Author(s): Michael Golembesky

MILITARY

Level Zero Heroes follows the twenty-two members of U.S. Marine Special Operations Team 8222 on their deployment to the remote and isolated Taliban stronghold known as Bala Morghab as they conduct special operations in an effort to liberate a valley from Taliban control. What started out as a routine operation changed when two 82nd Airborne Paratroopers tragically drowned in the Bala Morghab River while trying to retrieve vital supplies from an air drop that had gone terribly wrong. In this one moment, the focus and purpose of the friendly forces at Forward Operating Base Todd, where Team 8222 was stationed, was forever altered as a massive clearing operation was initiated to break the Taliban's stranglehold on the valley and recover the bodies. From fire fights in Afghan villages to sniper ambush missions in sub-freezing weather, this intense and personal story depicts the brave actions and tragic loses of MSOT 8222. Readers will understand the hopelessness of being pinned down under a hail of enemy gunfire and the quake of the earth as a 2000 lb. guided bomb levels a fortified Taliban fighting position.