I assumed command of a joint special operations unit in June 2008. As I sought to gain understanding and appreciation for the fight our elements were engaged in, I quickly learned that the remote mountains of Kunar and Nuristan Provinces in northeast Afghanistan provided a nearly impenetrable sanctuary for several international terrorist groups. Within a month of my taking command, the Battle of Wanat occurred. This battle served to draw international attention to this area. It also served to highlight the tough fight being waged by “the Rock”—the 2nd Battalion, 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade.
This was a twenty-first-century war against terrorist insurgents. The young US Army paratroopers stationed there were locked in close-quarters combat not unlike the infantry experience of Vietnam, Korea, and World War II. They faced determined enemies who more often than not controlled the high ground—and with certainty, it was an enemy who sought to fight the Americans. At that time, there were not the resources we had later in the Afghanistan fight. There was not enough air support, MEDEVAC, or ground support. Not enough troops for the front lines.
While the world’s attention was consumed with the broadening conflict in Iraq, the Rock fought desperate engagements, often outnumbered, with only their training, determination, and acts of valor helping them to prevail.
There had been some media attention for the battalion’s Battle Company, whose exploits in the infamous Korengal Valley became the focus of the well-received documentary Restrepo and the book WAR. But in a valley just north of the Korengal, fighting in relative obscurity, were two platoons and a headquarters unit of one of Battle’s sister companies—Chosen.
Those paratroopers liked to call themselves the Chosen Few. They were, in fact, seemingly chosen by fate to experience some of the most brutal aspects of war. In three major engagements and several small skirmishes, they fought off successive, coordinated efforts by an enemy determined to wipe them out.
After fifteen months of combat, nearly two-thirds of the Chosen Few would be Purple Heart recipients. Two would be awarded the Medal of Honor, two more would receive a Distinguished Service Cross; more than a dozen Silver Stars and more than two dozen Bronze Stars for valor would be awarded to this company. Rarely in the annals of modern war have fighting men displayed such teamwork, courage, and fighting heart as the Chosen Few.
People often look back with awe upon early generations of American combat troops, up to and including the famous Greatest Generation of World War II, as if to conclude that that kind of warrior has come and gone and we will never see their like again. But that is just not true.
If there is any lesson that the Chosen Few teaches us, it is that the kind of spirit and sense of sacrifice borne out in the young men and women who fill the ranks of the US military are as strong today as they ever were. Special operators, conventional forces, active or reserve—our nation should be grateful to have the troops we do. Paratroopers like the Chosen Few demonstrate what our country has come to expect of our warriors—commitment, selflessness, and grit. This is an American story that rivals any in our history for valor, heroism, and sacrifice.
William H. McRaven
Admiral (US Navy, Retired)