The Little Men

An Afghanistan Diary

“This is simply a story I felt needed to be told because already, 15 years after Operation Herrick 8 ended, it is fast becoming a forgotten war.” Former Platoon CO George McCafferty’s opening words of his book, ‘The Little Men: An Afghanistan Diary’ are striking.

With the large-scale evacuation of foreign citizens and military and civilian staff from Afghanistan two years ago, followed by the wholescale triumph of Taliban forces, many observers have since asked – what was the point? Indeed, such statements are only reinforced as the events of that horrific 19-year-long war in Afghanistan gradually wither away in the collective consciousness.

For McCafferty however, whose first six-month tour in Helmand Province between May and October 2008 has since been described as the bloodiest and most dangerous period of the entire conflict, “something tangible” had to be put to words about his experiences. Acknowledging that the efforts of the International Security Assistance Force and NATO in Afghanistan are swiftly becoming forgotten, the former 5 SCOTS officer has penned a vivid, brutally honest record of his involvement in Operation Herrick 8 to ensure that “in some small measure, I can help remind people about what the soldiers of the British Army sacrificed, their camaraderie and brotherhood on the frontlines, and what that generation of young men and women did for their country.”