Ann Scott Tyson

ASArmy Special Forces Major Jim Gant changed the face of America’s war effort in Afghanistan. A decorated Green Beret who spent years in Afghanistan and Iraq training indigenous fighters, Gant argued for embedding autonomous units with tribes across Afghanistan to earn the Afghans’ trust and transform them into a reliable ally to defeat the Taliban and counter al-Qaeda networks. The military’s top brass, including General David Petraeus, commander of U.S. Forces in Afghanistan, approved, and Gant was tasked with implementing his controversial strategy.
Veteran war correspondent Ann Scott Tyson first spoke with Gant when he was awarded the Silver Star in 2007. Spending time with him, she began to share his vision. Risking her life, she accompanied him to Afghanistan to cover the story. And then they fell in love.

2 thoughts on “Ann Scott Tyson

  1. shinichi Post author

    Book Review – “American Spartan” by Ann Scott Tyson

    BLACKFIVE

    http://www.blackfive.net/main/2014/04/book-review-american-spartan-by-.html

    Anyone reading American Spartan must realize that it is not intended to be an objective book, but as a defense of Jim Gant’s life and implementation of a strategy he strongly believes in. Gant should not be considered a hero or an anti-hero. It is an interesting read for those who want to understand the Afghan tribes, the Afghanistan strategy, and the fall of a self-proclaimed warrior from the perspective of his wife.

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    Comment (RK4):

    Have not read the book nor am I familiar with this incident. I will rectify that in the near future. Having said that, however, this situation sounds very similar to one I was forced into.

    I was given a mission with very little guidance from higher. I had no right or left limits, no logistical or medical support, no chaplain support, no supply support, and no greensuiter chain of command I could run to if I got into trouble. I was given only a commander’s intent and literally nothing else. I executed, made sh*t happen when I couldn’t get normal lines of support in place, and begged/bribed/blackmailed my way into my soldiers having the support that normal units get in a standard deployment to a recognized theater of war.

    To take care of my soldiers, I had to break rules left and right. I committed fraud to get two of my soldiers medevac’d. I smuggled weapons and classified hard drives across international borders so we could redeploy. I blackmailed a 3-star general and my bosses back home in the US. Because we were attached to an embassy, I allowed my soldiers to drink when off duty, which is ABSOLUTELY authorized by GO #1. Because our embassy bosses ordered it, I had my guys in civilian clothes and beards. Because the military apparatus denied my soldiers midtour leave, I instituted an internal R&R schedule, where squads would rotate out of their flung-out FOBs and have three days to drink and carouse with State Dept chicks in the green zone before going back out. Because CENTCOM and our idiot bosses refused to process our combat and service awards, I submitted them through the State Dept, and when that didn’t work, I filed an IG complaint.

    For these sins, my bosses hated and still hate me, heaped derision on me, and actively sought out ways to discredit me and hurt my reputation.

    I’m not saying this guy is the bee’s knees. All I’m saying is, I have lived a situation very similar to what this sounds like. They give you a mission, they give you NO support, and when you make it happen, they question your methods and your leadership. I have been there.

    I will be buying this book.

    Reply

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