# SGT Vince Makela, U.S. Army Green Beret, Afghanistan 'Horse Soldiers'

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/veterans-chronicles-608161/sgt-vince-makela-u-s-army-green-beret-afghanistan-horse-soldiers
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/veterans-chronicles-608161/sgt-vince-makela-u-s-army-green-beret-afghanistan-horse-soldiers.md
Podcast: [Veterans Chronicles](https://stenobird.com/podcast/veterans-chronicles-608161)
Published: 2026-07-15T11:00:02+00:00
Episode link: https://www.spreaker.com/episode/sgt-vince-makela-u-s-army-green-beret-afghanistan-horse-soldiers--72972074
Audio file: https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/72972074/20260715_vince_makela_final.mp3
Processing state: not_requested
JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/veterans-chronicles-608161/episodes/sgt-vince-makela-u-s-army-green-beret-afghanistan-horse-soldiers
Duration seconds: 2139

## Resource

Vince Makela enlisted in the U.S. Army while he was still in high school. After basic training, he specialized in communications and dreamed of flight school. When that dream didn't come true, Makela set his sights on another impressive goal - becoming a Green Beret. Several years later, he found himself in one of the first American units to set foot in Afghanistan after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Operational Detachment Alpha (ODA) 595 not only achieved amazing results, but the men also became widely known as the "Horse Soldiers." In this edition of Veterans Chronicles , Makela takes us from basic training to a very meaningful early deployment to Korea. He also walks us through selection and qualifying for U.S. Army Special Forces and his vivid memories of 9/11. From there, Makela explains how ODA 595 was quickly ordered to prepare for deployment and draw up plans for its operation in Afghanistan. You'll also hear how no one in the unit was expecting to become a horse soldier and how they adapted rather quickly to the mission. Finally, Makela tells about the part of that mission that he still considers the highlight of his military career.

## Actions

- request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/veterans-chronicles-608161/episodes/sgt-vince-makela-u-s-army-green-beret-afghanistan-horse-soldiers/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode.
- read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/veterans-chronicles-608161/sgt-vince-makela-u-s-army-green-beret-afghanistan-horse-soldiers.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource.

A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed.

## Transcript

Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.