For Special Forces Master Sgt. Regulo Zapata, Jr., writing and
publishing a book about the months he spent immersed in the fog of
war along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border was more daunting than
the mission itself.
For Special Forces Master Sgt. Regulo Zapata, Jr., writing and publishing a book about the months he spent immersed in the fog of war along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border was more daunting than the mission itself.
“It has taken me this long to work up the courage to decide to write this unbelievable story – my recollection of an extraordinary journey to hostile, desperate lands,” Zapata wrote in the preface of his memoir, “Desperate Lands”, about the four years since his return from Afghanistan in 2003.
Standing in his kitchen cupping an Operation Enduring Freedom mug, Zapata’s neat mustache and casual dress bore little resemblance to the heavily bearded man dressed in bulky fatigues and toting an M-4 rifle on the front of his book. These days, Zapata, 53, is a retired veteran, a published author and a county park ranger. But just after Sept. 11, 2001, he was a member of the U.S. Army Special Forces headed to the Horn of Africa and Afghanistan on counter-terrorism missions.
The challenge of training dozens of Afghan soldiers in a language he knew little of to use weapons he’d never used was no easy one, Zapata said. His mission was to teach villagers from different tribes how to raid towns harboring Taliban forces.
Two years went by before Zapata typed the first sentence of his book. His photos finally inspired him, he said. Captured by his 2.3-pixel digital camera, images of snow-swept, desolate vistas, bustling airfields and the newly trained Afghanistan National Army ready for a raid prompted him to put his story on paper. A shadowbox displaying dozens of decorations hung outside the door of Zapata’s meticulously kept study – the room where he finally sat down to write his story.
“Well, that’s a story and that’s a story,” he said, pointing to one of the many black and white photographs that illustrate his book. “And there’s so many other stories to tell. But it started with one sentence.”
Zapata’s first sentence has been tweaked and edited, but it has always been about the 9/11 terrorist attacks on New York City, an event that sparked two wars. Zapata had been in the Army since he was 19 years old, but his involvement in the War on Terror began the day he was called on to report for duty.
His goal was to lend his reader a glimpse into the everyday activities of Special Forces soldiers in Djibouti and Afghanistan while they trained villagers to fight Taliban forces. Although some readers have questioned Zapata’s storytelling ability, many readers said his story is an accurate and insightful account of a soldier fighting the War on Terror.
“Regulo gives a detailed, emotional description of the efforts of Special Forces to hunt down terrorists in Africa and in Afghanistan and bring them to justice,” said Bill Lamos, a retired U.S. Air Force major.
Zapata struggled with the idea of keeping his account private and sharing it with only friends and family or turning it into a book. But his fellow soldiers urged him to share his story and now he does the same for others.
“Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d have a book written,” he said. “It takes a lot of work but anyone can do it if you have a story to tell.”
Zapata said he has more stories to tell, too. Not only does he write from the perspective of a retired master sergeant, he writes as a father who has worried away months while his son served two tours of duty in Iraq. Writing about that experience is another book idea, he said. Zapata also corresponded with various screenwriters and Kimberly Pierce, the director of “Stop-Loss” and “Boys Don’t Cry”, about turning his book into a screenplay.
“I’m able to share more through writing,” he said. “I’m inspired by wanting to share my story with friends and the community.”
