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. There are tanks. To this day the war continues and Dostum as First Vice President remains a staunch ally of America. Yes. According to historian and author Doug Stanton, who spent five years. The twisted rag doll bodies of dead Taliban fighters lie heads back, fingers clutched, legs sprawled as if they fell running. Next door, in Dostums pink house, Mullah Faizal and Mullah Nuri sit on pillows in a small room. While researching to answer the question, "How accurate is 12 Strong?" Once they hit the ground, the Regulators would be writing their own game plan. ODA 595 and its commander, Capt. 2023 JNews - Premium WordPress news & magazine theme by Jegtheme. Is 12 Strong a Real Story? Ending Explained, and More All the while ostracizing the now First Vice President Dostum who is currently in exile in Ankara plotting his next move. We had hardened fighters holed up in the middle of an urban area who wanted to die, says Will. Theyve just finished installing a satellite TV. We had an entire 250-man cavalry ready to charge. The Regulators wanted Dostums right-hand man, Commander Lal, to hold off while they got their aircraft in position, but Lal had already given the order. Mitch Nelson, a character based on Nutsch. Up on the parapets, Dostums troops stream toward a gap in the ramparts created yesterday by an errant American 2000 lb bomb. Dostum must now change his focus from fighting to rebuilding his country. Nutsch is portrayed by Chris Hemsworth in the movie and renamed Mitch Nelson. 12 Strong: The Declassified True Story of the Horse Soldiers Six months ago, he traveled to Kabul with some Pakistanis to join the Taliban. Yes, but the tagline is a bit of an exaggeration. Right next to where I am staying. 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. Military families cant escape the fact that weve now been at war nearly 17 years. The riders mount their horses, check their weapons, and begin the one-kilometer sprint to the Taliban front lines. It was right at dark. After the seventh grade, Dostum left school to help his father on the family farm. The wholesale conversion of talibs to the government side during theKunduz surrender had created confusion in how many Taliban existed in the North. Some are provided by Dostum and others. Some huddle together to watch the gray pillars of smoke from the bombing runs. The soldiers stay well away from the al Qaeda prisoners as I interview them. 12 Strong - Navid Negahban "General Dostum" [On-Set Interview]Subscribe and click the notification bell HERE: http://goo.gl/SrrTlTSubscribe to Filmisnow Movi. Later, one is shown penning a goodbye letter to his family. Dostums lieutenants would call him in Turkey and tell him how difficult life had become. We jumped in the back of a truck and drove up to Dostums HQ here in this house.. After the bombs hit, I peeked over the side of the bunker; our horses were gone. "I don't need food for my horses," he said. Biography Mitch Nelson was born in Alma, Kansas, and he married a Hispanic woman and had a daughter. I had jumped a train in Tajikistan, snuck into Uzbekistan and remained holed up in a dusty border town. Yes, and that's why Gen. Dostum kept the American soldiers back from the front lines at first. Ka-RUMPH! How Accurate is 12 Strong? The True Story of the Real Horse Soldiers vs After all, can Hollywood do this topic justice? Weve spent years apart from our spouses due to Middle East deployments, and some of us, like me, are now sending our sons and daughters to fight the same war in the same places. As portrayed by actor Chris Hemsworth in the major motion picture, 12 Strong, Mark Nutsch (aka Mitch Nelson in the film) shares lessons learned in the now-declassified saga of a U.S. Special Forces team that overcame seemingly insurmountable odds to help achieve a historic military victory. Based on history and dossiers full of Pakistani provided intelligence, theAgency wanted nothing to do with Dostum. Paul here is busy shooting at guys. (Within a week, he will be named deputy minister of defense for the new interim government of Afghanistan.) Robert Young Pelton, all rights reserved, The joy was short-lived. Dostums real success was in negotiating enemy commanders to lay down their arms and to join him. Astoundingly, after two days of bombardment, the prisoners still control the fort. We could see a bunch of Taliban come out of another bunker complex off to the south and disappear behind a hill. I saw this look in Fakirs eyes, says Mark, like, Why didnt you help?, Dostum, triumphant on a return to the simple village of his brith. Nutsch commented: Were humbled that a movie has been made about our teams mission in that pivotal post 9/11 period. This included using horses to navigate the mountainous region. "I created the face without the use of models or photos," said artist Douwe Blumberg, who designed the statue in collaboration with Mark Nutsch. He couldnt expose his small force to Taliban missile strikes, explains Captain Mark, so they would hit and retreat. So, I'm playing my old boss in the movie." The new graves belong to those who were fighting terrorists. He is silhouetted against the slate-blue sky, the long tails of his silver turban whipping in the wind. Its a gritty reminder of who our common enemy wasone that not only strove to kill Americans, but also attempted to force its archaic way of life on whole countries. As we drive, Paul tells me that, back in the U.S., even the Regulators are subject to a military culture of rules and red tape.