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It’s 2009 and Natividad Shepherd Ruiz is about to begin his 5th deployment with the U.S. Army, this time in Afghanistan. He has already served in Bosnia (1999), Kosovo (2002) and Iraq (2003 and 2005-2006). Things have changed since he first enlisted. Morale is low and suicide rates are high. Information is shared only on a need to know basis, as bureaucracy and politics seep deeper into the military. When one of his superiors presents him with a calendar to mark the days he and his men have left to live, he knows something is seriously wrong. He joins the Buffaloes of 1-17 Infantry which is fighting and dying in one of the deadliest battlefields in Afghanistan. He joins a platoon known as the Black Sheep. Every flock needs its shepherd, and Ruiz will do all he can to protect and guard his men, often resorting to doing things the old-fashioned way. He wins the trust of the local people by letting them believe he is of Afghani descent (he isn’t), which gains him valuable knowledge of Taliban strengths and movements. He uses his skill and experience to dig up and disarm IEDs to keep the terrain safe, rather than wait for the arrival of the already overworked ordnance disposal teams. However, his initiative doesn’t sit well with his superiors, and he finds himself more and more at odds with the politics of modern warfare…Raw, gritty, hard-hitting, heartbreaking and at times hilarious, but above all honest, this is the true story - told in his own words - of Master Sergeant Natividad Ruiz, Shepherd of the 1-17 Black Sheep, and his will to survive. Includes over 75 photos.
