In the beginning of the fall of 2024 Collegedale Academy students had the pleasure to listen to Sergeant Chris Spence speak about his endeavors in the War in Afghanistan. He told students about the harshness of war, and how the mountainous terrain meant American soldiers had to travel by horseback which made this unique from other modern wars. Chris Spence is known for taking the famous picture of the American men riding on their horses across the Afghan countryside. Spence talked about how the separation from family was hard for many soldiers, and some soldiers had to learn to ride horses and navigate through the terrain. 

Sargent Spence’s photo of the American men riding on horses in the terrain inspired the movie 12 Strong, and in NYC there is a memorial for these horse soldiers right by the 9/11 memorial. 

The Afghan War started due to response from the 9/11 attacks in America. The Afghan war lasted from 2001-2021. On October 19, 2001 Mark Nutsch and a team of 11 other Green Berets with the 5th Special Forces Group’s Operational Detachment Alpha 595 were transferred to an area by the Taliban without trucks or tanks, only horses. These men were not expected to survive, but no men had died in the first part of the Afghan horse war; but thousands of terrorists were killed by the American soldiers. On Nov. 10, ODA 595 and militia allies took over the city of Mazar-e-Sharif from the Taliban. Weeks later, the Taliban surrendered in other areas of Afghanistan. Americans then defeated the Taliban and captured the city, Mazar-e Sharif. 

Junior Sarah Saladino states “I really enjoyed learning about this war, because of how unique it was. Hearing the Sargent come speak at our school was interesting, and definitely a learning experience.” CA students were able to learn a lot about this war, and hopefully students will realize how lucky we are for these soldiers!