The perspective of the story is in third person omniscient. They would train the Afghans, supply them and coordinate between the U.S and the various ethnic groups (many of which were historic enemies). “Until recently, no one really knew what that was about or why. The Americans come to help the Afghans fight their own battle against the Taliban, so these people from two very different cultures have to learn to work together for a shared cause.”, Director Fuglsig’s vision and approach for the project impressed all of the producers. You kill 10, 15 enemy combatants on the battlefield at one time, I’m sure it’s a devastating blow to them, but when you’re talking about hundreds of enemy combatants losing their lives from one strike, it makes the other guys think about what they’re doing and that maybe they should retreat.” It also encouraged other fighters, who were perhaps on the fence, to join the coalition.

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They overcome. So he came in with photographs he’d gathered and offered a fresh point of view on how he would make the movie.”, All but a few names of the ODA-595 team had been changed by the author to protect the soldiers’ identities on what was still a classified mission at the time of writing, and those fictional names were retained in the film. Among the eighty-six Taliban who surrendered at the end of the siege was one American, John Walker Lindh who pleaded guilty to “contributing services to the Taliban and carrying explosives in commission of a felony” (350) and was sentenced to twenty years in prison. Chris Hemsworth plays Captain Mitch Nelson (name change for Mark Nutsch), the leader of the Special Forces team, and notes, “These Green Berets weren’t there as occupiers; they were there to assist the Afghan people who had been fighting for their freedom. As Nelson and the other Americans got acquainted with the Afghans they were inspired by the courage and selflessness with which those soldiers fought. WASHINGTON – The movie “12 Strong” arrives in theaters on Jan. 19, and tells the harrowing story of the first U.S. Special Forces mission in Afghanistan following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Leaving their families behind, the team is dropped into the remote, rugged landscape of northern Afghanistan, where they begin the first of daunting, overwhelming challenges when they first must convince General Abdul Rashid Dostum (Navid Negahban) to join forces with them to fight their common adversary: the Taliban and their Al Qaeda allies.

The Army’s 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne) eagerly took on the job, despite little intelligence on Afghanistan, and despite the fact that few could speak Dari or Pashtun.

(Operation Enduring Freedom was in its infancy and evacuation processeses and local medical facilities had not yet been established.) I think this is the first film that shows what the Afghans went through and how we united with them to achieve a common goal.

The way they were able to adapt, involve and embed themselves in this world and work with the local people—not against them—to fight a common enemy was something that always came up in talking with the guys about their experience. What this point of view does is allow the reader to become attached to each character involved in the story. We are in the process of performing updates and in the meantime we would ask you hold off on new orders. You have entered an incorrect email address! After each day’s fighting was finished, the Americans were impressed with the way the Afghans took care of their horses first. That’s a pretty vivid memory. The USO is a not-for-profit organization and not part of the Department of Defense (DoD). I think we really tried to capture the spirit of all branches of the military and soldiers in general by showing some of the layers and complexities of the home life and their families and then seeing the scope of what these guys went to do because they felt a sense of duty to fight for their country.

And so I felt it was a story that people needed to hear about and needed to know,” Hemsworth said. In September 2001, he served as the 5th Special Forces Group (A) commander. The U.S. military had been bombing the Taliban for a couple of weeks, but in a land of caves and mountains and small villages, it was difficult to distinguish targets.

Bruckheimer thanked “Horse Soldiers” author Doug Stanton who found this story and worked to get this mission unclassified so this story could be told. They had to start jerry rigging the stirrups with parachute cord.