Roughneck Nine One: The Extraordinary Story of a Special Forces A-Team at War »

SFC Frank Antenori, US Army (Retired) joined the Special Forces in 1988. Since then, he has participated in numerous operations in over thirty-four countries and has been awarded numerous decorations and citations, with seven received for combat actions.

Hans Halberstadt has authored or coauthored more than fifty books, most on military subjects, especially US special operations forces, armor, and artillery. He served in the US Army as a helicopter door gunner in Vietnam.

A decorated combat veteran and a seasoned author of military books take a powerful look inside a Special Forces A-Team and its dramatic and controversial battle against a huge opposing force in Iraq. Unabridged. 8 CDs.

Publishers Weekly

Former Special Forces sergeant Antenori and writer Halberstadt (War Stories of the Green Berets) grippingly recreate the valor of Antenori's Special Forces A-Team in the battle at Debecka Pass in northern Iraq on April 6, 2003. Antenori's 12-man operational team (call sign: Roughneck Nine-One), along with more than a dozen other Green Berets, fought a major engagement with an Iraqi armored task force on Highway 2, a vital artery for moving troops and supplies. Despite being outmanned and outgunned, the Special Forces closed the highway and repelled an Iraqi counterattack spearheaded by four T-55 tanks and eight armored personnel carriers. The Special Forces suffered no casualties, but dozens of their Kurdish allies were killed or wounded by an errant American air strike. The authors highlight the skill and bravery of the Special Forces without overlooking their foibles and mistakes (or failing to lambaste the pesky, on-the-scene reporters who made their job harder). Though the book's second half speeds along with the battle's details, it's preceded by an overly long, familiar prologue-the selection and training of Special Forces soldiers and pre-deployment preparations. On balance, Antenori's memoir offers a gritty inside look at a Special Forces team at war. (July) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.