February 24th, 1991: ItÕs the first day of the ground war in Operation Desert Storm. To support the massive attack, an eight man US Army Special Forces team is inserted 150 miles inside Iraq to covertly reconnoiter a key highway connecting Baghdad and Kuwait. The members of the team--designated ÒOperational Detachment Alpha-525ÓÑare known among their peers as ÒThe Sharkmen.Ó This is their first combat mission in Desert Storm.
If this had been a perfect mission no one would have known they were there. They would have dropped in, done their job for a week, then exited under cover and returned to base. But this isnÕt a perfect mission. Within hours it will all go to hell.
This is the true story of the improbable rescue of ODA-525, told in the words of the men who were there, on the ground and in the air.