Content deleted Content added
Cleaned up inaccuracies. Tag: possible unreferenced addition to BLP |
|||
Line 14:
Gant and his unit built relationships with the tribes by wearing traditional Afghan clothing instead of uniforms and learning [[Pashto]].<ref name="ABC"/> He remained in Kunar for 22 months and achieved significant operational success. General Petraeus called him "the perfect counterinsurgent" and compared him favorably to [[T. E. Lawrence]], calling him "Lawrence of Afghanistan."<ref>{{Cite web| title = Report: Petraeus Hails 'Lawrence of Afghanistan' |publisher=Military.com| accessdate = April 22, 2020| url = https://www.military.com/daily-news/2014/07/01/report-petraeus-hails-lawrence-of-afghanistan.html}}</ref> By the middle of 2011, he had recruited 1,300 [[Afghan Local Police]].<ref name="Huffpost"/> At the same time, he engaged in unorthodox behavior such as ritually cutting himself and telling his soldiers that, "I believe in the wrathful God of combat. I believe in [[Hecate]]".<ref>{{Cite web| title = The Rise and Fall of Major Jim Gant - War on the Rocks| accessdate = April 22, 2020| url = https://warontherocks.com/2014/04/the-rise-and-fall-of-major-jim-gant/}}</ref> He allegedly drank alcohol during the deployment, which is prohibited by Army regulations, and "self-medicated" with pain medication.<ref name="ABC"/>
In early 2012, Gant moved to the nearby village of Chowkay as part of an effort to win over the [[Safi (Pashtun tribe)|Safi]] tribe.<ref name="ABC"/> This was very challenging attempt to bring this community into the Afghan Local Police program, and it was successful due to the support from the local tribal leadership, based on MAJ Gant's previous encounters with this community, as well as his teams previous interactions in this area going back to 2003. As this was happening, certain personnel, who had been left behind at a local US base to support these activities, became uncomfortable with the unconventional methods being used. For those who had served multiple tours to Afghanistan, this was not an issue. For a certain 1LT Roberts, separated from his men and thrust into a very unconventional situation, this was, apparently, an abomination. After a tense encounter with MAJ Gant and his 2IC, CPT McKone, 1LT Roberts decided that he should tell his higher commanders that he just could not deal with the ambiguities of the realities of Afghanistan and
Tyson and Gant have married and live in [[Seattle]], Washington.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-echochambers-28047971|title=Jim Gant, Ann Scott Tyson and their Afghan Affairwebsite=BBC|publisher=|accessdate=25 May 2020}}</ref> In 2014, Tyson wrote a book about Gant titled ''American Spartan: The Promise, the Mission, and the Betrayal of Special Forces Major Jim Gant''.<ref>{{Cite web| title = ‘American Spartan ’ by Ann Scott Tyson, about Maj. Jim Gant's mission in Afghanistan| work = [[The Washington Post]]| accessdate = April 22, 2020| url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/american-spartan--by-ann-scott-tyson-about-maj-jim-gants-mission-in-afghanistan/2014/03/28/4440187e-aac8-11e3-adbc-888c8010c799_story.html}}</ref>
| |||