Josh Apel

Throughout my Career I have had the pleasure of working with some great soldiers and some that have made a tremendous impact on my life for various of reasons. When starting the Briefing Room the purpose was to promote great Soldiers and their accomplishments. If you have read my book Northern Disclosure you will be very familiar with this great Soldier Josh Apel. In Northern Disclosure you read about him as he is coming up in the ranks from Private First Class through Specialist then onto becoming a Sergeant. Like many he really brightened my day and life and I'm so proud of all that he has been doing. Josh is now a Drill Sergeant at Fort Benning shaping the minds and bodies of the Infantry's future. After some really long tours and keeping track by his journal and other methods he has put together a book. Here is a preview in his words.

My name is Josh Apel and I was born and raised in a small town in Mid-Missouri until the age of 22, when I decided to join the United States Army Infantry in the year 2000.  Since then I have deployed twice in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.  During my second combat deployment I decided to keep a journal covering my experiences and three years later I decided to publish this journal so that I can share my experiences with anyone interested and educate people on what it is like for soldiers on the modern battlefield.  I know that my experience differs from every other soldier but, "My Life in War" is mine.  I am currently working on another project, a fiction novel, based on a soldier's return from war and dealinig with the adjustments of the real world and dealing with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in his own ways.

Please visit his site here: My Life in War

You can order his book here: My Life in War

Victory Point

Operations Red Wings and Whalers—the Marine Corps’ Battle for Freedom in Afghanistan

by ed Darack

"Arguably the first-ever foxhole perspective of the challenges, idiosyncrasies, and pecking- order class struggles between America's favorite modern-day warriors—the special operations growth industry—and America's historically favorite son—the 233-year-old United States Marine."

-Dalton Fury, New York Times bestselling author of Kill Bin Laden

"This is how our grunts fight in Afghanistan. As you read, you will be exhausted, frustrated and, above all, proud that these dauntless men guard our country."

–Bing West, New York Times bestselling author of The March Up and The Strongest Tribe

In late June 2005, a four-man Navy SEAL reconnaissance and surveillance team fell into a horrific ambush at the hands of a man named Ahmad Shah. Within hours of their nighttime insert high on a remote mountain in Afghanistan’s Kunar province, three of them lay dead and helicopters carrying sixteen special operations personnel sent to save the team had been shot down, killing all on board. In VICTORY POINT: Operations Red Wings and Whalers—the Marine Corps' Battle for Freedom in Afghanistan (Berkley Caliber Trade Paperback; April 6, 2010) author Ed Darack tells the enthralling and never before revealed story of Operations Red Wings (often mis-referenced as “Operation Redwing”) and its sequel, Operation Whalers, missions that ultimately led to free elections in Afghanistan. Nineteen U.S. special operations personnel lost their lives at the hands of terrorist leader Ahmad Shah during Red Wings, and VICTORY POINT presents the story of valor and bravery of U.S. Marines in ultimately crushing Shah’s force.

Focusing on the United States Marine Corps’ ultimate defeat of Ahmad Shah and his band of fighters, VICTORY POINT also tells the story of the brotherhood forged among Marines fighting in one of the most hostile theaters of the War on Terror. Darack presents accurate, diligently researched and referenced details—never before published—of these missions.

Through numerous first-hand interviews with Marines and access to never-before-released, once-classified information (specially declassified solely for Darack for this project), Darack gives us the full story of these operations. A few details to be revealed: 

·       The planning of Red Wings, including why Navy SEALs were brought in for the opening of the mission—and the background on what went terribly wrong.

·       The background of Ahmad Shah, leader of a ruthless terrorist / insurgent cell.

·       The Marines' work with local Afghans in saving Marcus Luttrell, the only survivor of the four-man team sent in for the first stage of Red Wings.

·       And much, much more—including custom maps and unpublished photographs of Ahmad Shah and both operations.

In June of 2007 readers of Marcus Luttrell's controversial bestseller LONE SURVIVOR discovered the heroism, bravery, and patriotism of U.S. Navy SEALs in one man's account of his team’s harrowing last battle in Afghanistan. If you are familiar with the story told in LONE SURVIVOR, you must read VICTORY POINT, as it is crucial to understanding the full story of both Operation Red Wings and the unknown (but successful) Op Whalers. This is the essential read for anyone wanting to expand their knowledge of our American forces and military operations in Afghanistan. In a time of uncertainty in our nation, VICTORY POINT offers something to believe in and the opportunity to learn the full story of two misunderstood missions, as well the triumphant tale of U.S. Marines.

In addition to Ed Darack, a number of key U.S. marine figures documented in VICTORY POINT will be available for media interviews.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Writer / Photographer Ed Darack has covered the 2^nd Battalion of the 3^rd Marine Regiment since their pre-Afghan mountain warfare training in the spring of 2005 and has stayed with them through their subsequent deployment to Afghanistan and tour in Iraq’s Anbar province. He is the author of numerous articles on military issues for such publications as Smithsonian Air and Space, the Marine Corps Gazette, and Proceedings of the Naval Institute Press, among others. Darack continues to write articles on a broad spectrum of subjects and is the author of three previous books. His photography has been used by National Geographic, Outside Magazine, The Sunday London Times, the BBC, Time, ABC, NBC, IBM, Volkswagen, and Bank of America, among many other editorial and corporate clients.

For more information, please visit: www.victorypoint.info and www.darack.com

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