”Slowly, the guard moved along the trees and blinked into the dark shrubbery. I gently flicked off the safety on my rifle and placed my finger on the trigger. I knew that the green light from my goggles faintly lit up my eye sockets, and I hoped he didn’t notice. The guard stopped a few feet in front of me. We were literally staring each other down. If he raised his AK toward me, I was ready to pull the trigger. My heart was pounding. I actually feared he could hear it.” -Excerpt from Jaeger: At War with Denmark's Elite Special Forces
"Jaeger is a must read for anyone interested in Special Operations. It is also proof that the Danish military has made significant contributions to the war on terrorism globally." -Brandon Webb, Navy SEAL and bestselling author of Among Heroes.
"Jaeger: At War with Denmark's Elite Special Forces puts you right next to these heroes on the skids of the helicopter, mapping the Earth 15 feet AGL, to free-falling at speeds exceeding 240 MPH. This was an amazingly well written and humble account of what our allied Special Forces bring to the table day in and day out. It would have been an honor to have served and fought with these men!" -Nicholas Irving, New York Times Bestselling author of The Reaper: Autobiography of One of the Deadliest Special Ops Snipers.
One of America's closest allies in the War on Terror has deployed more often and lost more soldiers in Afghanistan than any other NATO nation, but it probably isn't who you think. The small country of Denmark has fielded a small but extremely professional Special Operations unit known as the Jaeger Corps. For the first time in the English language, Thomas Rathsack, a former Jaeger member and veteran of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, takes us inside a relatively unknown Special Operations unit that has been punching way above its weight class.
“My heart stopped. Less than 30 feet from me, two Talibans carrying Kalashnikovs were crawling toward our base. They clearly couldn’t make out what they were seeing, squinting in the morning sun. This was their territory, their backyard, and something didn’t look quite right. One of them was clutching his weapon as if he was determined to use it. I had my weapon ready and raised it slowly to point it at them. Using my thumb, I flipped the safety off silently. I was ready to fight.” -Excerpt from Jaeger: At War with Denmark's Elite Special Forces.
From hair raising small team recce operations in Afghanistan, to undercover intelligence operations, search and destroy missions in Iraq, and executive protection for diplomats and the world trade summit, Thomas Rathsack details some of the most dangerous, and previously unknown, missions in the War on Terror.
”I do not look like an Afghan—never have, never will. My heavy build, broad jaw, and Scandinavian facial features are far removed from the typical Afghan’s narrow face and long, crooked nose. But I’d dyed my beard and eyebrows almost black, and covered my face and hands in brown skin cream. I wore a lungee, a traditional Afghan turban, on my head and the equally traditional salwar kameez. Under the khaki tunic, I was kitted out with a bulletproof vest, a belt carrying a holstered 9mm H&K USP pistol, two extra magazines, a Gerber jack knife, and a radio connected to a discreet, skin-colored, molded ear piece. The Lowa desert boots I wore were the only thing visible that could reveal me as a soldier. But if something went wrong, I needed to be able to stand firmly. I was back. Afghanistan just wouldn’t loosen its grip on me.” -Excerpt from Jaeger: At War with Denmark's Elite Special Forces.
