From the Publisher
"One of the better battle memoirs to date from the war in Afghanistan. . . . An unvarnished look at how this small team lived and worked together to carry out a very difficult mission under trying circumstances. . . . The story of these brave Americans is told with both empathy and humor, showing the often dark wit and comradery of fighting men in isolated outposts and the loss they feel when one of their most popular teammates is killed in action." —New York Journal of Books
Library Journal
07/01/2016
This follow-up to Golembesky's best-selling Level Zero Heroes concludes the telling of the battlefield exploits of Marine Special Operations Team "Dagger 22" in Bala Murghab, Afghanistan, during the author's final deployment in 2009–10. Golembesky sheds light on the way troops endured the brutal Afghanistan winter, when the chief objectives were surviving blizzards, subzero temperatures, skirmishes, and boredom. The major action, vividly retold, surrounds Operation Opportune Strike (April 2010), in which hand-to-hand fighting destroyed the Taliban force in the village of Daneh Pasab. Other interesting stories are his expensive, complicated, and successful mission to ship Dagger 22's dog home, where the canine now resides as a member of the author's family, and the frustrating hunt to take out the Midget, the Taliban's expert improvised explosive device (IED) maker. By 2013, Bala Murghab had been retaken by the Taliban as coalition forces departed. Having read the author's first book is helpful but not essential to enjoying this narrative and to appreciating, with gratitude, Dagger 22's service. VERDICT Fans of Level Zero Heroes will be engrossed by these adventures; Golembesky employs sparse language to convey complex actions and effectively re-creates dialog.—Karl Helicher, Upper Merion Twp. Lib., King of Prussia, PA