LEXINGTON, Va. Sept. 16, 2025 — U.S. Army Special Forces Master Sgt. Christopher C. Spence—part of the first wave of American forces on the ground in Afghanistan following the 9/11 terrorist attacks 24 years ago—spoke at Virginia Military Institute Sept. 10 as the first speaker of the Center for Leadership and Ethics’ (CLE) 2025-26 Courageous Leadership series, “American Values.”

Spence took the first photographs of American Special Forces on horseback in Afghanistan, which former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld used to show the world, proving U.S. presence there. One close-up photograph Spence took of a Horse Soldier is currently on display in the Smithsonian Institution and served as the template for America’s Response Monument, the bronze statue in Liberty Park overlooking the 9/11 Memorial & Museum in New York City.

Before introducing Spence to the near capacity crowd of cadets, faculty, staff, and community members in Gillis Theater, Col. David Gray, executive director of the CLE, asked the audience, “Do you remember?” Gray acknowledged many had not yet been born, or were too young to remember where they were when they first heard the news of the terror attacks. “For those who do, Spence underscores the American values displayed on 9/11 and the response that quickly followed. We’re fortunate Master Sergeant Spence is with us to give some insight into the planning and execution by our special forces on the ground in Afghanistan during that crucial time.”

While displaying slides, Spence walked the audience through of the enormity of what affected his colleagues and him on 9/11. He stated it was a sentinel moment for his generation. “For my parents’ generation, it was the JFK assassination. For their parents, it was when Pearl Harbor was attacked. After the 9/11 terrorist attack, America was not going to lay down quietly, it would rebuild and stand back up. It’s what the American spirit does.”

Within a month of 9/11, Spence and his team were headed to Karshi-Khanabad, a former Soviet air base in Uzbekistan. They later flew by helicopter to Mazar-i-Sharif in Afghanistan where their mission was to advise the Afghan commanders. Spence relayed the story of how he took the first photograph of the Horse Soldiers. “The Afghan general wanted to show our battalion commander, and several others, where his front line troops were positioned. I had ridden ahead of them on a John Deere Gator, which we brought with us into the military theater, because there was a transportation problem. I told the driver, ‘stop the Gator. I’ve got to get a picture of this, because no one is going to believe this. Here we are in the 21^st century, riding horseback.’ So, I took the picture and sent it back to headquarters.”

Spence displayed photographs of Afghan mud-hut villages with no electricity, a single well, and few trees. He told stories of carefully avoiding mine fields, comically learning how to stop a horse that did not understand the English, “whoa,” and unintentionally upsetting the local economy since the only currency the Americans brought with them were $100 bills.

He displayed a photo and shared a poignant account of a little girl, the only female they saw. “Once we liberated Afghanistan, this little girl could go to school, she could get a job, she could actually leave her house without a male escort. When Afghanistan fell in 2021, those rights were taken away from her. She can no longer uncover her face, she can no longer go to school, she can no longer have a job. Think about the freedoms we wake up to every day being taken for granted. This little girl had those freedoms snatched away from her after 20 years.”

Reflecting on the fall of Afghanistan, Spence asked if there were any Vietnam veterans in the audience. One man raised his hand to whom Spence addressed, “Sir, I understand how you felt when you saw Saigon fall. I never understood it until this happened to us, the blood, the sweat and tears that you saw, we experienced the same thing when Afghanistan fell. Thank you.”

Spence concluded by contemplating the simple act of his taking photographs. “The photographs led to a book, “Horse Soldiers” by Doug Stanton, which led to a film, “12 Strong.” And one photograph led to a statue. Because of that one picture, the world finally knew what the special forces had done. But none of this would have happened if I hadn’t raised my right hand and taken an oath to serve my country. That one act launched this whole affair.”

After answering questions from the audience, the crowd thanked Spence with a standing ovation. He then signed copies of “Horse Soldiers.”

Marianne Hause
Communications & Marketing
VIRGINIA MILITARY INSTITUTE