Book Recommendations

Eagle Down

A Wall Street Journal national security reporter takes readers into the lives of frontline U.S. special operations troops fighting to keep the Taliban and Islamic State from overthrowing the U.S.-backed government in the final years of the war in Afghanistan. Included in Eagle Down is Captain Matthew Roland’s story.

“Matthew Roland was an Air Force captain with the 23rd Special Tactics Squadron at Camp Antonik, a tiny camp that was all that remained of the U.S. footprint in Helmand. He had extended his tour in the southern province to help a new team of Green Berets settle into their new home.

Since most American troops had left a year earlier, the Taliban had seized back territory along the Helmand River. In response, the U.S. military was increasingly dispatching Special Operations soldiers and using airstrikes to shore up the Afghan army and police to prevent further losses. Their missions were kept secret, and officially Washington claimed that combat operations were over.

Matthew went through all the maps with the new team and pointed out where enemy forces were located. The towns and villages would have been familiar to American families whose loved ones had fought during the surge; Sangin, Marjah, Musa Qala. Hundreds of American soldiers had died in battles for Helmand’s sandswept land, and now the Taliban were set to win it back.”

Grab your copy of Eagle Down for the rest of the story.