Military Afghanistan

Kim Barker is not your typical, impassive foreign correspondent—she is candid, self-deprecating, laugh-out-loud funny. At first an awkward newbie in Afghanistan, she grows into a wisecracking, seasoned reporter with grave concerns about our ability to win hearts and minds in the region. In The Taliban Shuffle, Barker offers an insider’s account of the “forgotten war” in Afghanistan and Pakistan, chronicling the years after America’s initial routing of the Taliban, when we failed to finish the job.

As part of an elite special operations unit at the fighting edge of the Global War on Terrorism, Nicholas Moore spent over a decade with the U.S. Army's 75th Ranger Regiment on the battlefields of Afghanistan and Iraq. In this compelling biography, a detailed narrative of grueling life on the ground combines with accounts of some of the most dramatic search and rescue operations of the period to tell the true story of life on the line in the War on Terror.

The Commander in Chief of the United States Central Command from July 2000 through July 2003, General Tommy Franks made history leading American and Coalition forces to victory in Afghanistan and Iraq, the decisive battles that launched the war on terrorism.

Combining searing personal accounts of battles and betrayals with moving portraits of the ordinary Afghans who were caught up in the conflict for more than a decade, The Wrong Enemy is a sweeping account of a war brought by American leaders against an enemy they barely understood and could not truly engage.

Relive six decades of flying helicopters, including an extended tour in Vietnam and the mountains of Afghanistan, with a little Iraq, Kuwait, and National Guard thrown in. This is Minuteman: Two, Three…Go! recounts Wayne Chasson’s times, from the early, young, and dumb days to becoming a more seasoned pilot of Huey and other helicopters in three American wars and the National Guard here at home. Chasson relives it all for us in this gritty and honest memoir — with humility, humor, and gratitude — as he himself is still trying to figure out how he made it through alive.

In the scorching oven of Helmand Province, Afghanistan, the roots of an incredible bond between two Marine squad leaders are forged in the flames of combat. Marines are dying, things are messed up with command, and new forces led by a veteran Taliban leader have returned to the area of operations. Making things worse, the Taliban have smuggled in from Iran a new weapons system previously NEVER seen in Afghanistan. These two squad leaders -- Sergeant Morgan and Corporal Dean -- are about to face the biggest test of their lives. Orders from above will clash with realities on the ground. And ...

Returning from the Pacific on the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan, a four-man SEAL Team is looking forward to a spell of R and R. The Pentagon has other ideas. An NSA agent is missing, kidnapped by terrorists, which is bad. He was carrying an unencrypted laptop loaded with details of US operations in the Gulf. Which is a catastrophe. Rod Cooper’s Team is tasked to get it back. As if the interruption to their well-deserved spell of leave couldn’t be worse, they discover the kidnappers, Shabbab, are based in Mogadishu, Somalia. Scene of previous US debacles, and infested with extreme ...

In 2007, the U.S. Army's 173rd Airborne Brigade posted to northeastern Afghanistan's Kunar Province. Battle Company, the best within the Brigade, was assigned the toughest Area of Operations. It was called the Korengal Valley. During their fifteen-month tour, Battle Company saw more combat than any unit since Vietnam. Raw and unapologetic, To Quell the Korengal is a first-hand account of life on the front lines.

An award-winning military journalist tells the amazing stories of 22 soldiers who've won the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest military award.

Join Ben Clarkson and the men of Bravo Company Ben in the mud and snow of a distant mountaintop in Afghanistan where they are having a very bad day that's about to get worse. As Sun Tsu said no plan survives contact with the enemy and Ben and his Marines are about to experience that firsthand as they have to make the hard choices execute the mission and do their duty, regardless of cost.

Elliot Ackerman left the American military ten years ago, but his time in Afghanistan and Iraq with the Marines and later as a CIA paramilitary officer marked him indelibly. When the Taliban began to close in on Kabul in August 2021 and the Afghan regime began its death spiral, he found himself pulled back into the conflict. Afghan nationals who had worked closely with the American military and intelligence communities for years now faced brutal reprisal and sought frantically to flee the country with their families.

After being commissioned into the US Air Force, MJ Hegar was selected for pilot training by the Air National Guard, finished at the top of her class, then served three tours in Afghanistan flying combat search and rescue missions, culminating in a harrowing rescue attempt that would earn MJ the Purple Heart as well as the Distinguished Flying Cross with Valor Device. But it was on American soil that Hegar would embark on her greatest challenge - to eliminate the military's Ground Combat Exclusion Policy.

Graveyard of Empires: A Novel – The US Withdrawal from Afghanistan In the twilight of a two-decade-long presence, the United States faces one of its most challenging and consequential decisions: the complete withdrawal from Afghanistan. "Graveyard of Empires" masterfully intertwines the intricate threads of military strategy, espionage, and human resilience to portray this pivotal moment in modern history. As the sun sets on Bagram Air Base in Kabul, the Central Intelligence Agency activates a clandestine paramilitary unit tasked with eliminating any remnants of military assets that could...

In Twilight Warriors, award-winning foreign correspondent James Kitfield introduces us to the tight-knit brotherhood that strives to keep the United States safe from the dimly understood threats it now faces. Together these men have broken down the boundaries between their respective agencies to engineer a network-centric way of fighting using a seamless web of intelligence analysts, information networks, FBI forensics experts, and Special Forces units to take the fight to America's enemies as never before.

Amber Smith flew into enemy fire in some of the most dangerous combat zones in the world. One of only a few women to fly the Kiowa Warrior helicopter, Smith rose to pilot in command and air mission commander in the premier Kiowa unit in the army, repeatedly flying into harm's way during her 2005 and 2008 deployments with the 101st Airborne Division, the Screaming Eagles. Smith takes you into the heat of battle, enabling listeners to feel, hear, and smell the experience of serving as a combat pilot in high-intensity warfare

Over a 35-year career, Daniel Bolger rose through the army infantry to become a three-star general, commanding in both theaters of the U.S. campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan. He participated in meetings with top-level military and civilian players, where strategy was made and managed. At the same time, he regularly carried a rifle alongside rank-and-file soldiers in combat actions - unusual for a general.

In the early days of the Afghanistan war, Jeff Stern was scouring the streets of Kabul for a big story. He was accompanied by a driver, Aimal, who had ambitions of his own: to get rich off the sudden infusion of foreign attention and cash. In this gripping adventure story, Stern writes of how he and Aimal navigated an environment full of guns and danger and opportunity, and how they forged a deep bond. Then Stern got a call that changed everything.

Following September 11, the United States successfully overthrew the Taliban regime. It established security throughout the country, and Afghanistan finally began to emerge from more than two decades of conflict. But Jones argues that, as early as 2001, planning for the Iraq War siphoned off resources and talented personnel, undermining the gains that had been made. After eight years, the United States had pushed al-Qaeda’s headquarters about one hundred miles across the border into Pakistan.

The Navy SEALs are the world's most elite warriors, trained to face the impossible. When Bravo Platoon, SEAL Team 7, is sent deep into the heart of Afghanistan, their mission is clear: eliminate a high-value target. But what they uncover changes everything—a terrifying plot to unleash a nuclear weapon that could devastate thousands of lives on American soil. Leading the charge is Chief Petty Officer Kyle Nolan, a battle-hardened leader haunted by personal tragedy. Still reeling from his wife's murder, Nolan’s resilience is tested as doubts about his readiness simmer beneath the surface....

In the unforgiving landscape of Afghanistan's Tangi Valley, a military base tells its own extraordinary story. Neither human nor fully inanimate, this “square of dirt” becomes a sentient witness to the brutal rhythms of war, listening intently to the soldiers who build and inhabit it. From American soldiers wrestling with fear and purpose to Afghan troops left to defend an increasingly untenable position, from quiet moments of vulnerability to explosive confrontations, the base observes everything—collecting stories, counting losses, and understanding the futility of conflict in ways ...