Outmanned, the Green Berets decided to move out on horseback. He would take a village by getting the mounted guys up close. Dostums real success was in negotiating enemy commanders to lay down their arms and to join him. Only two characters in 12 Strong . Pennington is portrayed by Michael Shannon in the movie. . Their closest call came toward the end of the campaign, before theyd reached the Tingi Pass; Id gotten an account of it last night from Mike, a big, bearded, soft-spoken soldier. Finally after two weeks they admitted they could not smuggle me across. Mark Nutsch shares the true-life story of helping lead what is considered the most successful . Its more like, I am coming to get youwhether I hit you is another story. Its Old World combat at its finest. Mitch Nelson, a U.S. Army captain with Green Berets Operational Detachment Alpha (ODA) 595, . At first, the planes wouldnt fly below 15,000 feetthe brass was worried about surface-to-air missilesso targeting was sketchy. In the courtyard, a soft-eyed cow tries to eat spilled oats just beyond its reach. They use simple wooden saddles covered with a piece of carpet, and short stirrups that put our knees up by our heads. Its an irresistible story, made all the more so by a convincing rumor Ive been hearing since my arrival: that Dostum triumphed with a little help from his friendsspecifically, the Green Berets. The Horse Soldiers monument in New York City is not based on any one person. Nutsch said that the movie leaves out a key river that the men often had to swim across in the freezing cold water with their horses, one of the bigger obstacles they faced on the mission. I head downstairs and discover a group of soldiers bantering cheerfully, mostly in southern accents. He waves the accomplishment aside with a shy smile even as he promises to introduce me to his new trophiesthe mullahs. All I see is brown dirt and men on donkeys leading camels along the road. I have been to America and know the quality of life they enjoy. They were potentially facing about 50,000 Al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters. . In an air attack, says Air Force Steve, you do one of two things. At first I thought, Why not let them rule? he says. Officials had been unaware that Dostum's army still used a horse cavalry. Despite the movie accurately capturing the soldiers on the ground in Afghanistan, the real-life heroes have said that the movie does take artistic liberties, adding drama and portraying certain events out of order. 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. 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. The baby was born early while Mark was in Afghanistan. You see this grid? These soldiers, I soon realize, come from much the same background as Dostums: sons of miners, farmers, and factory workers; some are men whose only way out of poverty is the military. Nuri has the black look of a Pashtun who has endured a lifetime of war. The trapped Taliban volunteers, it seems, remain hungry for martyrdom. Matt yelled, Duck your head and get down! And that pilot dropped a shitload of bombs, Mike said. I was sick of this guy running back and forth getting ammo. to talk. The team had been working together for two years and the average age was 32 years old. The then-secret Uzbekistan air base, also known as K2, is depicted as a sort of tent city in the movie. At first, their mission was one of personnel recovery, tasked with rescuing any pilots shot down during the air war in Afghanistan. Over the ensuing days, I take every opportunity to spend time in these makeshift barracks, particularly once I discover that this is the very unit of Green Berets that Id been hearing rumors aboutthis is Dostums covert support team. -The Fayetteville Observer, In addition to ODA 595, three other teams were selected. Were not about to stand up and watch whats going on. First, a soft gray cloud of smoke rises in a lazy ring. If the U.S. Special Forces team didnt work together with General Dostum and his militia, they would have had no chance against the tens of thousands of Taliban fighters. 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,. I dont think I will make it through this one he wrote me in an email just hours before he was gunned down on a raid in Ramadi. However, the mission quickly changed and became about convincing ethnic leaders (some were more similar to warlords) to join forces with them to fight their common enemy: the Taliban and its Al Qaeda allies. A small group of CIA that included Mike Spann, flew in to the Darra-e Suf the day before ODA 595 would land. I know because I counted the dead bodies. You could see machine gun fire from both positions. Theres one time Ill never forget, he says. "Very Good," replied Dostum. At 16, he started working as a laborer in the government-owned gas refinery in nearby Sheberghan, where he dabbled in union politics. No one individual was the model for the statue. That group was disbanded and then re-formed in the early 1950s as Special Forces, which John F. Kennedy later nicknamed the Green Berets. I'm playing Lieutenant Colonel Max Bowers in the movie. -ABC News. Was it ten thousand, five thousand, The actual number was around 3,500 who surrendered, another460 al Qaeda showed up at thegates of Mazar and around 250 300 died of their wounds, diseaseor suffocation during transport in the frigid weather. Men wept as the imam prayed and thanked Dostum for deliverance. The credits claim that General Dostum and Captain Mitch Nelson have remained friends in real life . The tape now shows Dostum, leaning against a mud wall, watching through large binoculars. "There was nothing built up," Mark Nutsch said. You raise your flag," Nelson says. The 12 Strong true story confirms that he had been given an administrative staff position in the Fifth Group Headquarters. Travel and accommodations were provided by Warner Bros. Pictures. On the morning of September 11, the team was returning to base after an all-night training exercise. None of these guys are clean actors." "When I went to Afghanistan, I reported to Lieutenant Colonel Max Bowers. -The Fayetteville Observer, Yes. Payback was certainly on the minds of some members of the team, while others focused primarily on the mission at hand. The Regulators job was to invent a new form of warfare: coordinating lightly armed horseback attacks with massive applications of American air powerall without hitting civilians or friendly forces. Now three weeks later the war was supposed to be over. Anticipating more fireworks, I head there with him and move into another of his residences, a huge, high-walled compound that includes a mosque and, improbably, an unfinished health-club complex. At a full gallop, its a smooth ride. Back in 2002 and 2003 the film and book industry were not interested in books or movies about Afghanistan. Robert Young Pelton, all rights reserved, The joy was short-lived. An old man yells, God bless you. It is rated R for violence and language throughout. I had first tried to meet the General in May of 1997. As they began unloading their gear, they were met by Afghans in turbans, their faces wrapped. I am surprised, then, to see Dostum wrap his blue turban around his head and chin and stride into the village . Our Afghans are running out of ammo. In 2012, to honor their extraordinary heroism, a statue of a Horse Soldier was dedicated at the World Trade Center site." . Dostums men had finally flooded them out by sluicing frigid water into the subterranean room. One of the soldiers from the ODA 595 died later while serving in Iraq. The crowds quickly grew; people threw money in the air for good luck. The old men are frail, with deeply lined faces. Wrapped in blankets, members of the mullahs entourage fix me with soulless stares. A hundred yards away, villagers stand against a long compound. This was a guy we considered part of our unit, says Mark. After four days of bombardment, the interior of the fort is a scene of utter devastation. In response to the September 11, 2001 attacks, the elite U.S. Special Forces unit, Operational Detachment-Alpha 595 (ODA 595 for short), was one of three teams of Special Forces soldiers sent into Afghanistan. John, he says. '12 Strong' turns heroic tale into generic war movie Instead, 12 Strong simply tells a storya true one. He had been assigned to a Manhattan reserve unit at the time of 9/11 and spent part of September 2001 cleaning up debris from the World Trade Center. They had tanks, air force, and artillery. He is a kingmaker who works the ethnic minority to choose who will rule and who will fail. I figured I could whip my horse and run across an open area, Mike said. -The Fayetteville Observer, Yes. "12 Strong": The Inside Story of the Making of a (Refreshingly Accurate Infiltrate the 12 Strong true story further by watching the documentary and videos below. We were surprised at how good they were, says Captain Mark. This included using horses to navigate the mountainous region. It was right at dark. 21st Century Horse Soldiers - Special Operations Forces and Operation When the regime fell in 1992, three years after the Soviets departed, Dostum fought alongside the mujahidin and helped the Northern Alliances legendary Ahmad Shah Massoud battle the fundamentalist Pashtun forces of Gulbuddin Hekmatyar and gain control of the capital. Military families will relate to the goodbyes. And that ended the resistance. As the three of us climb back into our vehicle, I glance at the battlefield. And that he became the first Afghan commander to take over a major city when he entered Mazar-e Sharif on November 10. 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. 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. I was full of emotions. He ended up in the Takhar Province, in the northeastern part of the country. -Horse Soldiers book, The movie finds the soldiers being told that there is a good chance they won't survive the mission. Twenty Urgan missiles point toward the village. So, I'm playing my old boss in the movie." Various close ups of American Specia. Military historians have called it one of the most successful unconventional warfare campaigns in U.S. history. In the movie, Nelson and his men must link up with General Abdul Rashid Dostum and his small band of fightersa partnership as much diplomatic as military, according to 12 Strong's director. The idea that that Dostum would actually savethe day for an embattledAmerica is an irony that has not fully played out. I now have a friend named Mark, Dostum says, referring to the Green Beret captain. Bill finds a shrapnel wound in the emaciated mans right upper thigh and wounds from grenade shrapnel in his back; he also finds that part of the second toe on his left foot has been shot away. The bomb lands and hits and bam! To my surprise, these men felt at home., And more than that: The Afghan warlord and his tiny band of American soldiers had clearly formed a bond that only men who have been through combat can understand. What happened to General Dostum in Afghanistan? They chose not bullets or grenades but ordnance that ranged from Maverick missiles to laser-guided bombs. The Regulators final destination turned out to be Uzbekistan, where they spent a week building a tent city and waiting for a mission. People demanded that I do something, says Dostum. After all, can Hollywood do this topic justice? There is aneed to never forget the sacrifices men make in war. Yes, but the tagline is a bit of an exaggeration. The pilots, however, could not lock in on the laser-sighting device that the team was using to identify the target. The task inspires him to try to express his feelings about the past two months. He has two weeks of beard, beetling eyebrows, and a graying brush cut. If he goes off the deep end and starts whacking people, advise higher up and maybe pull out. This was the most incredibly open mission we have ever done., Before heading in-country, the soldiers had been briefed only vaguely about Dostum. 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. My memorable experience as cast member of 12 Story Each member had an average of eight years experience and most had combat experience in either Desert Storm, Kosovo or Somalia. All the while ostracizing the now First Vice President Dostum who is currently in exile in Ankara plotting his next move. This scandal would tarnish General Dostums very realaccomplishment of being Americas most aggressive and stalwart allyagainst the Taliban and al Qaeda. When the videotape of my interview with Walker hits the airwaves back in the U.S., the country focuses its white-hot anger on him, and some of that anger spills over onto me. -The Fayetteville Observer, Only two of the characters in the film actually have the same names as their real-life Green Beret counterparts. People still walk by the 16-foot bronze statue of a Green Beret on horseback overlooking Ground Zero and are unaware of its significance (the Horse Soldiers monument is pictured near the bottom of this page). I whip my horse, it takes three steps, and stops.