Trading Saddle For Sails, Horse Soldiers Embark On 50-Hour Regata

ST. PETERSBURG, FL – There aren’t a lot of people who would be eager to take on the challenge of sailing from St. Petersburg to the island of Isla Mujeres near Cancun, Mexico, in less than 50 hours.

But when you’ve ridden through the mountains of Afghanistan on horseback carrying a Benelli M4 Super 90 combat shotgun, sailing 456 miles seems like a breeze.

At least, that’s what retired Green Beret Master Sgt. Scott Neil figured as he set sail Friday, April 27, with Team American Freedom to participate in the 50th anniversary of the Regata del Sol al Sol international sailboat race to Mexico.

Neil's motivation to participate in the regata goes beyond a craving for adventure, however.

He wants to raise money for and awareness of the Warrior Sailing Program. The nonprofit program is for armed services members who have been wounded in battle or are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. The program uses the sport of sailing to help them recover physically and mentally.

“Our mission is to find a way for veterans to reconnect with other service members and reintegrate into the community,” said Warrior Sailing Program spokeswoman Audrey White.

Sailing, she said, gives wounded service men and women an opportunity to challenge themselves and rebuild their confidence.

Some of Neil's Special Forces buddies along with the more experienced members of the Warrior Sailing Program joined Neil aboard the 75-foot racing yacht, Sgt. Reckless, embarking from the St. Petersburg Yacht Club. This is the team's second long-distance trip. Team American Freedom sailed to Cuba last year.

“It’s adventure, right?” asked Neil. “What drove us to be selected for Special Forces? It’s that same spirit that moves us to do this. It’s just part of us.”

Neil isn’t exaggerating about being an adventure junkie.

Following the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Neil was among 12 Green Berets hand-picked to serve in the elite 5th Special Forces Group’s Operational Detachment Alpha 595 unit. The unit was tasked with working with the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan, collecting critical intelligence on the Taliban and Al Qaeda.

Because of Afghanistan’s rugged, mountainous terrain, the elite unit traded its Army-issue Humvees for horses.

“We knew very little about the situation we were going into but we knew we had to learn from our Afghan counterparts,” said retired Green Beret Capt. Mark Nutsch, a Tampa resident and member of Team American Freedom.

Nutsch had an advantage. He grew up riding horses on a ranch. Some of the team members had never been on horseback before.

“We were blending 19th-century warfare tactics on horseback with 20th-century weapons and 21st-century technology and trying to figure out how all these things can come together," said Nutsch.

The story of the 5th Special Forces Group’s Operational Detachment Alpha 595 is depicted in the CNN documentary, “Legion of Brothers." and the 2018 film, “12 Strong – The Declassified True Story of the Horse Soldiers."

Upon his return home, Neil said he didn't want the adventure to end.

"I'm always ready for a challenge," he said.

Following a trip to Yellowstone National Park, Neil happened upon a craft distillery and the idea of starting his own distillery with his Green Beret buddies began to ferment.

After researching the process, including trips to Scotland and Ireland to learn how to distill bourbon whiskey and to Cuba for instruction on making rum, Neil and former Special Forces members Rob Schaefer, John Koko and Tyler Garner opened American Freedom Distillery on Sept. 11, 2017.

Located in the old Genius Central building at 2232 5th Ave. S, in the heart of St. Petersburg’s Warehouse Arts District, Neil said the the 16,000—square-foot distillery is a tribute to America’s grit and determination. He jokes that it took longer to get approval to open the distillery than it took to defeat the Taliban.

The distillery produces Rekker Silver, Spiced and Aged Rum. But its signature achievement is an 8-year-old wheated bourbon whiskey named Horse Soldier.

The Commander’s Select version of Horse Soldier Bourbon Whiskey comes with a military serial-numbered challenge coin and a dispatch from the commander of the Horse Soldiers, highlighting the unit's contribution in the early days of the war in Afghanistan.

And, recently, Neil announced a new partnership with Anchor Glass of Georgia. The St. Pete distillery will begin bottling its signature bourbon whiskey in bottles pressed in molds that were forged from steel salvaged from the World Trade Center.

Fittingly, a portion of the proceeds from every bottle sold will go toward the maintenance of America’s Response Monument in Liberty Park, which overlooks the National September 11 Memorial & Museum in New York City.

Nicknamed the Horse Soldier statue, the 16-foot bronze statue of a soldier on horseback is dedicated to the United States Special Forces and commemorates the efforts of the Horse Solders in Afghanistan.

Images via Scott Neil

1. Sgt. Reckless sails by the Skyway Bridge.

2. Team American Freedom prepares to embark Friday morning.

3. Team American Freedom member Mark Nutsch is a former member of the elite Horse Soldiers unit.

4. Scott Neil stands next to his distillery.

5. Rekker is the name of the rum made by American Freedom Distillery.

6. Mark Nutsch on horseback in Afghanistan.

7. Scott Neil in Afghanistan.