How Green Berets Waged an Unconventional War Against the Taliban to Win in Afghanistan's Deadly Pech Valley

Well written and descriptive of the environment in the Pech valley and the Green Berets "A" team responsibilities and results. But the story line drags without much action. More like a history book reading instead of action and adventure novel.

This tells the story of how the Special Forces train locals and build relationships that you don't get to see on the news. A great peek behind the SF curtains and what our brave men help do for our country!

This is a great story!!. I want a MOVIE!!. Captain Ron Fry is engaged and shows his leadership. Setting up the first "A" team since Vietnam proves to be challenging but very fruitful. Building respect goes a long ways. It goes to show that you don't have to just "kill people and break things" to be successful.

So many popular war books are about spectacular disasters—¬13 Hours, Lone Survivor, Black Hawk Down. Sure, this makes for gripping reading and maybe we’ll learn some lessons from them. But Hammerhead Six proves that a book about doing things right and achieving incredible success in the most inhospitable cultural environment imaginable can be an even better read. This book tells a story that is the fullest expression of the Green Berets’ motto I have ever seen, “To liberate the oppressed.”

Tad Tuleja tells Ron Fry’s story in a gripping, intelligent, but very readable style. The professionalism of CPT Fry’s team, with their unique abilities and personalities, is engaging and inspiring. Their bravado is infectious but tempered by an essential humility and willingness to listen and learn that is the key to their success. Fans of the genre will love it and find it refreshingly hopeful. People who don’t usually read “war books” will find an uplifting story of compassion and heroism that anyone can admire.

For policy makers and professional military readers, this book goes beyond a good read. It is an essential read. Our soldiers’ and host nation peoples’ lives are at stake. This book needs to be on every commander’s’ reading lists in every unit in the military, and assigned in every classroom where the topic is even remotely related to warfare—unconventional or otherwise. The bullet-point lessons learned at the end are invaluable. We ignore them at our peril.

Take it from a guy who teaches college literature classes these days, I have read scores of these types of books and this one is the best. Full disclosure: I know the Hammerhead 6 guys. I was their chaplain in Afghanistan. Tad Tuleja is a long-time friend and collaborator. But this is my first the store review and there are plenty of ways to diplomatically dodge commenting on something your friend does that sucks. I hope I am not a partisan reviewer but a trustworthy one. I was there and can vouch for this book. It is legit. De Oppresso Liber.

This item arrived in pristine order......If you get this expecting stories of shoot 'em up heroics then you will be sadly disappointed. This book delves into a man's religion (LDS) and how he respects another religion (Muslim). It also brings up the disconnect between, what is going on at the front lines of the battle and the higher up that sit behind the desk.
Would I recommend this to a friend? I would if they are going to join the Army in a leadership role, just so they know what kind of B.S. they should expect.

A well-written (with an experienced co-author) account of a Green Beret Captain's year spent in a remote valley of Afghanistan. Until I read this, I had no idea that the Green Berets, unlike other Special Forces, are specifically trained in UW (unconventional warfare) consisting of living alongside the local people, adopting their customs & dress, networking w/ their leaders, respecting their traditions/religion, training the locals to fight the war themselves. Hammerhead Six was the most successful UW mission in Afghanistan, during their year they befriended the local elders & mullah who instructed their sons to enlist in the local Afghani militia. Cpt. Fry attended 'shuras' (meetings w/ village leaders) to help mediate disputes. The local people came to respect & then admire Cpt. Fry, so much so that they turned in so many Russian arms, RPGs, mortars, that it became a daily occurrence. This autobiography gives fascinating insight into Pashtun culture. I believe one of the reasons for Fry's success is due to his company being National Guard Green Beret, so most of the men were older, married with kids and more-level headed. Fry is a Mormon, who'd spent a few years as a Mormon 'missionary', so he was experienced in working with people from other cultures. Many of the men in Fry's company were also Mormons, so Fry believes they respected Islam, because they shared some of the same beliefs. Hammerhead Six reads like a movie, it's immediately involving, funny at times & exciting. My one problem is Fry's too numerous quotations from the book of Mormon; I felt like I was being proselytized. It's unfortunate, that after a year, a different Green Beret company took command & approached the local people as 'the enemy'; within weeks destroying the good will & cooperation that Cpt. Fry & his men spent building. Lives were lost, millions spent & today Afghanistan is now controlled by the Taliban. It seems the US didn't learn what the British & Russians did; Afghanistan doesn't want democracy or to be westernized. It's a corrupt system of warlords who don't want change.

This review is from the Audible version

This is a great story of American warriors at their best and sadly a story of American politics at its worst . The Hammerhead Six team (and the team featured in American Spartan) did were two of the great successes of the Afghan war. While the folks in Washington (both military and political ) played their games in the comfort of their pleasant surroundings, the Hammerhead 6 team lived with the Afghans out in the tribal badlands. A small team living with the Afghans they were there to defend and achieving great success by working with the tribes .

It's ironic that the American political leaders would never depend on their national presence to win an election. Rather they know they need to get out to the neighborhoods of America to win the hearts of voters. Yet in Afghanistan too many of our leaders seemed content to pump billions into an isolated central government which pretended to rule over a tribal society.

Ronald Fry captures the war in all of its terror, horror, humor, successes and failures. Tragically the overall military effort is a failure, not because the troops at the tip of the spear can not get the job done but because their political leaders are determined to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

A great co-read with this book is Jim Gant's One Tribe At A Time a soldier's strategy for winning the Afghan War one tribe at a time using similar strategy of living with the villagers , not as an occupying force but rather as a partner in preserving their lifestyle and protecting their tribal lands. It is classic Special Forces warfare in a land particularly well suited for success.

Fry's story ends with the Americans abandoning a successful effort , a tragedy which may well come back to haunt the world. Why? Because a Taliban controlled Afghanistan puts immense pressure on Pakistan which already has a large Taliban and militant Muslim population.

Americans, sipping the lattes and worried about political correctness are woefully out of contact with the realities that Pakistan is one of the major nuclear powers in the world both in the quantity of nuclear weapons and the maturity of their weapons program. They have both the weapons to present an immediate threat and the technology to support widespread proliferation.

In Afghanistan where we have used our agility, our highly skilled special forces and our technology in partnership with the local tribes and warlords we have been incredibly successful from Day 1 . Few civilians are aware of the stunning successes achieved by small teams of special forces and CIA personnel within weeks of 9-11. In the north our teams worked with the Northern Alliance while in the south Special Forces teams worked with Hammid Karzi and the tribes to expel the Taliban . All of this occurred within a few months.

Over the following decade we have forgotten the foundation of our successes. 75% of our Afghan casualties have occurred during the last 7 years. As the old Peter Paul and Mary song from the Vietnam era went "When Will They Ever Learn" as Americans we need politicians who set goals and who allow the military to use their expertise and resources to achieve the goals . Instead we have the equivalent of the President overseeing the coach of a superbowl team, sending in the plays , a certain recipe for defeat.

If you enjoy this book be sure to read Gant's , One Tribe At A Time and the great book on his life American Spartan......

Captain Fry was truly amazing in his multiple roles. The most striking take away from this book, is the absolute mind blowing attitudes of the top brass that Fry had to deal with. The manner in which the brass handled the destroyed Humvee, is simply inexcusable, and shows the inherent weakness in the military culture, i.e. everyone up the line is only interested in covering their own" CYY ". /Cowardly at a minimum, shameful and totally disgusting. Having the troops shave their beard was the final proof of the total craziness of the brass. Sickening. Did they really think that an experienced reporter like Laura Logan would be either fooled or impressed by such blatancy???? The story itself is well written, and an enjoyable immersion into what goes on in such a deployment,.

Excellent book! Engaging reading from the heart of an SF commander who obviously "got it." Refreshing in its honesty and ability to portray the fullness of the SF mission beyond just Direct Action missions. These men are the type of people who should be looked up to. Thanks be to God that we still have such men!

This was a fantastic and compelling book.I could hardly set it down without feeling constant anticipation of when I could pick it back up. It is very well written and makes the reader feel as if we are walking along side these Green Berets during their time in Afghanistan. I would highly recommend to anyone interested in learning more about the war in Afghanistan and how unconventional warfare is critical to achieve long term success in that region.

A moving account of how are military should function. The unconventional warfare they waged, day and night shows a brilliant understanding of how wars can be won. What hammerhead six did in the Pech valley, creating winners on both sides in their area, during the time of their deployment. After reading this account, I'm proud to know there are still soldiers who battle in this manner, not just guns a blazing. Bravo to Captain Fry and his men of Camp Blessing. True patriots both American and Afghanistan! Well done!

This is an amazing story. I wish our military leaders would read it. For a non military person this demonstrated how understanding and respect can change peoples minds. Too bad it didn't last. I hope the people whose lives these men touched will remember them and what they did.

Great story - not just for men either. A reminder that real American heroes don't wear capes & pound their chests - they're well-trained soldiers dedicated to protect their country from terrorism & serve wherever they're called with honor. Will make the reader proud and grateful to be American!

Ronald Fry does our country, military, himself and the Afghan people great honor by sharing his story - and the story of his command. He does an amazing job of demonstrating how respect and dedication can help fight a war and even better - help those affected to fight it themselves. Thank you for sharing your touching and impressive story.

Great story - not just for men either. A reminder that real American heroes don't wear capes & pound their chests - they're well-trained soldiers dedicated to protect their country from terrorism & serve wherever they're called with honor. Will make the reader proud and grateful to be American!

Ronald Fry does our country, military, himself and the Afghan people great honor by sharing his story - and the story of his command. He does an amazing job of demonstrating how respect and dedication can help fight a war and even better - help those affected to fight it themselves. Thank you for sharing your touching and impressive story.

I thoroughly enjoyed this. It's not usually my type of book (lots of military logistics and politics for those who want that) but I really felt the emotion and humanity and it reads easily like good movie or play. Highly recommended.

This book was absolutely amazing. Hammerhead went in with the true intentions of trying to help the local populace by showing the human side of the U.S. military. I highly recommend this read. I couldn't put this book down once I scooped it up. One of the best books I've read in a while

This is probably the worst “war” story I’ve read. Do not believe the review on the cover. This book is not “raw” nor is it “riveting” or a “hard hitting war story”. I’m not downplaying the risk our soldiers were confronted with on a daily basis, but sending Green Beret to do what volunteers from the Peace Corps could have done shows why we have been mired in this war for so long. We went into it trying to make friends and in the long term it has not worked. It all sounds nice and cozy, but in truth, a country goes to war to win the war, not to sit down for afternoon tea to appease the local elders.