Veterans Chronicles

Mark Nutsch was born into a family with a rich legacy of military service. He also grew up on Kansas farms and ranches around a lot of horses - experience that became very valuable years later. After exploring service in several branches, Nutsch pursued commissioning as an officer in the U.S. Army. Soon after that he was selected and qualified for U.S. Army Special Forces. Nutsch was already commander of Operational Detachment Alpha 595 when Al Qaeda terrorists attacked the U.S. on September 11, 2001. Within weeks, ODA 595 would be among the first U.S. forces on the ground in Afghanistan and soon were widely known as the Horse Soldiers.In this edition of Veterans Chronicles, Nutsch walks us through his path to becoming an Army officer and how he valued the training it involved. He also tells us about his memories of the 9/11 attacks and immediately getting ready to go to war.Nutsch also describes the harrowing helicopter flight into Afghanistan. meeting up with Afghan partner forces, and being shocked to find out they would be riding horses to take the fight to the Taliban.Finally, Nutsch admits how much he ended up appreciating the horses and how ODA 595, the Afghan allies, and overwhelming U.S. air power crushed the Taliban in short order.

You probably know the name Jack Carr as one of our most famous and talented novelists through The Terrninal List and other books in the James Reece series. Before his success as a writer, Carr spent two decades in the U.S. Navy, most of those as a U.S. Navy SEAL and he served in both Afghanistan and Iraq.In this edition of Veterans Chronicles, Carr explains how he wanted to become a Navy SEAL since he was seven years old and read about them in many different books. He also walks us through BUD/S training, why he never seriously thought of quitting, and the reason many candidates drop out long after Hell Week.Carr also reveals how he heard about the 9/11 terrorist attacks, why he became an officer, and finally being deployed to Afghanistan. Then he takes us through two tours in Iraq, including tough fighting in Najaf and a CIA-connected assignment focused on deconfliction.Finally, Carr details how he kept the mission and men front and center during his deployments.

Dr. Lyla Kohistany was born in Afghanistan. Her family fled to the U.S. in 1982 to escape Soviet occupation. When the USSR was forced to leave Afghanistan in 1989, her father planned to bring the family back to Afghanistan, and he had also made plans for 12-year-old Lyla that she wanted no part of. With the help of her brother and the U.S. Navy, Kohistany was able to stay in the U.S. She would later join the Navy out of gratitude for that help, but just months after being commissioned as a U.S. Naval officer, the U.S. was hit by the 9/11 Al Qaeda terrorist attacks.In this edition of Veterans Chronicles, Dr. Kohistany shares the powerful stories of her family leaving Afghanistan, struggling to adjust to life in the U.S. and how the Navy played a key role in helping her avoid an undesirable arranged marriage.She also explains what it was like to see the Taliban take power in Afghanistan in 1996 and to realize, in horror, that the perpetrators of the 9/11 attacks were given safe haven by the Taliban.Kohistany then tells us why she shifted to Navy intelligence after 9/11. She details her deployment to Afghanistan in 2005, returning there as part of the intelligence community in 2011, and her work with U.S. and Afghan special operators.Finally, Kohistany reveals what it was like to see Afghanistan fall, both as someone with deep roots there and as an American veteran and intelligence official who spent years trying to bring security and freedom there. And she discusses her new role as CEO of Honor the Promise.