{"id":22601,"date":"2018-01-17T19:15:05","date_gmt":"2018-01-17T19:15:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/01\/17\/horse-soldiers-go-hollywood-behind-the-scenes-with-12-strong\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T02:21:55","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T02:21:55","slug":"horse-soldiers-go-hollywood-behind-the-scenes-with-12-strong","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/off-duty\/movies-video-games\/2018\/01\/17\/horse-soldiers-go-hollywood-behind-the-scenes-with-12-strong\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Horse Soldiers\u2019 go Hollywood: Behind the scenes with \u201812 Strong\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">More than 16 years and hundreds of deployments into the war in Afghanistan, the story of the first ground troops to strike back after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the U.S. is still a little-known tale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Or, at least, it was to many members of the cast and crew who are bringing it to life in \u201c12 Strong.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Details of the mission first came to light in 2009, when author Doug Stanton published \u201cHorse Soldiers,\u201d so named for the equine transportation a team of 3rd Battalion, 5th Special Forces Group operators rode into battle against the Taliban.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On Friday, a Jerry Bruckheimer-produced epic based on the book hits theaters, with Chris Hemsworth starring as Capt. Mitch Nelson, commander of Operational Detachment Alpha 595.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIn 2010, he introduced me to this script, and I was blown away,\u201d director Nicolai Fuglsig told Army Times in a Jan. 6 interview. \u201cSo much so that I immediately went and bought Doug Stanton\u2019s book, which blew me even more away.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If \u201cMitch Nelson\u201d doesn\u2019t sound familiar, that\u2019s because it\u2019s a pseudonym \u2014 the fictional Nelson and Chief Warrant Officer 4 Hal Spencer, played by Michael Shannon, are covers for retired Lt. Col. Mark Nutsch and CW4 Bob Pennington, who asked Stanton not to use their real names when writing the book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Other team members\u2019 names also were changed, though 3rd Battalion commander Lt. Col. Max Bowers and 5th Group boss Col. John Mulholland went public.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI never, ever heard about this. I couldn\u2019t believe when I read it, that you had these modern American soldiers riding into battle, alongside these Afghan soldiers, and then on horseback \u2014 it was so \u2018Lawrence of Arabia,\u2019 \u201d Fuglsig said.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2017\/10\/24\/12-strong-a-film-about-the-green-berets-famous-horse-soldiers-releases-new-trailer\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/21-Strong-1.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">&#8217;12 Strong,&#8217; a film about the Green Berets\u2019 famous Horse Soldiers, releases new trailer<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">A new trailer for the Jerry Bruckheimer film &quot;12 Strong&quot; was released Monday, focusing on Army Green Berets, the Northern Alliance forces, horses and unfortunately no Navy SEALS.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Stanton began reporting for the book in 2003, reading early stories on the Afghanistan war. In an article about so-called \u201cAmerican Taliban\u201d <a href=\"http:\/\/usatoday30.usatoday.com\/news\/attack\/2001\/12\/03\/american.htm\" title=\"\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\">John Walker Lindh<\/a>, he read a tidbit about Special Forces soldiers who had discovered him during an early battle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhen I began to think about 9\/11, and I discovered that just a very small group of United States Army Special Forces soldiers went into the country \u2014 like, that was Plan A?\u201d he told Army Times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A dozen Green Berets, as part of Task Force Dagger, dropped into Afghanistan and met up with ethnic Uzbek warlord Gen. Abdul Rashid Dostum, who lent them some of the horses he and his men used to get around.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The plan was to make their way to a Taliban stronghold in northern Afghanistan, as units in other parts of Afghanistan followed a similar plan to bring the regime to its knees.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/off-duty\/movies-video-games\/2018\/01\/17\/12-strong-review-hemsworth-leads-a-solid-wartime-film\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"157\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP_18017144063427.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">&#8217;12 Strong&#8217; review: Hemsworth leads a solid wartime film<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">In the days and months following the Sept. 11 attacks, a small U.S. Special Forces unit led an offensive against the Taliban and Al Qaeda in Afghanistan. They worked in harsh conditions alongside a local warlord and his men, an uneasy alliance at best, and, even with all the technology and money of the U.S. military, executed the successful mission largely on horseback.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But ODA 595 knew very little about the al-Qaida network in the country, and not much more about the group of warlords who had been waging a decades-long fight against the Taliban.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThese guys had $100,000 bounties on their heads. They didn\u2019t know if they were going to come back alive,\u201d Bruckheimer told Army Times. \u201cThey met up with a warlord they knew very little about. They weren\u2019t sure if he was going to ransom them off to the Taliban or he was going to work with them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Bruckheimer received a pre-release copy of the book almost a decade ago, he said, and immediately knew he wanted to make it into a film.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI always like to make movies about individuals that make a difference in our world, and would never be remembered other than through books and films,\u201d he said of a career that includes \u201cBlack Hawk Down,\u201d \u201cRemember the Titans,\u201d and \u201cGlory Road.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Stanton had no qualms about handing the book over to the producer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cBecause I\u2019d been a fan of \u2018Black Hawk Down\u2019 and Jerry had produced that, I knew it was in good hands,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>\u2018WHAT I NEEDED TO KNOW\u2018<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">During the development process, the team set up a meeting to discuss the script with retired Marine Lt. Col. Rob Riggle, who made his name as a correspondent on \u201cThe Daily Show\u201d and in a subsequent career as an actor and comedian.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cLike any good salesman \u2015 salesman of myself \u2015 I said, \u2018Hey, listen. If you ever end up making this, I\u2019d love an opportunity,\u2019 \u201c he told Army Times.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2017\/11\/22\/watch-the-new-trailer-for-12-strong-the-story-of-green-berets-who-helped-overthrow-the-taliban\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/21-Strong-1.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Watch the new trailer for \u201812 Strong,\u2019 the story of Green Berets who helped overthrow the Taliban<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The movie based on the Special Forces team who rode through Afghanistan on horseback to take down the Taliban in late 2001 stars Chris Hemsworth, best known for playing Thor.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He said he wanted to be involved because it was a great story of 21st-century warfare, considering the medieval transportation. But also, he had been part of the operation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Riggle, who was assigned to a Manhattan reserve unit at the time of the attacks, had spent the remaining days of September 2001 cleaning up rubble from the World Trade Center.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Knowing there would be an operational response, and that he had the top secret security clearance required, he volunteered to go back on active duty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">By Nov. 17, 2001, he was reporting to U.S. Central Command headquarters in Tampa, Florida, and, two weeks later, landed in Afghanistan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cSo it was boom, boom, boom,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2864\" height=\"1200\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/12S-TP-0017.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-45668\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/12S-TP-0017.jpg.jpg 2864w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/12S-TP-0017.jpg.jpg?resize=300,126 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/12S-TP-0017.jpg.jpg?resize=768,322 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/12S-TP-0017.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,429 1024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/12S-TP-0017.jpg.jpg?resize=1536,644 1536w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/12S-TP-0017.jpg.jpg?resize=2048,858 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2864px) 100vw, 2864px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Rob Riggle as Lt. Colonel Bowers in Alcon Entertainment&#8217;s, Black Label Media&#8217;s and Jerry Bruckheimer Films&#8217; war drama &#8220;12 STRONG,&#8221; a Warner Bros. Pictures release.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There, he served as a civil and public affairs officer with 3rd Battalion\u2019s command group, under a now-retired Bowers. Not coincidentally, Riggle plays his former boss in \u201c12 Strong.\u201c<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI had a script, I tried to extrapolate what I knew of the man, what I knew of the situation,\u201d Riggle said. \u201cWe had a lot of meals together. I heard a lot of stories.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Set up in an abandoned Turkish high school, he recalled, news of Task Force Dagger\u2019s success trickled in. In total, eight ODAs worked together in northern and southern Afghanistan to secure a Taliban surrender by December.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2017\/03\/22\/green-berets-who-liberated-afghanistan-from-the-taliban-tell-their-stories-in-new-documentary\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/legion-of-brothers.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Green Berets who liberated Afghanistan from the Taliban tell their stories in new documentary<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">In the days following the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the U.S., the Defense Department send two teams of Army special forces soldiers to Afghanistan to bring down the Taliban.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI knew what I needed to know, and that was fine with me. It wasn\u2019t like I was just popping in for the gossip,\u201d Riggle said. \u201cJust sitting around, listening to briefs. You can pick up things through context clues in some of these meetings, and you hear stories.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He hasn\u2019t talked to Bowers since then, he added, but he anticipated running into him at the premiere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIf he is [there], I will see him, and hopefully he will be OK with everything,\u201d he said. \u201cIf not, I\u2019m sure he\u2019ll tell me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The fact that troops are still fighting in Afghanistan today wasn\u2019t lost on Riggle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI don\u2019t want to get into the politics of it, but yeah, it\u2019s 17 years and we\u2019re still there. Maybe that\u2019s just how this one\u2019s going to go,\u201d Riggle said. \u201cI\u2019m glad the story\u2019s being told, because Americans \u2015 as citizens \u2015 we need to know.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>GETTING IT RIGHT<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cEvery actor, at least that was on this project, wants to get it right,\u201d Riggle said. \u201cThey just want to be honest.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That started with a Hollywood-style military boot camp and horseback riding lessons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Then Nutsch and Pennington spent two days on set during filming, Fuglsig said, where Nutsch had some very clear advice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cHis biggest concern, and advice, was not to f&#8212; it up,\u201d Fuglsig said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And, without turning the movie into a political treatise, to convey that ODA 595 and their partners were not there to be the conquerors bringing Afghanistan and the Muslim world to heel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cTo get the part about the fact that we are not at war with Islam,\u201d Fuglsig added. \u201cWe are fighting a common enemy, and that is religious extremism. And the fact that there was bravery on both sides.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Hemsworth spoke at a recent news conference about the inspiring experience of meeting Nutsch and Pennington.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe way they were able to adapt and evolve and embed themselves within this world, and work with the local people \u2014 not against them \u2014 working with them and fighting a common enemy,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd the brotherhood they formed with the local Afghan people, but also among the soldiers was something that kept coming up among all the guys I spoke to in this experience. And the relationships they still keep with one another, to this day, are as strong as any family bond.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Hemsworth declined to be interviewed by Army Times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2864\" height=\"1200\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/12S-TP-0060r.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-45672\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/12S-TP-0060r.jpg.jpg 2864w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/12S-TP-0060r.jpg.jpg?resize=300,126 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/12S-TP-0060r.jpg.jpg?resize=768,322 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/12S-TP-0060r.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,429 1024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/12S-TP-0060r.jpg.jpg?resize=1536,644 1536w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/12S-TP-0060r.jpg.jpg?resize=2048,858 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2864px) 100vw, 2864px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Chris Hemsworth as Capt. Mitch Nelson and navid Negahban as Gen. Dostum in Alcon Entertainment&#8217;s, Black Label Media&#8217;s and Jerry Bruckheimer Films&#8217; war drama &#8220;12 STRONG,&#8221; a Warner Bros. Pictures release.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For Fuglsig, a Danish director in the midst of his first feature length film, telling ODA 595\u2019s story hinged on two things: Properly recreating the story and characters, but also re-creating the environment of barren, high-altitude mountains as winter approached in the Hindu Kush.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI wanted this to be a true portrayal of American heroes, and Afghan heroes, more than we\u2019ve seen,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Fuglsig and his team settled on New Mexico, specifically the area around White Sands Missile Range, to recreate the rough terrain where hundreds of Afghan soldiers rode on horseback into battle against tanks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThere are too many movies that have tried to recreate the landscapes of Afghanistan, and I feel that many of them have failed,\u201d he said. \u201cThe landscape is a very important character in this movie.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">ODA 595 was working against the clock as winter rolled in, but New Mexico had one hitch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cLet\u2019s nuke the goddamn juniper, you know?\u201d he said. \u201cJuniper became my number one enemy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"6000\" height=\"4000\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/HS-11869.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-45679\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/HS-11869.jpg.jpg 6000w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/HS-11869.jpg.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/HS-11869.jpg.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/HS-11869.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,683 1024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/HS-11869.jpg.jpg?resize=1536,1024 1536w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/HS-11869.jpg.jpg?resize=2048,1365 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 6000px) 100vw, 6000px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Michael Pena as Sam Diller and Geoff Stults as Sean Coffers in Alcon Entertainment&#8217;s, Black Label Media&#8217;s and Jerry Bruckheimer Films&#8217; war drama &#8220;12 STRONG,&#8221; a Warner Bros. Pictures release.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So for the culminating, third-act battle scene, they chose a range that had taken so many bombing hits that almost everything ceased to grow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The producers also made it a point to get MH-60 Black Hawks and MH-47 Chinooks from the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, a U.S. Special Operations Command unit that regularly flies high-level infiltration and exfiltration missions, on film.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cEvery helicopter you see in the movie is an actual 160th helicopter,\u201d Lt. Col. Robert Bockholt, spokesman for Army Special Operations Command, told Army Times. \u201cBecause those are the ones who flew those actual insertion missions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There was some tension, however, over Bruckheimer\u2019s choice to tap former Petty Officer 1st Class Harry Humphries, a Navy SEAL, as a military adviser. Their relationship dated back to \u201cBlack Hawk Down.\u201c<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cFirst of all, combat is combat. One of our actors was a Navy SEAL,\u201d Bruckheimer said. \u201cTo organize and work with actors is much different than working with the military. The adviser we had has worked on numerous films and understand how to deal with actors.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the end, the Pentagon approved the script and signed off on the final product, part of their contract arrangement, Bockholt said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe movie is primarily about one ODA, but what viewers should realize, they were not the only ODA in the country at that same time,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In preparation for the world premiere, Warner Bros. rented out dozens of theaters to show the film to Special Forces and other soldiers at posts stateside, as well as near U.S. Special Operations Command in Tampa and in Afghanistan and Iraq.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI think they were happy with the portrayal, even though obviously, we couldn\u2019t tell the entire story,\u201d Bruckheimer said. \u201cThere were so many things that were left out.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Stanton also was happy with the way it turned out, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cHe was keen, and so was Chris, on making it clear that this was not an invasion,\u201d he said of Bruckheimer. \u201cAnd this was all in the script. There really isn\u2019t any chest-thumping.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThis was never going to be a Rambo-esque film, though I enjoyed that movie,\u201d Bruckheimer said. \u201cThis was going to be different, because this is a true story.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"200\" height=\"113\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Zxag9p-63RU?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen title=\"12 STRONG - Official Trailer 2\"><\/iframe>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>More than 16 years and hundreds of deployments into the war in Afghanistan, the story of the first ground troops to strike back after the September 11, 2001, attacks on the U.S.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":45665,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":74,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[74,17],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3268],"class_list":["post-22601","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-movies-video-games","category-off-duty"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"WP5FFI7WDJEZRPRITOKFL6MSAU","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/your-army\/2018\/01\/17\/horse-soldiers-go-hollywood-behind-the-scenes-with-12-strong\/","remove_feature_photo":true,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"remove-feature-image","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>\u2018Horse Soldiers\u2019 go Hollywood: Behind the scenes with \u201812 Strong\u2019 - Air Force TImes<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"More than 16 years and hundreds of deployments into the war in Afghanistan, the story of the first ground troops to strike back after the September 11, 2001, attacks on the U.S.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u2018Horse Soldiers\u2019 go Hollywood: Behind the scenes with \u201812 Strong\u2019\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"More than 16 years and hundreds of deployments into the war in Afghanistan, the story of the first ground troops to strike back after the September 11, 2001, attacks on the U.S.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/off-duty\/movies-video-games\/2018\/01\/17\/horse-soldiers-go-hollywood-behind-the-scenes-with-12-strong\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Air Force TImes\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-01-17T19:15:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-08T02:21:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Meghann Myers\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Meghann Myers\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"10 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t    \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t    \"@graph\": [\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Article\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/off-duty\\\/movies-video-games\\\/2018\\\/01\\\/17\\\/horse-soldiers-go-hollywood-behind-the-scenes-with-12-strong\\\/#article\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/off-duty\\\/movies-video-games\\\/2018\\\/01\\\/17\\\/horse-soldiers-go-hollywood-behind-the-scenes-with-12-strong\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"author\": {\n\t                \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"headline\": \"\u2018Horse Soldiers\u2019 go Hollywood: Behind the scenes with \u201812 Strong\u2019\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2018-01-17T19:15:05+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T02:21:55+00:00\",\n\t            \"mainEntityOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/off-duty\\\/movies-video-games\\\/2018\\\/01\\\/17\\\/horse-soldiers-go-hollywood-behind-the-scenes-with-12-strong\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"wordCount\": 1944,\n\t            \"commentCount\": 0,\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/off-duty\\\/movies-video-games\\\/2018\\\/01\\\/17\\\/horse-soldiers-go-hollywood-behind-the-scenes-with-12-strong\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/MIL-HORSE-SOLDIERS-P1-012917-web.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"articleSection\": [\n\t                \"Military Movies &amp; Video Games\",\n\t                \"Off Duty\"\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"CommentAction\",\n\t                    \"name\": \"Comment\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/off-duty\\\/movies-video-games\\\/2018\\\/01\\\/17\\\/horse-soldiers-go-hollywood-behind-the-scenes-with-12-strong\\\/#respond\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/off-duty\\\/movies-video-games\\\/2018\\\/01\\\/17\\\/horse-soldiers-go-hollywood-behind-the-scenes-with-12-strong\\\/\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/off-duty\\\/movies-video-games\\\/2018\\\/01\\\/17\\\/horse-soldiers-go-hollywood-behind-the-scenes-with-12-strong\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"\u2018Horse Soldiers\u2019 go Hollywood: Behind the scenes with \u201812 Strong\u2019 - Air Force TImes\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/#website\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"primaryImageOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/off-duty\\\/movies-video-games\\\/2018\\\/01\\\/17\\\/horse-soldiers-go-hollywood-behind-the-scenes-with-12-strong\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/off-duty\\\/movies-video-games\\\/2018\\\/01\\\/17\\\/horse-soldiers-go-hollywood-behind-the-scenes-with-12-strong\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/MIL-HORSE-SOLDIERS-P1-012917-web.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2018-01-17T19:15:05+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T02:21:55+00:00\",\n\t            \"description\": \"More than 16 years and hundreds of deployments into the war in Afghanistan, the story of the first ground troops to strike back after the September 11, 2001, attacks on the U.S.\",\n\t            \"breadcrumb\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/off-duty\\\/movies-video-games\\\/2018\\\/01\\\/17\\\/horse-soldiers-go-hollywood-behind-the-scenes-with-12-strong\\\/#breadcrumb\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ReadAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/off-duty\\\/movies-video-games\\\/2018\\\/01\\\/17\\\/horse-soldiers-go-hollywood-behind-the-scenes-with-12-strong\\\/\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/off-duty\\\/movies-video-games\\\/2018\\\/01\\\/17\\\/horse-soldiers-go-hollywood-behind-the-scenes-with-12-strong\\\/#primaryimage\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/MIL-HORSE-SOLDIERS-P1-012917-web.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/MIL-HORSE-SOLDIERS-P1-012917-web.jpg.jpg\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"BreadcrumbList\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/off-duty\\\/movies-video-games\\\/2018\\\/01\\\/17\\\/horse-soldiers-go-hollywood-behind-the-scenes-with-12-strong\\\/#breadcrumb\",\n\t            \"itemListElement\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 1,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Home\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"home\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 2,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Military Movies &amp; Video Games\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/off-duty\\\/movies-video-games\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"movies-video-games\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 3,\n\t                    \"name\": \"\u2018Horse Soldiers\u2019 go Hollywood: Behind the scenes with \u201812 Strong\u2019\"\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebSite\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/#website\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Air Force TImes\",\n\t            \"description\": \"Independent News For Airmen | Air Force Times\",\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"SearchAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"EntryPoint\",\n\t                        \"urlTemplate\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"\n\t                    },\n\t                    \"query-input\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"PropertyValueSpecification\",\n\t                        \"valueRequired\": true,\n\t                        \"valueName\": \"search_term_string\"\n\t                    }\n\t                }\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Organization\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/#organization\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Air Force TImes\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/\",\n\t            \"logo\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/air-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/air-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"Air Force TImes\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"\n\t            }\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\",\n\t            \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"migration\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/author\\\/migration\\\/\"\n\t        }\n\t    ]\n\t}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"\u2018Horse Soldiers\u2019 go Hollywood: Behind the scenes with \u201812 Strong\u2019 - Air Force TImes","description":"More than 16 years and hundreds of deployments into the war in Afghanistan, the story of the first ground troops to strike back after the September 11, 2001, attacks on the U.S.","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"\u2018Horse Soldiers\u2019 go Hollywood: Behind the scenes with \u201812 Strong\u2019","og_description":"More than 16 years and hundreds of deployments into the war in Afghanistan, the story of the first ground troops to strike back after the September 11, 2001, attacks on the U.S.","og_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/off-duty\/movies-video-games\/2018\/01\/17\/horse-soldiers-go-hollywood-behind-the-scenes-with-12-strong\/","og_site_name":"Air Force TImes","article_published_time":"2018-01-17T19:15:05+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-08-08T02:21:55+00:00","author":"Meghann Myers","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Meghann Myers","Est. reading time":"10 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/off-duty\/movies-video-games\/2018\/01\/17\/horse-soldiers-go-hollywood-behind-the-scenes-with-12-strong\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/off-duty\/movies-video-games\/2018\/01\/17\/horse-soldiers-go-hollywood-behind-the-scenes-with-12-strong\/"},"author":{"name":"migration","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1"},"headline":"\u2018Horse Soldiers\u2019 go Hollywood: Behind the scenes with \u201812 Strong\u2019","datePublished":"2018-01-17T19:15:05+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T02:21:55+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/off-duty\/movies-video-games\/2018\/01\/17\/horse-soldiers-go-hollywood-behind-the-scenes-with-12-strong\/"},"wordCount":1944,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/off-duty\/movies-video-games\/2018\/01\/17\/horse-soldiers-go-hollywood-behind-the-scenes-with-12-strong\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/MIL-HORSE-SOLDIERS-P1-012917-web.jpg.jpg","articleSection":["Military Movies &amp; Video Games","Off Duty"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/off-duty\/movies-video-games\/2018\/01\/17\/horse-soldiers-go-hollywood-behind-the-scenes-with-12-strong\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/off-duty\/movies-video-games\/2018\/01\/17\/horse-soldiers-go-hollywood-behind-the-scenes-with-12-strong\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/off-duty\/movies-video-games\/2018\/01\/17\/horse-soldiers-go-hollywood-behind-the-scenes-with-12-strong\/","name":"\u2018Horse Soldiers\u2019 go Hollywood: Behind the scenes with \u201812 Strong\u2019 - Air Force TImes","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/off-duty\/movies-video-games\/2018\/01\/17\/horse-soldiers-go-hollywood-behind-the-scenes-with-12-strong\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/off-duty\/movies-video-games\/2018\/01\/17\/horse-soldiers-go-hollywood-behind-the-scenes-with-12-strong\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/MIL-HORSE-SOLDIERS-P1-012917-web.jpg.jpg","datePublished":"2018-01-17T19:15:05+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T02:21:55+00:00","description":"More than 16 years and hundreds of deployments into the war in Afghanistan, the story of the first ground troops to strike back after the September 11, 2001, attacks on the U.S.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/off-duty\/movies-video-games\/2018\/01\/17\/horse-soldiers-go-hollywood-behind-the-scenes-with-12-strong\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/off-duty\/movies-video-games\/2018\/01\/17\/horse-soldiers-go-hollywood-behind-the-scenes-with-12-strong\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/off-duty\/movies-video-games\/2018\/01\/17\/horse-soldiers-go-hollywood-behind-the-scenes-with-12-strong\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/MIL-HORSE-SOLDIERS-P1-012917-web.jpg.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/MIL-HORSE-SOLDIERS-P1-012917-web.jpg.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/off-duty\/movies-video-games\/2018\/01\/17\/horse-soldiers-go-hollywood-behind-the-scenes-with-12-strong\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/","ad_zone":"home"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Military Movies &amp; Video Games","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/off-duty\/movies-video-games\/","ad_zone":"movies-video-games"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"\u2018Horse Soldiers\u2019 go Hollywood: Behind the scenes with \u201812 Strong\u2019"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/#website","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/","name":"Air Force TImes","description":"Independent News For Airmen | Air Force Times","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/#organization","name":"Air Force TImes","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/air-logo-white.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/air-logo-white.png","caption":"Air Force TImes"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1","name":"migration","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"migration"},"url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/author\/migration\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Air Force TImes","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes","push-errors":false,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/MIL-HORSE-SOLDIERS-P1-012917-web.jpg.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22601","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22601"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22601\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":89656,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22601\/revisions\/89656"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22601"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22601"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22601"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=22601"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}