow Kaplan’s extraordinary journey and learn how the thwarted Soviet invasion gave rise to the ruthless Taliban and the defining international conflagration of the twenty-first century. Kaplan returns a decade later and brings to life a lawless frontier. What he reveals is astonishing: teeming refugee camps on the deeply contentious Pakistan-Afghanistan border; a war front that combines primitive fighters with the most technologically advanced weapons known to man; rigorous Islamic indoctrination academies; a land of minefields plagued by drought, fierce tribalism, insurmountable ethnic and religious divisions, an abysmal literacy rate, and legions of war orphans who seek stability in military brotherhood. Traveling alongside Islamic guerrilla fighters, sharing their food, observing their piety in the face of deprivation, and witnessing their determination, Kaplan offers a unique opportunity to increase our understanding of a people and a country that are at the center of world events.

Download or read book Afghan Warrior written by Steve Stone and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2016-02-20 with total page 168 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The .50 Cal spat out 7.62 mm rounds at a rapid rate of fire. The bullets ripped up the ground, the foliage and anything else they made contact with. They smacked into the compound walls and peppered the area, spitting up dirt and clumps of dried mud into the air on impact. The whole area to our front and the compound buildings within it were a sight to see; smoke and debris being thrown up from the ground by the impacts and detonations of various munitions finding their mark. The odd little random fire started to spring up in the foliage out to our front where the red tracer had impacted and still fizzled away ferociously, setting light to the grass around it before finally burning out. From the densely packed warren of walled compounds that doubled neatly as enemy bunkers, lush orchards, and high up in the rugged mountainous border area between Afghanistan and Pakistan. U.S. Navy SEALs have fought some deadly battles paying the ultimate sacrifice. Locked in bloody combat with a fierce and battle hardened enemy in a dangerous and harsh environment. Afghan Warrior paints an intimate picture of SEAL Team Six and their explosive experience of fighting in Afghanistan.

Download or read book The Last Warlord written by Brian Glyn Williams and published by Chicago Review Press. This book was released on 2013-09-01 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Last Warlord tells the story of the brotherhood forged in the mountains of Afghanistan between elite American Green Berets and Dostum that is told in the movie 12 Strong: The Declassified True Story of the Horsesoldiers The Last Warlord tells the spellbinding story of the legendary Afghan warlord Abdul Rashid Dostum, a larger-than-life figure who guided US Special Forces to victory over the Taliban after 9/11. Having gained unprecedented access to General Dostum and his family and subcommanders, as well as local chieftains, mullahs, elders, Taliban prisoners, and women's rights activists, scholar Brian Glyn Williams paints a fascinating portrait of this Northern Alliance Uzbek commander who has been shrouded in mystery and contradicting hearsay. In contrast to sensational media accounts that have mythologized the "bear of a man with a gruff laugh" who "some Uzbeks swear, has on occasion frightened people to death," Williams carefully chronicles Dostum's rise from peasant villager to Uzbek leader and skilled strategist who has fought a long and bitter war against the Taliban and Al Qaeda fanatics that have sought to repress his people. Also revealed is Dostum's surprising history as a defender of women's rights and religious moderation. In riveting detail The Last Warlord spotlights the crucial Afghan contribution to Operation Enduring Freedom: how the CIA contacted the mysterious warrior Dostum to help US Special Forces wage a covert war in the mountains of Afghanistan, how respect and even friendship quickly grew between the Afghan and American fighting men, and how Dostum led his nomadic people charging into war the same way his ancestors had—on horseback. The result was one of the most decisive campaigns in the entire war on terror. The Last Warlord shows that, far from serving as an exotic backdrop for American heroics, it was these horse-mounted descendents of the Mongol warrior Genghis Khan that allowed the American military to overthrow the Taliban regime in a matter of weeks. .

Download or read book Unconventional Warrior written by Walter Morris Herd and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2013-07-03 with total page 225 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This fascinating look at the life of a modern-day professional soldier gives the reader an inside view of the deadly global war on terror. Herd argues that conflicting political objectives have muddied the way forward for the on-the-ground commanders and thus threaten the prospect of any real victory in Afghanistan. He uses everyday stories to make his points: "One of the local leaders pointed to his wrist and said to my interpreter, 'the Americans have all the watches but we have all the time.' That made a lasting impression on me." Colonel Herd was one of the highest ranking officers on the ground with a command of some 4,000 elite soldiers from all branches of the U.S. military and five other coalition nations. It was a mission he had trained for all of his life. A sixth-generation soldier, Herd became a master parachutist, a combat scuba diver, a Green Beret and an Army Ranger. He conducted combat missions against the Taliban by using the Special Forces mandate to work by, with and through the local population.

Download or read book Confessions of a Mullah Warrior written by Masood Farivar and published by Open Road + Grove/Atlantic. This book was released on 2010-02-16 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “If you liked The Kite Runner, you must read this riveting, firsthand account by one of the real Afghan mujahideen . . . An extraordinary tale.” —Leslie Cockburn Masood Farivar was ten years old when his childhood in peaceful and prosperous Afghanistan was shattered by the Soviet invasion of 1979. Although he was born into a long line of religious and political leaders who had shaped his nation’s history for centuries, Farivar fled to Pakistan with his family and came of age in a madrassa for refugees. At eighteen, he defied his parents and returned home to join the jihad, fighting beside not only the Afghan mujahideen but also Arab and Pakistani volunteers. When the Soviets withdrew, Farivar moved to America and attended the prestigious Lawrenceville School and Harvard, and ultimately became a journalist in New York. Farivar draws on his unique experience as a native Afghan, a former mujahideen fighter, and a longtime US resident to provide unprecedented insight into the ongoing collision between Islam and the West. This is a visceral, clear-eyed, and illuminating memoir from an indispensable new voice on the world stage. “Like the war poets who told you what it was really like to be in the trenches, Farivar survived to tell us about life on the front lines of the clash of civilizations—and it rings with more truth than any other account of these famous events I’ve ever read. In these troubled times, this is a book that is brave, honest, humane, and full of love.” —Aidan Hartley, author of The Zanzibar Chest

Download or read book Warrior Diplomat written by Michael G. Waltz and published by Potomac Books, Inc.. This book was released on 2014-11 with total page 427 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Grappling with centuries-old feuds, defeating a shrewd insurgency, and navigating the sometimes paralyzing bureaucracy of the U.S. military are issues that prompt sleepless nights for both policy makers in Washington and soldiers at war, albeit for different reasons. Few, however, have dealt with these issues in the White House situation room and on the front line. Michael G. Waltz has done just that, working as a policy advisor to Vice President Richard B. Cheney and also serving in the mountains of Afghanistan as a Green Beret, directly implementing strategy in the field that he helped devise in Washington. In Warrior Diplomat: A Green Beret’s Battles from Washington to Afghanistan Waltz shares his unique firsthand experiences, revealing the sights, sounds, emotions, and complexities involved in the war in Afghanistan. Waltz also highlights the policy issues that have plagued the war effort throughout the past decade, from the drug trade, to civilian casualties, to a lack of resources in comparison to Iraq, to the overall coalition strategy. At the same time, he points out that stabilizing Afghanistan and the region remains crucial to national security and that a long-term commitment along the lines of South Korea or Germany is imperative if America is to remain secure.

Download or read book Fahim Speaks written by Fahim Fazli and published by Warriors Publishing Group. This book was released on 2012-02-25 with total page 196 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A Warrior-Actor's Odyssey from Afghanistan to Hollywood and Back Fahim Fazli is a man of two worlds: Afghanistan, the country of his birth, and America, the nation he adopted and learned to love. He’s also a man who escaped oppression, found his dream profession, and then paid it all forward by returning to Afghanistan as an interpreter with the U.S. Marines. When Fahim speaks, the story he tells is harrowing, fascinating, and inspiring. Born and raised in Kabul, Fahim saw his country and family torn apart by revolution and civil war. Dodging Afghan authorities and informers with his father and brother, Fahim made his way across the border to Pakistan and then to America. After reuniting with his mother, sisters, and another brother, he moved to California with dreams of an acting career. After 15 turbulent years that included two unsuccessful arranged marriages to Afghan brides, he finally qualified for membership in the Screen Actors Guild—and found true American love. Though Fahim's California life was happy and rewarding, he kept thinking about the battlefields of Afghanistan. Haunted by a desire to serve his adopted country, he became a combat linguist. While other interpreters opted for safe assignments, Fahim chose one of the most dangerous: working with the Leathernecks in embattled Helmand Province, where his outgoing personality and deep cultural understanding made him a favorite of both Marines and local Afghans—and a pariah to the Taliban, who put a price on his head. Fahim Speaks is an inspiring story of perseverance and patriotism—and of the special love that one man developed for his adopted country. A gold medal winner from the Military Writers Society of America!

Download or read book Honourable Warriors written by Richard Streatfeild and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2014-04-30 with total page 271 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 2009 Major Richard Streatfeild and his men fought for six months against the Taliban in Sangin, northern Helmand. They were engaged in over 800 fire-fights. They were the target of more than 200 improvised explosive devices. Ten men in his company were killed, 50 were wounded. This is their story and it is the story, from the front line, of Western intervention in Afghanistan. His graphic personal account gives an inside view of the physical, psychological and political battle to come to terms with severe casualties and the stress of battle while seeking the support of the local population. It is also an account of strategy being turned into action - of the essential interplay of the personal and professional in the most testing of circumstances. He describes the day-to-day operations, and he provides a fascinating record of the Taliban's guerrilla tactics and the British response to them. His narrative gives a direct insight into the experiences of soldiers who had to face down their fear throughout a prolonged tour of duty on the Afghan battlefield.His narrative is essential reading for anyone who cares to understand the nature of the war in Afghanistan and how the odds are stacked against the army's success. For the British intervention in Helmand is a microcosm of the Nato-led mission launched against the Taliban and al Qaeda.As seen in The Daily Mail, The Guardian, The Mail on Sunday, Sussex Express and The Argus, Featured on BBC Radio 4 ' The Today' programme and on BBC South East Television

Download or read book Zahir written by Feruzbek Ziyodullayev and published by . This book was released on 2021-03-06 with total page 55 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A former Afghan warrior and hunter Zahir was peacefully living in Nuristan Mountains with his family. One day a bald man in black killed his wife and his only son while Zahir was hunting in the forest. This man was an assassin who was a member of the assassins' group named 'The Angels of Death.' When Zahir found the dead bodies of his wife and son, he promised to find that murderer and take revenge. Meantime the assassins attempted to kill the emir of Bukhara. Zahir went to Bukhara to protect the emir...

Download or read book Home From War written by Marnie Summerfield Smith and published by Random House. This book was released on 2011-03-04 with total page 236 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Lance Corporal Martyn Compton's life was changed beyond recognition when he was blown up in a Taliban ambush that killed three of his colleagues. His survival was described as a 'miracle', as he suffered third-degree burns to 75 per cent of his body. He endured 15 operations and doctors used shark cartilage as a base for new skin on his face. But he did not have to face this gruelling ordeal alone. From the moment she heard of his near-fatal wounds, Martyn's fiancée Michelle Clifford found an inner strength to help them both face the future. During Martyn's treatment, Michelle kept a diary in which she revealed the innermost thoughts and emotions she wished she could relay to her wounded partner. Home From War gives a rare insight into the story behind the headlines when soldiers die or are injured. It is also the account of Martyn's battle for adequate compensation. This exploration of how one courageous man came to terms with losing his handsome young face cannot fail to inspire.

Download or read book Heroes Among Us written by Major Chuck Larson and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2008-01-02 with total page 364 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: More than one million Americans have served in Iraq and Afghanistan, but fewer than 500 from this group have earned a Silver Star, Navy Cross, Air Force Cross, Distinguished Service Cross, or the Medal of Honor. These Americans have demonstrated extraordinary courage under fire?in the worst of circumstances. They come from all branches of the military. They also come from all over the country and all walks of life, representing the entire spectrum of races and creeds. But what unites them are their deeds of consummate bravery, beyond the call of duty. Heroes Among Us tells these extraordinary true stories of valor, honor and sacrifice.

Download or read book Chaos of War Balance of Life written by Will Higginbotham and published by Wheatmark, Inc.. This book was released on 2014-12-15 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Nothing provided

Download or read book Incoming written by Thomas Josef and published by Thomas Josef. This book was released on 2018-05-30 with total page 436 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Thousands of civilians dodge incoming deadly rockets every day in the Afghanistan War. Not everyone makes it out alive. Thomas Josef talks about the incoming rockets and missiles while diving for cover in bunkers. Is it worth the money? Is it a game of Russian roulette knowing you're here today and could be gone tomorrow? Incoming touches on the incredible lives Josef and others live during his four long years of living in this hellhole. The author reveals the libidinous love affairs but sometimes tumultuous exploration of life as a gay man on a military base. He forges friendships in the boring bureaucracy of supporting the fighting as they band together like prisoners behind razor wire and cut a path of hilarious hijinks to survive. Like Las Vegas, does what happens in Afghanistan stay in Afghanistan? Now, it's all revealed for the first time in INCOMING. NOTE: A portion of the proceeds of this book benefit the Wounded Warrior Project. EXCERPTS from the book: My Routine . . . Kathleen has big round eyes, a few freckles across her nose, a dazzling white smile, and a shapely figure. Naturally, she gets a lot of looks from both the contractors and the soldiers wherever we go. When she stands up in the DFAC, I can see a lot of eyes zoom in on her with jaws dropping. Everyone is enamored with her. I can see it on their faces and in their eyes. I can read their filthy minds. Their sexual desires and fantasies are unleashed with her near them. Kathleen introduces me to a website called I Love Bagram. People share their stories, experiences, rants, and raves on this website. I think it took the place of writing on bathroom walls. You don't see much of that around here. Entry number 236 just might be Kathleen. The post reads, "Yes, I am a female. Yes, I look good. Yes, I have red hair. Yes, the friggin' curtains match the bedspread, and no you can't see for yourself, you stupid mouth-breathing, knuckle-dragging, trailer-trash, swamp-ass, flea-infested idiot." That's kind of Kathleen's attitude toward most of the men around here because she's hit on and gawked at so much. I've seen these sex-crazed, male chauvinist pigs slobbering when they see a good-looking woman walk down the sidewalk-honking their horns, whistling, or shouting things out the truck window to get their attention. It's like they're from Bumfuck, Georgia, and have never seen a woman before. It can really suck being a beautiful lady on this base . . . The Move . . . The fixtures in the bathroom are breaking. A sink has already separated from the wall. There isn't proper water pressure-when we're lucky enough to have water-and the toilets do not flush adequately. I don't know where these toilets were designed or where they came from, but they don't flush everything down. The porta potties may be a better alternative, but the shit in the porta potties has hit seat level. It won't be long before guys are shitting on the floor. If the water is shut off for a day or more, we take showers using bottled water. This past week we had no water four out of seven days, and the people keep coming-the inevitable surge . . . Sleep Deprived . . . The past three months have been brutal. Bagram is one of the busiest if not the busiest military air base in the world. I swear I have not slept in the past 90 days. I am so fatigued that I feel like a zombie. Air traffic is nonstop and so is the noise when you're sleeping in tents. The night is full of all sorts of bothersome sounds: snoring, coughing, sneezing, farting, talking, and whispering. There are the sounds of squeaky cots, the rubbing and sliding of synthetic bedding, and the sound of guys pissing in bottles because they don't want to get out of bed to use a urinal. The billeting management came out with a policy stating that urinating in bottles is not allowed. I don't think that has stopped any guys from doing it. . .

Download or read book Lions of Kandahar written by Rusty Bradley and published by Bantam. This book was released on 2011 with total page 314 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One of the most critical battles of the Afghan War is now revealed as never before. Lions of Kandahar is an inside account from the unique perspective of an active-duty U.S. Army Special Forces commander. As then-Captain Rusty Bradley he began his third tour of duty in southern Afghanistan in 2006, the Taliban were poised to reclaim Kandahar Province, their strategically vital onetime capital. To stop them, the NATO coalition launched Operation Medusa, the largest offensive in its history. This is the story of a two-week battle that raged in scorching heat over a territory the size of Rhode Island.--From publisher description.

Download or read book Battleworn written by Chantelle Taylor and published by iUniverse. This book was released on 2016-10-26 with total page 250 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Gritty, harrowing and full of courage, a testimony to the men and woman from the council estates of Britain who lived and died in the longest campaign the British Army has fought in decades a must read for any politician. AR retired Warrant Officer 1st Class 22 SAS Chantelle Taylor joined the British Army in 1998 as a combat medical technician. Ten years later she made history, becoming the first female soldier to kill a Taliban fighter in close-quarter combat while on patrol in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. In Battleworn, she tells the story of B Company, a beleaguered group of individuals who fought relentlessly to hold Nad-e Ali, a dusty, sweltering hellhole surrounded by the Taliban. A routine patrol into an area saturated with enemy fighters escalates into a seven-week siege. Facing the possibility of death daily, Taylor writes of gun battles and perilous patrols, culminating in the extraction of more than sixty-six casualties with four killed in action. A powerful story written with a humility that captures the sometimes impalpable humour of soldiers at war, Battleworn provides a testament to combat medics all over the world. It highlights the crucial role that they play in todays 360-degree battlefield.

Download or read book The Tender Soldier written by Vanessa M. Gezari and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2013-08-13 with total page 341 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A “sharp-eyed look at the complexities of war” (Parade), that explores the inner workings of the Human Terrain System, a Pentagon program that sends civilian social scientists into war zones to help soldiers understand local culture. On the day Barack Obama was elected president in November 2008, a small group of American civilians took their optimism and experience to a village west of Kandahar, Afghanistan. They were part of the Pentagon’s controversial attempt to bring social science to the battlefield, driven by the notion that you can’t win a war if you don’t understand the enemy and his culture. The field team in Afghanistan that day included an intrepid Texas blonde, a former bodyguard for Afghan president Hamid Karzai, and an ex-military intelligence sergeant who had come to Afghanistan to make peace with his troubled past. But not all goes as planned. In this tale of moral suspense, journalist Vanessa Gezari follows these three idealists from the hope that brought them to Afghanistan through the events of the fateful day when one is gravely wounded, an Afghan is dead, and a proponent of cross-cultural engagement is charged with his murder. Through it all, these brave Americans ended up showing the world just how determined they were to get things right, how hard it was to really understand a place like Afghanistan where storytelling has been a major tool of survival, and why all future wars will involve this strange mix of fighting and listening. Vanessa Gezari is the only journalist to have gained access to the lives of people inside this troubled Army program, including the brilliant, ambitious figures who conceived it. This true story of war and sacrifice will upend your ideas about what really went wrong in Afghanistan.