One Tribe at a Time: The Paper that Changed the War in Afghanistan
Jim Gant enlisted in the Army straight out of high school in Las Cruces, New Mexico at the age of 19, intent on joining the Special Forces. In 1989 he passed a gruelling selection and earned his Green Beret and Special Forces tab. In 1990, he took part in the first Gulf War as a member of the 5th Special Forces Group, and was promoted to staff sergeant. Jim enrolled in college and joined the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) at New Mexico State University. He was commissioned in the U.S. Army as a 2nd Lieutenant and infantry officer in 1995. Jim spent four years as a lieutenant: two years as an Infantry platoon leader and two additional years as a Scout platoon leader. He then volunteered for and was accepted into Special Forces training again as an officer. He was a Captain and going through Special Forces training again when terrorists attacked the United States on September 11, 2001. Jim led a Special Forces team, Operational Detachment Alpha (ODA) 316 in Afghanistan’s Konar Province in early 2003. There, he met the Pashtun tribal leader Malik Noor Afzhal for the first time. Jim deployed again with his Special Forces team to Helmand Province 2004.  Jim was then hand-picked to lead a special projects team for the next two years.  In 2006, Jim volunteered to go Iraq, which was embroiled in a civil war, as the US and Iraqi casaulties were sky-rocketing. After 14 consecutive months of direct combat in Iraq, Jim returned to the US and became an Unconventional Warfare instructor at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. It was in 2009 that Jim, with the help of his close friend and author, Steve Pressfield, wrote the white paper entitled “One Tribe at a Time.” Jim was then given the mission of a lifetime: return to Afghanistan, form an alliance with his old friend, Malik Noor Afzhal, and together fight the resurgent Taliban in eastern Afghanistan. In August 2010, Jim reunited with Malik Noor Afzhal, nicknamed “Sitting Bull.” Jim’s war-time awards include the Silver Star, Iraqi National Police Medal of Honor, and the Army Commendation Medal with V device, and Bronze Star with two oak leaf clusters. Jim considers his greatest military achievement the fact that the men who fought alongside him were awarded over 20 awards for valor.