Final Engagement - by Christopher L Izant (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

Through a deadly last showdown beside Afghan forces fighting the Taliban, Marine Corps veteran Christopher Izant illustrates the impossible conditions and strategic blunders that disillusioned a generation of American warriors and all but guaranteed defeat.

They were stepping into a world of hidden minefields, cultural clashes, green-on-blue insider attacks, and a patient, relentless enemy. But Christopher Izant and the Marines on his team volunteered to train and fight alongside the Afghan National Security Forces despite the risks and a seemingly futile mission they would term advise and abandon made by policymakers a world away.

Final Engagement embeds readers with then-Lieutenant Izant and his team of combat advisors at Combat Outpost Taghaz during one of Operation Enduring Freedom's most crucial and challenging campaigns. It was 2012, southern Helmand Province, and with fixed base-closure and withdrawal timelines, the Marines had only six months to sustain the hard-won victories of the infantry units and prepare the Afghan Border Police to stand on their own. But before Border Advisory Team 1 lay down arms, there would be one last deadly battle with a devastating aftermath.

Izant relives a fight in the Afghan borderlands that forebode the fall of Kabul nearly a decade later and confronts the violence and anguish that transformed a generation of American and Afghan warriors from idealist volunteers for a just war to disillusioned veterans of a lost cause.

Review Quotes

Praise for Final Engagement by Christopher L. Izant

Americans should read this book to understand better the service and sacrifices of those who served on a modern-day frontier between barbarism and civilization in Afghanistan. Christopher Izant sheds light on the courage, sense of honor, and dedication to duty of those who fought there as he lays bare the contrast between the true character of the war on the ground and the unreal depiction of it in Washington, DC.

--Lt. General H.R. McMaster (Ret.), former United States National Security Advisor, and New York Times bestselling author of At War with Ourselves, Battlegrounds, and Dereliction of Duty

Izant delivers a refreshingly honest, much-needed account of the failures of US policy in Afghanistan--and the effect those failures had on the warriors sent into harm's way to carry out this (lack of) policy. A must-read for anyone interested in the real-world consequences of Beltway chaos.

--Maurice Chipp Naylon, Marine veteran and author of The New Ministry of Truth: Combat Advisors in Afghanistan and America's Great Betrayal

In Final Engagement, Izant weaves a gripping narrative that transcends the written word, striking deep into the heart of those who've stood on the front lines. As a former Army Ranger, I found myself transported back to the rugged terrains and the raw emotions of service--where every page turned is a step back into the camaraderie, the adrenaline, and the poignant moments that define a soldier's journey. This book doesn't just tell a story; it evokes the very essence of sacrifice and victory, leaving an indelible mark on the soul. A must-read that captures the complex tapestry of war with authenticity and emotional depth.

--Dr. Tony Brooks, author of Leave No Man Behind The most adventurous job on the battlefield is combat advisor. Before he was an FBI agent, Izant was a Marine lieutenant in Afghanistan trying to teach Afghan soldiers how to fight and win in a future without Americans. That future arrived tragically in 2021. Detailing his war in a remote piece of Afghanistan preceding the withdrawal of US troops, Izant delivers a searing account of adventure, frustration, and success in a world far removed from his Millennial peers, in a war far removed from common sense. All US advisors should read Final Engagement.

--Owen West, Marine veteran, former Assistant Secretary of Defense, and author of The Snake Eaters: Counterinsurgency Advisors in Combat

A fervent, and above all honest, account of one Marine's tour of duty in Afghanistan, Final Engagement provides sorely needed ground truth about the debacles that plagued the longest war in US history. Like countless other Americans who reported for duty after 9/11, Christopher Izant did his part to accomplish the US mission in Afghanistan, only to discover that those in charge of the war had deluded themselves and the public about a path to victory.

--Craig Whitlock, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Afghanistan Papers: A Secret History of the War

An honest, compelling narrative that vividly describes why Afghanistan was a lost cause, with our grunts heedlessly directed by our incompetent senior leaders.

--Bing West, Marine veteran, former Assistant Secretary of Defense, co-author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Call Sign Chaos: Learning to Lead written with General Jim Mattis, and author of national bestseller The Wrong War: Gritty Strategy, and the Way Out of Afghanistan

About the Author

Christopher L. Izant served as an Infantry Officer in the U.S. Marine Corps from 2010 to 2014 and deployed to Helmand Province as an advisor to the Afghan Border Police. Chris attended Boston College for undergraduate studies prior to his military service and afterward completed a joint degree program at Harvard Law School and the Kennedy School of Government. Chris is a Special Agent at the Federal Bureau of Investigation. He lives in Maryland with his family.