Dagger 22: U.S. Marine Corps Special Operations in Bala Murghab, Afghanistan - Tapa dura

"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

Level Zero Heroes, the bestselling account of Marine Special Operations Team 8222 in Bala Murghab, Afghanistan, was just the beginning for these now battle hardened special operations warriors. The unforgiving Afghan winter has settled upon the 22 men of Marine spec-ops team, callsign Dagger 22, in the remote and hostile river valley of Sale Murghab, Afghanistan. The Taliban fighters in the region would have liked nothing more than to once again go dormant and rest until the spring fighting season begins. No chance of that this winter would be different. Along with coalition Afghan and NATO forces, the Marines of Dagger 22 continue their fight throughout the winter to shape the battlefield before the Afghan ground thaws. From one fire fight to the next, the noose begins to tighten around the village of Daneh Pasab and the command cell operating there. On April 6, 2010, a force of US. Army Special "Forces, Afghan Commandos, and Marine Corps special operations conduct a night assault to destroy the heavily entrenched Taliban force, breaking their grip on the valley and stopping the spring offensive before it even begins. But nothing ever goes easy for the operators of Dagger 22 and they would soon need to lean on each other once again in one of the most brutal environments on earth.