Operation Pineapple Express- ORDER NOW!.
One year ago this week the world watched in disgust as the Federal Government failed miserably with the shameful evacuation of Kabul. It was a time that many in the world were shocked, most in the USA were shamed and just about every veteran (especially those of us who served in Afghanistan) were sickened to watch what was happening. During that time I had a few past interpreters (terps) of mine come to me to help them get family members out, and co-workers who had also served with Afghans came to me to help them also. So I started working every contact I had to help them. It was a stressful time as I was trying to work my day job, and help all through the day via Signal, WhatsApp, text and phone calls.
Little did I know that a good friend of mine that I had made over the last few years was at a level I could not imagine working on getting people out. I met Scott Mann when his play, Last Out, Elegy of a Green Beret toured through Buffalo in 2019. We found out after the play while talking that he and I knew many of the same people and shared a common bond as we were in the same area of Afghanistan at the same time. Our friendship blossomed from that time, and in fact I took my family with me to support him in NYC as his play was performed there also. Even though my family had seen it already, we all went again to support Scott and the whole crew to get the message of the play out.
So back to August 2021… I was working one day in my home office with the TV on in the background. It was several days into the Kabul evacuation and I looked over to see Scott on the news. I turned up the volume to learn he was leading this new ad-hoc organized groups of veterans and volunteers called Operation Pineapple Express. I think I sent him a text message telling him I saw him and how awesome it was he was doing that. Since I was working with other groups trying to get people out, I didn’t want to bother Scott with mine. Little did I know what an awesome group he had put together with such capability and reach or what they were accomplishing.
So now its August 2022 and I just had the pleasure of reading an advanced copy of his new book with the title of the mission, Operation Pineapple Express. This book is available for pre-order right now, and I am telling everyone I know to go order it now. It becomes available on August 30th. You can pre-order it now at operationpineappleexpress.com
Scott is an awesome storyteller as evident by the play that he wrote and stars in. He consider himself more of visual storyteller than a writer, but I think he sells himself short. This book is written in a way that makes this true-life story an “edge of your seat” thriller. You can not put this book down as Scott takes you from story to story of different Afghans, family members, US citizens, and even the US soldiers themselves helping with the evacuation via each chapter. Some chapters are several pages, while others are less than one page. He takes you on a journey from one story/event/person to another and then back again. In these 100% completely true stories, you become aligned with the different people, eager for them to make it on the Airfield, or for them to help people get on the airfield. They were fighting time, weather, the panic and the Taliban to get people out.
This book will make you proud, sad, hopeful and will make you feel hopeless too. Scott’s method of storytelling in this book in unique and very impressive. If you want to know what really happened on the ground in Kabul during those dark and disgusting days of August 2021, then this is what you want to read. There will probably not be a better historical account of what really happened than this book. I can’t imagine anyone else who has a better grasp on all of the chaos that was happening in and out of the Airport during the last 15 days of August 2021.
We have interviewed Scott a few times on our show (Episode #177, Episode #245, Episode #260, Episode #270, Special Appearance Show) and we will have him on again real soon. In fact things are in the works for Scott to be interviewed in person about this book.
Take the time, and spend the money NOW at operationpineappleexpress.com to pre-order this book and be ready to NOT put it down once is shows up on your doorstep.
-Stew