One of the first Americans to fight in Afghanistan to speak at Valencia College

Captain Mark Nutsch, a former Green Beret commander who was deployed to Afghanistan in the immediate aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks and whose mission was the basis for the film 12 Strong, will speak at Valencia College’s East Campus on Tuesday, November 12.

Capt. Nutsch led one of the first teams of U.S. Army Special Forces into Afghanistan in 2001. The U.S. military allied themselves with the Northern Alliance militia to call in airstrikes and combat the ruling Taliban government, who refused to give up Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden.

“His story is so inspiring and amazing, we wanted to share it with our community – particularly on Veteran’s Day,” Julie Montione, a professor of humanities at Valencia’s West Campus, said. Her and her colleague Sean Lake, who also teaches humanities at East Campus, are responsible for organizing the event.

The event was possible in part to grant that Valencia received from the National Endowment for the Humanities Dialogues on the Experience of War.