Rusty Bradley

This is the account of an ISAF, ANA, and Army Special Forces action at the Battle of Sperwan Ghar in Kandahar, Afghanistan in September 2006 (Operation Medusa), as told by MAJ Bradley, commander of ODA 331.

By focusing on a single battle and using it to tell the overall story of Army SF, the war in Afghanistan, and the tactics involved. This avoids the trap of many biographies, especially military ones, including lots of perfunctory information about schools, a confusing mix of events around the world, etc. The book was coauthored by a journalist, and where there are a few minor technical and nomenclature errors I assume those were the fault of miscommunication.

The battle shows the quality of individual Special Forces soldiers, their leadership, challenges in interoperation with indigenous and foreign allied forces, and the value of exceptional commanders at both the A team and task force level.

For me, the tragic part of this book is that the battle, while bravely fought, didn’t need to be fought at all. A brave battle in a war without a clear and reasonable strategy isn’t going to win that war. SF and CIA actions in late 2001 largely attained all of the reasonably attainable war aims post 9/11; essentially all forces committed since then have been put at risk for no clear goals.… (meer)

Lions of Kandahar is a first-person account of an 8-day battle in southern Afghanistan during 2006. It's notable because the battle centered on a small team of about 30 Green Berets (including the author) who ended up playing a decisive role in defeating an enemy nearly 50 times in number. This battle was part of a sea change in strategic thinking about the role of Special Forces, they are now one of the primary forces in Afghanistan. Through this book you get a first hand view of how they operate, which is an important perspective as the military changes from the monolithic Soviet threat to small and fast teams with lots of skills and firepower.… (meer)