The Declassified True Story of the Horse Soldiers

Loved this book, saw the movie and although decent movie, as usual, the book was far superior. A great rundown on how the Army Special Forces soldiers undertook an extremely difficult, to say the least, mission. RECOMMENDED!

I liked the fact that 12 soldiers, well trained but apparently not well informed about the particular situation they found themselves in, were able to rapidly adjust and become amazingly effective. While this would have made a pretty dubious fictional story, I love the fact that it is TRUE! It's a great story about true heroes.

Once the true story started,I had trouble putting it down. It ranks up there with Blackhawk Down. You learn so much more from the written word than a movie. I liked understanding the Why of what happened. Our shoulders are the best.

If you want to know what our Special Forces members face during their assignments overseas; this is the book to read. It leaves me wondering why our military personnel were ever sent to this ungodly area in Afghanistan. Their experiences there were mind boggling. Personally, I'll never understand why our military services were sent there in the first place. The Taliban and now Isis seem to be of the same ilk.

If you want to know what our Special Forces members face during their assignments overseas; this is the book to read. It leaves me wondering why our military personnel were ever sent to this ungodly area in Afghanistan. Their experiences there were mind boggling. Personally, I'll never understand why our military services were sent there in the first place. The Taliban and now Isis seem to be of the same ilk.

The exploits of these few special men and their mission on horseback conjures images of the U.S. Calvary or Genghis Khan's hordes. Some 350 men on the ground helped break the backs of the Taliban. This was unconventional warfare at its best. You reader will be introduced to how Green Berets think and operate. If you're a fan of Bob Mayer, you'll love this.

I don't usually read war novels or historical novels. I generally read for entertainment. I had gotten this book for my father and he had said he thought I would like it.

Two years after he first tried to get me to read it, I finally picked it up. The book was quite good. It has me looking through his kindle to see what else I might be overlooking!

I am a book reviewer for BookPleasures. I am also a Special Forces veteran --Vietnam era. Following is my review of "Horse Soldiers"

The full title of this book on the store is "Horse Soldiers: The Extraordinary Story of a Band of US Soldiers Who Rode to Victory in Afghanistan" I will agree with that title and subtitle, but there's more. Horse Soldiers is the story of an extraordinary group of men who went into Afghanistan with little more than their personal equipment, superb training and courage. The U.S. Army Special Forces (Green Berets) soldiers were deployed within weeks of 9/11 as a direct response to the terrorist attack. They were the literal "tip of the spear," the first American soldiers with boots on the ground. In their briefings, just prior to being inserted into Afghanistan, they were warned that they might be captured by the very people they were to advise and be held for ransom, or killed.

Their mission was to contact two of the major warlords of the Northern Alliance; develop a relationship of trust; advise them on tactical matters when necessary and provide overwhelming firepower by calling on U.S. Air Force assets to bomb and destroy Taliban positions and armor.

From this reviewer's point of view, the story told in Horse Soldiers is the first truly doctrinal deployment of the Special Forces, in their primary role, since WW II. True, the Special Forces has been engaged in antiterrorist activities; direct intervention (such as MACV SOG in Vietnam) and countless--highly classified--missions. But the primary mission of the unit has always been: link up with guerilla forces; establish rapport with them; advise and provide logistical support; acting as a "force multiplier" destroy the enemy from behind his own lines.

Special note: The term, special operations has been bandied about--in publications and in public parlance--until many take it to mean many different units. There is only one Special Forces, with capital letters. These are U.S. Army units whose headgear includes the Green Beret.

The two, 12-man, Special Forces "A" Detachments (SFODs) that rode horseback with the Afghan warlords Dostum and Atta in 2001, were from the 5th Special Forces Group, headquartered in Fort Campbell, Kentucky. After these units were on the ground and their mission was well underway, additional command and control personnel were deployed to join them.

Captains Mitch Nelson and Dean Nosorog commanded the SFODs. The book tells their stories compellingly, but also details the activities of the superb Warrant Officers and Noncommissioned Officers (NCOs) who made up their teams.
In order to fulfill the first element of their mission; creating rapport and gaining trust, the teams had several special gifts to give the warlords--including vodka. They also had to eat, sleep and ride with the Afghan troops. Ride. Many of the troops had never ridden a horse. Some had only slight experience. They learned soon, and painfully, how the local troops traveled. The "saddle" was wooden boards, covered with sheepskin. The "stirrups" were iron rings set too high for the large Americans to relax their legs. Some of the troops bled through their trousers after long rides that included navigating trails three feet wide--on one side a sheer rock wall, on the other, a thousand-foot chasm.

Doug Stanton puts his "literary feet" down as carefully as the little horses. He moves through the stories of the men on the mission; the story of the wives who waited for them at home; to the story of the "American Taliban," John Walker Lindh; and the tragic story of the first American killed in Afghanistan, Johnny (Mike) Spann a CIA paramilitary officer.

Stanton's story switches scenes to give the reader an overview of the terrain on the battlefield, in the homes of the deployed soldiers and even in the mind of Lindh, without confusing the stories.

At the beginning of the book, there are listings of the major players in the story. I advise the reader--since a story of this scope necessarily contains so many characters--to mark those pages for reference as you read.

This is a superb book, told with clear language and fresh imagery. The story is even better--because it is true. It is a book that will make Americans proud of the men who call themselves "Quiet Professionals."

When I saw the American soldiers on horseback in Afghanistan several years ago, I was very interested. I bought this book for my son who is serving in Iraq, but I read it before sending it to him. Only one of the Americans was an experienced horsemen. The description of the uprising at the prison and the death of the CIA agent gives you a clear understanding of what happened. The prisoners were never thoroughly searched because they might find it "offensive". This book gave me a better understanding of the tribal war lords in Afghanistan and what our soldiers and Marines are up against there.

Great book for anyone that wants to really know what our servicemen do for our country. Truly amazing all that these guys went through, the sacrifices and the challenges against significant and often overwhelming odds. Movie was good but the book is better. Read the book first as I did.

This book orders the facts, feelings, fears and hopes of both sides in the conflict. Wish we’d learn our lessons well but self interest on the part of our leaders can mangle the best victories and somehow snatch defeat out of them.

These soldiers were the first responders. I had to laugh because the horses they rode into the mountains of Afghanistan were often smaller than our troops. Horseback was the only way into the mountains. American troops are notoriously inventive. This is another example of using what was available to accomplish the mission including buying all the batteries and other supplies from stores in the Ft. Campbell area. They literally emptied the shelves. Their mission was to call in supportive airstrikes They were calling in airstrikes to support tribal troops. The most interesting thing was a B52 hovered overhead and the crewman controlling the strike was a woman. The Afghan tribal leader called the Taliban to say the Americans have little regard for you they use women to kill you. This was well written, easy, fun, and very good read. A monument has been erected at the 9/11 site in honor of these Horse Soldiers. The men were very confident in their riding skills because they had watched the movie Snowy River. Many had never been on a horse.

Original and compelling story of warriors entering into a new age of unconventional warfare. High tech weapons, covert ops, and allies whose loyalties might change with one errant bomb or cultural misunderstanding.

That American politicians and other PTB deliberately formulate restrictive rules by which US military and intelligence personnel must abide nauseates me.
To dictate that our CIA and military must not search Islamist terrorist lest the bodies of Islamist terrorists be touched by 'infidels' borders upon insanity. Surrendering Taliban hide grenades, knives, etc. beneath their robes and await the moment to strike, then murder American and Coalition forces as they did Mike Spann and his colleagues at Qala-i-janghi Fortress.
Doug Stanton's documentary in story form, 'Horse Soldiers', will infuriate and sicken you unless you are an America-hater, a freedom-hater, and/or want progress to cease.
You will alternate between the joy of reading about our sons, husbands, and fathers' courage and the shocking realization that without absurd restrictions placed upon our military and intelligence, Iraq and Afghanistan could today thrive in relative peace.
You will be sickened at the bragging words of playboy and America-hater John Walker Lindh and his suave, smooth-talking father.
Every war in which the US is involved reveals every-day men who exhibit extraordinary valor and courage when the need arises. 'Horse soldiers' will warm your heart with humor, yet cause you to emit anguished sobs, and will anger you against those inside the DC Beltway whose main aim appears to be the destruction of our excellent military and intelligence communities.
Lauds and compassion for the spouses and families of extraordinary men who perform extraordinary feats in their attempts to keep us safe and secure.

Mr. Stanton lists sources for his facts that you may check and recheck. If you do not feel horror and disgust at those who manipulate and work to destroy our nation and its true citizens, you do not deserve to live in the USA.

This book arrived in very good shape. My husband read it from cover to cover and could not put it down. It open the mind to what trials the men still in Afghanistan are still having to deal with.

Every American should read this book. It gives insight to those that were not in the military and highlights the love for our county that these men and women have for our nation. The book reveals the true heroes of war are the wives, children and parents of those that gave their last full measure. Thanks for sharing the story of our native Alabama son Mike Spann.

An excellent account of the first few months in Afghanistan. Just the right amount of detail and the story moves along quickly. It is unfortunate that several heroes of these battles later died fighting in Iran.

This book provided me with a thrilling behind the scenes look at the War in Afghanistan. This was not the picture of the battles that I had from the news and certainly not what I had envisioned. This first hand account provided a view of the personal hardships our soldiers endure, not just the battle but the barriers in culture and politics, not to mention language.

Without the book, I don't think this story would have been told.

The technology, the role of the CIA and the human interest side of the war was particularly enthralling. I loved it.

I really enjoyed the book alot. I did not realize this even happened after 9/11. Just an amazing story of courage and what our fine men did in such a god awful place. Now, I'm ready to see the movie.

This is the story of the original Special Forces warriors in Afghanistan as they first invaded after 9/11. It details unbelievable dedication of our soldiers and how they won over the Afghan fighters to the US side. Unfortunately, their hard fought victories did not continue due to the heavy handed tactics used by the commanders of this war.