Jake Tapper - The Outpost

For Mom

Last fall, in the mountains of Bulgaria, I simultaneously relived a personal tragedy and fulfilled a lifelong dream of acting.

I had come to the country to play myself in the film version of Jake Tappers book The Outpost, which explores the history of Combat Outpost Keating and the grueling battle that left eight of my friends and battle buddies dead.

Walking around the meticulous reconstruction of a lions den, which I had last seen blanketed in ash, sparked unnerving nostalgia. Its heavy to reminisce about your worst reality, but I was gratified to know I was there to honor the legacies of true heroes. It was a strange experience to watch new friends portray old friends in their final days. My courage was definitely tested throughout the filming of The Outpost, but having my directors confidence and my castmates support made for a life-changing experience.

After an honorable discharge, I went on to graduate from Clemson University as a three-time all ACC academic athlete; publish a bestselling memoir, Rise; and even briefly play in the NFL.

October 3, 2009, was the worst day of my life, but there were plenty of other dark times. I have often questioned my existence, wondering why I didnt die at war, and contemplated a hollow point through my temple as the easiest route to a pain-free place.

My life since the attack has had unimaginable highs harmonized with unbelievable lows, and though not always colorful, appreciation knows no shade. Ive since found healing in speaking to others about the power of perseverance and the ability to overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacleseven if you feel overrun and outnumbered. Having survived what most people cant fathom has given me a perspective that Ive been humbled to share with others across the country.

It can be difficult to bear the thought of how beautiful life is when I also know how short it was for so many of my friends. When reflecting on my late teens and early twenties, away at war, I realize how pivotal those years were: I was shaped only in part by the combat and much more by the relationships.

Im grateful to have served with so many good men from all walks of life, and I wish them nothing but the best as their roads continue.

As with the book you now hold in your hands, I hope the film celebrates selfless acts of camaraderie in unprecedented circumstances. I hope it emphasizes the tragedies, unforgettably, so the remembrance of good men is permanent. I hope it will open our eyes and help us better understand the sacrifices made by service members. Lastly, I hope its a lesson to military leaders that war has consequences and that leaving your troops in an indefensible location, in the middle of hell, is a pretty shitty idea.

Sergeant Daniel Rodriguez (ret.), April 2019

The most difficult choice I faced in writing this book lay in deciding how honest to be about the horrors of war: the injuries, the deaths, all the things that make war so terrifying. The media in the United Statestaking their cue from the American publicoften shy away from such coverage, and that has not served the nation well, to say nothing of the troops or the people in those countries that the U.S. government says its trying to help. Certainly, there are good reasons to avoid descriptions that are too graphic, including, primarily, the desire to shield families of troops who have been wounded or killed from details that may be new and upsetting to them. Ultimately, with all of this in mind, I opted to withhold some informationbut not a lot.

Halfway down the trail to Hell,

In a shady meadow green

Are the Souls of all dead troopers camped,

Near a good old-time canteen.

And this eternal resting place

Is known as Fiddlers Green.

Marching past, straight through to Hell

The Infantry are seen.

Accompanied by the Engineers,

Artillery and Marines,

For none but the shades of Cavalrymen

Dismount at Fiddlers Green.

Though some go curving down the trail

To seek a warmer scene,

No trooper ever gets to Hell

Ere hes emptied his canteen.

And so rides back to drink again

With friends at Fiddlers Green.

And so when man and horse go down

Beneath a saber keen,

Or in a roaring charge of fierce melee

You stop a bullet clean,

And the hostiles come to get your scalp,

Just empty your canteen,

And put your pistol to your head

And go to Fiddlers Green.

Anonymous

I t was madness.

At Jalalabad Airfield, in eastern Afghanistan in the summer of 2006, a young intelligence analyst named Jacob Whittaker tried with great difficulty to understand exactly what he was hearing.

The 10th Mountain Division of the United States Army wanted to do what?

Whittaker had to choose his words carefully. He was just a low-ranking specialist with the Idaho National Guard, a very low man on a very tall totem pole. A round-faced twenty-six-year-old, Whittaker had simple tastesBoise State football, comic booksand a reputation for mulishness belied by his innocent appearance.

Whittaker stared at his superior officer, Second Lieutenant Ryan Lockner, who was running this briefing for him and Sergeant Aaron Ives. Lockner headed intelligence for Task Force Talon, the Armys aviation component at Jalalabad Airfield, in Nangarhar Province, adjacent to the Pakistan border. Military leaders considered this area, officially designated Regional Command East, the most dangerous part of an increasingly dangerous country.

Lockner had an assignment. Soldiers from the 10th Mountaina light infantry division designed for quick deployment and fighting in harsh conditionshad recently come to this hot corner of Afghanistan and would soon be spreading throughout the region, setting up outposts and bases. More specifically, they would be establishing a camp in Nuristan Province.

The members of the intelligence team led by Lockner didnt know much about Nuristan, as U.S. forces had generally been focusing their efforts on Kunar Province, which had become a haven for Taliban insurgents and foreign fighters sneaking in from Pakistan to oppose the American infidels. During one operation in Kunar the previous summer, in 2005, nineteen U.S. troopsSpecial Forceshad been killed by such insurgents, and since then, the United States had increased its presence there. Helicopters flying in and out of Kunar Province were fired upon at least twice a week, every week, with small arms and/or rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs).