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Mark Nutsch was born into a family with a rich legacy of military service. He also grew up on Kansas farms and ranches around a lot of horses - experience that became very valuable years later. After exploring service in several branches, Nutsch pursued commissioning as an officer in the U.S. Army. Soon after that he was selected and qualified for U.S. Army Special Forces.
Nutsch was already commander of Operational Detachment Alpha 595 when Al Qaeda terrorists attacked the U.S. on September 11, 2001. Within weeks, ODA 595 would be among the first U.S. forces on the ground in Afghanistan and soon were widely known as the Horse Soldiers.
In this edition of Veterans Chronicles, Nutsch walks us through his path to becoming an Army officer and how he valued the training it involved. He also tells us about his memories of the 9/11 attacks and immediately getting ready to go to war.
Nutsch also describes the harrowing helicopter flight into Afghanistan. meeting up with Afghan partner forces, and being shocked to find out they would be riding horses to take the fight to the Taliban.
Finally, Nutsch admits how much he ended up appreciating the horses and how ODA 595, the Afghan allies, and overwhelming U.S. air power crushed the Taliban in short order.
