Operation Pineapple Express
The Incredible Story of a Group of Americans Who Undertook One Last Mission and Honored a Promise in Afghanistan
-
-
4.2 • 75 Ratings
-
-
- $9.99
Publisher Description
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
An edge-of-your-seat military memoir and true story about a group of retired Green Berets who come together to save a former comrade—and 500 other Afghans—targeted by the Taliban amid the chaos of America’s withdrawal from Afghanistan.
In April 2021, a Special Forces operator deployed abroad sends an urgent plea: Get Nezam out of Afghanistan now. Nezam, one of the first Afghan National Army commandos trained alongside US Special Forces, is receiving threatening messages from the Taliban. His former commander, retired Lt. Col. Scott Mann, activates Task Force Pineapple, connecting with fellow special operations veterans and allies to plan a high-risk rescue mission.
Operating from basements and garages, the team orchestrates an escape route into Taliban-controlled Kabul, working around enemy checkpoints and surging crowds to get Nezam through Kabul airport safely. When calls flood in from other veterans, interpreters, and at-risk civilians, the mission expands—and Task Force Pineapple rescues 500 more Afghans in three turbulent days before the deadly ISIS-K suicide bombing. Operation Pineapple Express is a thrilling account of heroism, service, and loyalty in the final days of the War on Terror.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Mann, a retired army lieutenant colonel and Afghan War vet, makes the chaos and trauma of the 2021 U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan palpable in this gripping account of Task Force Pineapple. Mann founded the task force in August 2021, initially to rescue one man he served with, a former member of the Afghan Army Special Forces, but it soon expanded to include "a loose confederation of American, Afghan, and allied men and women to rescue as many of their Afghan partners as they could after the fall of Kabul." Modeled after the Underground Railroad, the task force saved more than a thousand Afghans before a suicide bombing at the Hamid Karzai International Airport disrupted its operations. Beyond delivering a real-life action thriller, the author provides yet another negative postmortem on the U.S. government's handling of the crisis. Mann notes that the country that "had liberated Nazi concentration camps, pulled off the Berlin Airlift, and delivered aid to disaster-struck countries across the globe" left thousands of its allies behind who continue to be at risk of violence. This is a valuable addition to the growing literature on the ending of America's longest war.
Customer Reviews
Pineapple Express
As a retired Marine, I found this book to be outstanding in detailing the true epoch of brotherhood and commitment between SOF and their “Band of Brothers”.
I found it appalling that our flag officers lacked the balls to back up this special group to save multitudes of their Afghan brothers. I blame our Sec Def, Sec State, our Joint Chief of Staff and CENTCOM’s CG by not being forceful enough to tell our President and his staff this is the wrong move/decision to make. This is just unbelievable. I highly recommend this book.
Unbelievable…
That our government and military leaders turned their backs our our partners who worked with the US to try and bring freedom to a lost country. Incredible! How inept our leaders have become. It is time for change!
Operations pineapple
What a great read, it was amazing to see what our soldiers did to take care of their people!