Wife dragged me and #1 son to the movie last night. Was surprisingly good.
12 Strong is the story of one of the small groups Green Beret types that went to Afghanistan after 9-11. Their mission was to liaise with the locals, in this case the Northern Alliance, and push the Taliban our of N. Afghanistan. I think that all of America was vaguely aware that we had Green Beret types in-country working that mission, and that they were critical in the lightning-fast victories of the previously hard-pressed Northern Alliance (much more Northern then it was Allied). Those victories were the start of rolling back Taliban power in Afghanistan.
I've no special knowledge of any of the details. I was not a Green Beret type nor was I in Afghanistan. Working with the indigenous forces, is the classic Green Beret mission. Round peg, round hole.
The reviews weren't too kind to the movie, so I almost didn't go. Sure, it had some weaknesses but the general ideas were, I thought, pretty darn good. Americans imagine that our massive military goes places and bends folks to their will with little effort. The reality is often shoestring operations led by hard chargers, with powerful little manpower and logistical support, too much input from higher, and trying to execute the mission with little good intelligence re. wtf is going on and the personalities involved.
Everyone should see it.
Books @ Amazon
"If only he had used his genius for niceness, instead of Evil." M. Smart
12 Strong is the story of one of the small groups Green Beret types that went to Afghanistan after 9-11. Their mission was to liaise with the locals, in this case the Northern Alliance, and push the Taliban our of N. Afghanistan. I think that all of America was vaguely aware that we had Green Beret types in-country working that mission, and that they were critical in the lightning-fast victories of the previously hard-pressed Northern Alliance (much more Northern then it was Allied). Those victories were the start of rolling back Taliban power in Afghanistan.
I've no special knowledge of any of the details. I was not a Green Beret type nor was I in Afghanistan. Working with the indigenous forces, is the classic Green Beret mission. Round peg, round hole.
The reviews weren't too kind to the movie, so I almost didn't go. Sure, it had some weaknesses but the general ideas were, I thought, pretty darn good. Americans imagine that our massive military goes places and bends folks to their will with little effort. The reality is often shoestring operations led by hard chargers, with powerful little manpower and logistical support, too much input from higher, and trying to execute the mission with little good intelligence re. wtf is going on and the personalities involved.
Everyone should see it.
Books @ Amazon
"If only he had used his genius for niceness, instead of Evil." M. Smart
Last edited by:
RangerGress: Jan 27, 18 14:45