NO WAY OUT Most Berkley Caliber Books are available at special quantity discounts for bulk purchases for sales promotions, premiums, fund-raising, or educational use. Special books, or book excerpts, can also be created to fit specific needs. For details, write: Special Markets, The Berkley Publishing Group, 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014. NO WAY OUT A story of valor in the mountains of Afghanistan MITCH WEISS KEVIN MAURER AND BERKLEY CALIBER, NEW YORK THE BERKLEY PUBLISHING GROUP Published by the Penguin Group Penguin Group (USA) Inc. 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario M4P 2Y3, Canada (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.) • Penguin Books Ltd., 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England • Penguin Group Ireland, 25 St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2, Ireland (a division of PenguinBooks Ltd.) • Penguin Group (Australia), 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124, Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty. Ltd.) • Penguin Books India Pvt. Ltd., 11 CommunityCentre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi—110 017, India • Penguin Group (NZ), 67 Apollo Drive, Rosedale, Auckland 0632, New Zealand (a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd.) • Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty.) Ltd., 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196, South Africa Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England This book is an original publication of the Berkley Publishing Group. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third- party websites or their content. Copyright © 2012 by Mitch Weiss and Kevin Maurer Book design by Laura K. Corless Front jacket photo: US Army photo by SPC Michael Carter Maps by Travis Rightmeyer All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the authors’ rights. Purchase only authorized editions. BERKLEY CALIBER and its logo are trademarks of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. FIRST EDITION: March 2012 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Weiss, Mitch. No way out : a story of valor in the mountains of Afghanistan / Mitch Weiss & Kevin Maurer.—1st ed. p. cm. ISBN: 9781101560761 1. Afghan War, 2001—Campaigns—Afghanistan—Shok Valley. 2. Afghan War, 2001—Commando operations. 3. Special operations (Military science)—Afghanistan. I. Maurer, Kevin. II. Title. DS371.4123.S56W45 2012 958.104’742—dc23 2011028877 PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 ALWAYS LEARNING PEARSON Version_2 For our wives and families Theirs not to make reply, Theirs not to reason why, Theirs but to do and die… “The Charge of the Light Brigade” by A , L T LFRED ORD ENNYSON Table of Contents Part 1 Premission 1 Captain Kyle Walton 2 Staff Sergeant Luis Morales 3 Specialist Michael D. Carter 4 Master Sergeant Scott Ford 5 Staff Sergeant John Wayne Walding 6 Staff Sergeant Dillon Behr 7 Staff Sergeant Ron Shurer 8 Sergeant First Class Karl Wurzbach 9 Walton 10 Staff Sergeant Seth Howard 11 Morales 12 Ford 13 Carter 14 Staff Sergeant David Sanders 15 Walding 16 Behr Part 2 Contact 17 Morales 18 Behr 19 Carter 20 Walton 21 Ford 22 Behr 23 Walding 24 Morales 25 Master Sergeant Jim Lodyga 26 Wurzbach 27 Howard 28 Walton 29 Carter 30 Shurer 31 Walton 32 Ford Part 3 The Ledge 33 Behr 34 Lodyga 35 Shurer 36 Carter 37 Behr 38 Walding 39 Ford 40 Walding 41 Ford 42 Shurer 43 Walding 44 Behr 45 Morales 46 Ford 47 Howard 48 Walding 49 Walton 50 Carter 51 Wurzbach Part 4 Escape 52 Ford 53 Carter 54 Howard 55 Morales 56 Walding 57 Behr 58 Howard 59 Walton 60 Howard 61 Sergeant First Class Sergio Martinez 62 Walton 63 Wurzbach 64 Walton 65 Shurer 66 Ford 67 Carter 68 Morales 69 Walding 70 Behr 71 Ford 72 Wurzbach 73 Walton 74 Howard 75 Walton Part 5 Aftermath 76 Wurzbach 77 Carter 78 Shurer 79 Ford 80 Morales 81 Behr 82 Walding 83 Morales 84 Lieutenant Colonel Mark Wisdom 85 Walton 86 Wisdom
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