Book Reviews

"The Profession" by Steve Pressfield

2011-05-10T20:21:00.001-07:00

The Profession
By Steven Pressfield
Crown Publishers, 2011, $ 25.00
ISBN # 978-0-385-52873-3

It’s 2032 and the world is still at war in the Middle East and Central Asia. Iran is in flames, uprisings in Saudi Arabia, and a coup in Tajikistan. Still a geopolitical mess of oil – religion – politics – corruption; it seems the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Or perhaps not, as the fighting and dying has changed from the proud Marines and soldiers of today to paramilitary forces fighting under private banners and funded by the likes of ExxonMobil, BP, Credit Suisse, and Lukoil - a not-unthinkable scenario where a mixture of Blackwater, private enterprise, and national interests fight and scheme for supplies of oil, food, and raw materials.

Author and former-Marine Steve Pressfield’s newest book “The Profession” lives up to his reputation for combining gripping action with intellect and principle. Following his “Honor-Courage-Commitment” theme honed in “Gates of Fire” and “The Afghan Campaign,” Pressfield uses one of the protagonists in the story as his narrator and tell the story of conflict in the 2030’s from his boots-on-the-ground level.

The storyteller is one Gilbert "Gent" Gentilhomme, a former Marine serving under his former Marine commander, Gen James Salter. Both are mercenaries; highly paid warriors who still live by the bonds they learned as Marines. War, be it either conventional war, peacekeeping in Africa, or quelling rebellions in Central Asia, is more than just a series of violent incidents and as in his prior books, Pressfield introduces the reader to combat-related concepts of loyalty, love, and fidelity.

It’s difficult to decide on good and evil when war is being fought by surrogates, and in the “The Profession”, both Gent and Salter find their straight-forward, hard-charging Marine background at odds with the nuances of their current situation.

Similar to those Marines who fought the Sunni’s in Ramadi in 2005-2006, yet found them to be allies in 2008, Gent seeks safety and solace with his fellow troops, while trusting Salter to deal with big picture geopolitics and those dubious sorts of despots and oligarchs.

Pressfield’s clearly done his research on the complexities of today’s 3-block war, including an embed in Marja last year and the intricacies of international politics. “The Profession” blends an opening action sequence as brutal as any RT Michigan ambush with a renegade mercenary army later invading and seizing a sovereign state – a not impossible scenario perhaps taken from Blackwater’s 2004-2005 thoughts buying ships, forming a MEU, and being hired by the United Nations.

A combination of nuance and incredible violence, “The Profession” remains a story of loyalty; of Gent and his men, but more important, Gent and Salter to each other. But it’s these bonds of loyalty and love, sharpened in their Marine Corps training and ethos, that Pressfield uses in his surprising ending in which Salter stretches
“Honor-Courage-Commitment” to its absolute limit. Honor and Commitment: to your fellow Marine, to your country, or to who or whom?

Highly recommended!

"Do the Work" by Steve Pressfield

2011-04-26T07:34:00.000-07:00

"Do The Work"
By Steven Pressfield, 2011
ISBN # 978-1-936719-01-3

What a great book!

How many people go through life saying (or thinking) "I coulda done that.." as they manufacture excuse after excuse for races not run...articles not written...careers not pursued...or dreams unfulfilled. The road to ennui is filled with these folks; isn't there a better way to live?

Yes there is - and "Do The Work" is your roadmap to it.

It's really simple, best-selling author Steve Pressfield explains, "a child has no trouble believing the unbelieveable, nor does the genius or madman...it's only you and I, with our big brains and tiny hearts, who doubt and overthink and hesitate." Listen to your dream, he writes, and work hard to beat "resistance" and "rational thought.," that inner voice that calmly explains why you can't write a kick-ass article or run a personal best on a windy day.

Get out there before you're prepared, Pressfield advises "we show huevos. Or blood heats up. Courage begets more courage. The gods, witnessing our boldness, look on in approval"

He's correct - sometimes you've just got walk to the starting line, look the world in the eye, and say "F/U - catch me." Thanks for writing this; now I've got the moto to BELIEVE that the rest of the world is wrong and I can achieve my dream - or my dream until I reach for the next big one...

"Our Daddy Is Invincible!"

2011-04-18T06:14:00.000-07:00

Our Daddy Is Invincible!

By Shannon Maxwell
4th Division Press, 2010, $ 15.95
ISBN# 978-1-61751-003-8

In the nine years of war since 9/11, much has been written (and rightly so) of the courage of our wounded Marines and soldiers. With 35,000+ returning burned, wounded, with multiple amputations, the military medical system was overwhelmed, and groups such as Fisher House and Wounded Warriors sprang to the forefront to assist.

All well and good, but in the rush to assist these badly wounded warriors, there was unseen and unnoticed collateral damage – the children of these same wounded warriors.

Fortunately, author Shannon Maxwell’s fine book “Our Daddy is Invincible” addresses these issues, and in terms young children can understand.

This brightly- illustrated children’s book is directed at both the children of the wounded, as well as the children of those deployed. Dads and moms do get hurt, her pictures and age-appropriate text explain, but in the end, our family endures.
“Daddy’s been hurt”, a mom tells her two young children, “but it will all be OK.” To a wife suddenly dealing with wounded husband, she’s calmly conveyed the situation to her children, and now can go back to learning the realities of medivac’s, an emergency flight to Germany, rehab, and the multitude of care issues that will be arising. But the children lying in bed at night have their own fears, and it’s to them that Maxwell address her book “daddies can be hurt?” they think, “how can that be? We didn’t think it that way.”

Maxwell knows too well of what she writes; her Marine husband was badly wounded in Iraq in 2004, and she dropped their two children off with her sister as she made a mad dash to Germany to meet her husband at the hospital. “They sometimes get hurt, just like you and me,” Maxwell explains,” Even superheroes get hurt by the villain sometimes.” She also takes time to explain how nurses, doctors, and an array of therapists are standing by to help amputee mom or blind dad.

In a compassionate, but direct fashion, “Our Daddy is Invincible” deals with wounded dads and moms directly with illustrations of amputee dad or TBI dad. But it’s the context that’s so important, and here Maxwell and illustrator Liza Biggers make their point: amputee dad is happily swimming with his daughter, TBI dad (with helmet) is having breakfast with his young son, and wheelchair dad is on the sidelines of his daughter’s soccer game and cheering her on. “Our daddy is the bravest man we know”, one of Maxwell’s characters writes, ”we are so glad that he’s here to see us grow.”

While one wishes that Maxwell and Biggers (who lost her brother in Iraq) did not have the personal experiences that made “Our Daddy is Invincible” such a powerful and effective book…thankfully they did. If my son (with 5 deployments) ever returns as amputee dad or blind dad, this is the book I’ll be reading to his son / my grandson. A must-read for anyone with a deployed spouse and children at home.

"A Chance in Hell" The fight for Ramadi

2011-01-19T14:14:00.000-08:00

Ramadi; 2006…the Marines and soldiers were taking heavy casualties in what had been dubbed “the most deadly city in the world.” The television news seemed to have a daily ticker scrolling “Marine killed today in Ramadi,” every morning, and in August the Washington Post reported that Marine intelligence officer Col Peter Devlin submitted a classified intelligence report saying that the American military had lost control of Anbar Province to Al Qaeda.

But within a year, Ramadi and Anbar Province were being hailed as ‘the’ example of American success in stabilizing Iraq, and in “A Chance in Hell,” author Jim Michaels provides a gripping tale of how a few determined individuals turned the tide of battle.

Unlike Fallujah or An-Nasiriyah which were battles of a set duration, the battle for Ramadi was fought over a space of three years, with the lead units being a mix of 1st MEF, 2nd MEF, Pennsylvania National Guard, and regular Army. With so many unit and so many individual heroic actions on which to write, Michaels made the decision to emphasize the individuals most responsible for the turn-around; Army Col Sean MacFarland, Sheik Sattar Abu-Risha, and MajGen Richard Zilmer, USMC.

Michaels is a superb storyteller, and as both a former Marine infantry officer and USA Today’s military editor, has the skills to present a story in a manner that is both accurate and readable. And what a story it is.

MacFarland was the commanding officer of the Army’s “Ready First” (First Brigade, First Armored Division), that arrived Ramadi in May 2006, under the command of 1st Mar Div’s MajGen Richard Zilmer. The city was in chaos; the Pentagon had sent the Pennsylvania National Guard to control Ramadi and while the Guardsmen fought hard, they lacked the resources to conduct a proper urban fight. “These were Pennsylvania coal miners,” said Devlin, “and they were duking it out and holding their own.” But barely holding their own…their Camp Corregidor was under such daily siege that six soldiers had been killed inside the base by indirect fire, and flaks and kevlars were needed in order to reach the chow hall or make a head call.

Clearly an unsustainable strategy, as Zilmer and MacFarland both knew. Ramadi was an economy of force mission in the eyes of the Bush Administration, and as MEF intelligence officer Maj Ben Connable quickly learned after working with MNF-I staff “most of us (had)bought into the line that commanders get what they ask for. That was a blatant lie.” The only direction coming from Washington was to turn responsibility for Iraqi security over to the Iraqi’s so American troops could come home; Zilmer and MacFarland were on their own.

Employing the Marine concept of ‘Commanders Intent,” Zilmer gave MacFarland huge autonomy. “Fix Ramadi,” he was told, “but don’t do a Fallujah.”

Also newly arrived in Ramadi was 1st Bn, 6th Marines, led by LtCol William Jurney. Headquartered at Hurricane Point in western Ramadi, Jurney’s Marines were responsible for security in the city, including the Government Center. An island of Marine defiance in central Ramadi as the insurgency swirled around it, the “Gov Center” was attacked by mortars, RPG’s, and SAF daily as both the American public and the local population waited to see if the Marines and soldiers were going to regain control of the city from AQI. The locals hated the Americans, MacFarland and Jurney quickly discovered, but they feared Al-Qada – and the American military had shown itself incapable of protecting them.

One of the locals was Sheik Sattar abu-Risha, a minor sheik from a minor tribe. But with the more important sheiks having fled to Jordan along with AQI having killed his father and three of his four brothers; Sattar was quietly cultivating the Americans in order to gain revenge. Zilmer and MacFarland understood the tribes were the key to Anbar, so with Zilmer’s approval, MacFarland and his staff began to co-operate with Sattar and his new group, the Anbar Awakening.

Michaels weaves a story that includes CPT Travis Patriquin, of the famous stick-figure powerpoint, Marine Major Megan McLung, and the other Marine and Army officers who helped make the turn-about possible. He also includes the American interpreters and intelligence officers who worked with Sattar, giving the reader the most complete view of this most interesting individual.

Those readers expecting a Marine-centric view of Ramadi may be disappointed; Ramadi was not a Marine-exclusive operation, and Michaels takes pains to portray this.. But for all readers, and especially those many Marines who fought from OP VA, OP Hawk, and 17th Street, “A Chance in Hell” is a most interesting story of how a few entrepreneurial officers and a charismatic sheik developed the strategy that took back Ramadi and was adopted by Gen David Petraeus as the backbone of his ‘surge’ strategy.
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"Noble Warrior; The Life & Times of MajGen James Livingston

2010-12-21T07:32:00.000-08:00

So few Medals of Honor; yet so many are awarded for those quick and usually fatal decisions made in combat; so many citations are of those young Marines who threw themselves on a hand grenade or charged a pillbox. With some 70% of Medals of Honor awarded posthumously, it is rare to have the opportunity to learn about the action from the Marine himself.

"Noble Warrior; The story of MajGen James E. Livingston, USMC (ret), Medal of Honor" provides a unique window into the world of a Medal of Honor awardee who is both a survivor and an officer. An autobiography written with experienced military authors Colin Heaton and Ann-Marie Lewis, MajGen James Livingston's book gives the reader a look at the man behind the medal. From enlisting in the Marine Corps to fighting in Vietnam to his post-combat career, Noble Warrior is a well-written book that begins to shed light on the life of a most interesting Marine.

Not quite a depression baby; Livingston was born just months prior to the start of WW2 in rural Georgia. With his family economically better off than most, he relates how his parents were unique in ignoring the segregationist practices so prevalent at that time, and how those beliefs carried over to his Marine Corps years. "I always believed," he wrote, "in what Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said...that a man `should be judged by the content of his character and not by the color of his skin.' This was never truer than on the field of battle, and it is one of the great hallmarks of our beloved Marine Corps"

This was a unique code of ethics for a Georgia boy during those turbulent times, and equally unique was his father's pushing him off the farm in order to obtain a college degree. Perhaps not so surprising was his joining the Marine Corps, in his eyes `the most aggressive outfit,' Soon Livingston received his commission as a 2nd Lieutenant, sent to Camp Pendleton, and deployed on a southeast Asian float. After a second cruise, Livingston threatened to resign if he was not given command, so he was shipped to Vietnam as commanding officer of Echo Company, 2nd Bn, 4th Marines. The die was cast.

Just weeks earlier, Echo had suffered 60% casualties and Livingston made certain that any casualties suffered in the future would not be due to slipshod training. A hard-charger even by Marine standards, Livingston explains his rationale for the never-ending and sometimes ruthless training programs for which he was known "I led by example," he wrote, "and was always shaved, had my gear in order, and was always in the front of a fight or PT run. You have to lead from the front...anyone can shout orders from the rear, but I would not want to follow such "leaders" into harm's way either." Sound policy as he led his Marines during the firefights so prevalent in pre-Tet Offensive's Quang Tri Province.

Most actions resulting in a Medal of Honor are short in duration; Noble Warrior recounts how Livingston earned his during the pitched battle at Dai Do. Written in an understated style that belies the intensity of the fight, Livingston narrates how an understrength battalion landing team found itself locked in a three-day battle against 7,000 experienced North Vietnamese regulars.

With Golf 2/4 finding unexpectedly heavy resistance when assaulting Dai Do, Livingston's Echo Co was ordered to assist. After their first two attacks stalled, he personally led the reserves in a charge that broke the enemy lines. Although wounded twice, Livingston directed his Marines in killing the remaining NVA fighting from their bunkers. Only 35 of more than 100 Marines remained combat-effective.

Yet the fight was far from finished. Hearing that Hotel 2/4 was pinned down by numerically superior NVA forces, Livingston moved the remainder of Echo to Hotel's position where he led the merged companies in yet another charge. After an hour of hand-to-hand fighting, the Marines owned the field...for the moment.

Later in the day, the reinforced NVA attacked in force, so Livingston ordered supporting fire and smoke in order to bring the Marines out in a phased withdrawl. Wounded for the third time, he was firing at the NVA when two Marines dragged him out.

Recovering from his wounds, Livingston returned to Vietnam, and under the command of Col Al Gray (later Gen, CMC), was involved in the desperate evacuation of Americans and Vietnamese as Saigon fell in 1975.

Retiring from the Marine Corps in 1995, Noble Warrior further describes how Livingston went on to a successful public service career. Written in a blunt and unyielding style that co-authors Heaton and Lewis wisely left unchanged, "Noble Warrior; The story of MajGen James E. Livingston, USMC (ret), Medal of Honor" is well worth reading.
==============

"War" by Sebastian Junger

2010-11-01T07:06:00.000-07:00

War by Sebastian Junger is the story of the 2nd Platoon, Battle Company, 173rd Airborne Brigade fighting at FOB Restrepo. Located in the Korengal Valley's isolated RC East, the 15 to 20 2nd Platoon soldiers fought in almost 500 firefights during their 15-month deployment — some 20 percent of all Afghan combat in that time period. Through five lengthy embeds, Junger followed this single platoon with the goal of conveying "combat" to the civilian audience.

Junger is no novice. Years before he wrote A Perfect Storm, he was traveling from Kosovo to Bosnia to Liberia to Sierre Leone to Kashmir, reporting on human rights violations, war crimes and the kidnapping of civilians as a terror tool. He's also no stranger to Afghanistan; prior to 9/11 he profiled the Northern Alliance leader Ahmed Shah Massoud as they fought against the Taliban for a National Geographic special. So his current best-seller War is written from a depth of knowledge and experience that few writers possess. I recently spoke with him about his book and the time spent with 2nd Platoon, Battle Company.

At one point # 3 on The New York Times bestseller list, War brings the reader directly into the fight at Restrepo. The base is isolated in a valley so remote that the locals speak a different language (Korengali) than the rest of Afghanistan. The reader is thrown into the firefights, ambushes and boredom that make up a deployment. It's in the blend of firefights and boredom where Junger excels; his descriptions, from AK rounds snapping past his head to the primitive living conditions to the funny yet totally sophomoric humor, are amongst the most realistic portrayal of soldiers in combat published to date. "If I sleep with your mother, does that make me your father?" one soldier asks another, and the resulting philosophical and genealogical debate lasted until...the next firefight.

Being this close to the fight, however, brings some disturbing observations about war, and comradeship. The 2nd Platoon has fallen into the practice of giving each member a "beat-down," where the platoon pummels each member.

"It's a form of initiation rite," Junger explained to me,"it's a way of bonding, as well as reinforcing the concept that the group, in this case 2nd Platoon, takes precedence over the individual." An anthropologist by training, Junger continued, "It isn't about abuse, similar to Lord of the Flies, it's about demonstrating group inclusion, knowing that everyone is committed to the unit. You've got a small group of young men, heavily armed, in 4-5 TIC's (troops-in-combat) daily... no email, little comm[unication] with family... their world consists solely of their fellow soldiers. Is it a normal ritual? Probably not, but look at where and how they're spending 15 months."

Despite his previous trips to combat zones, these embeds in Restrepo were Junger's first embed with the Army. Impartiality and accuracy are of paramount importance to a journalist, and especially one of Junger's stature, yet in War he writes of the impossibility of remaining impartial. "I'm living in close quarters with the soldiers. I eat, sleep, and go on patrol with them, and too many AK rounds and RPG's have barely missed us all. But remember, I'm not writing an opinion piece; I'm sharing their experiences in order to bring their story to you."

He does this very well as he describes life at Restrepo, "It's a miraculous kind of anti-paradise up here, heat and dust and tarantulas and flies. No women and no running water and no cooked food. Nothing to do but kill and wait."

After spending five months sharing danger and boredom, Junger finds himself drawing closer to the soldiers of 2nd Platoon and losing any journalist sense of impartiality, but he knows he needs to find a balance between being a journalist and being a combatant. After all, press credentials are worthless in a firefight. Despite the daily threat of being killed, Junger draws his own line at potential levels of his involvement "Oh, I'll carry ammo if asked, and they gave me a refresher in combat first aid. But I'm careful not to become like those journalists who confuse themselves with the story they're covering."

Responsible combat journalism is a difficult assignment, but Junger handles the partial-impartial question well. Embedded with a close-knit unit for some 35 percent of their deployment while sharing the firefights, the boredom and the isolation, all thoughts of impartiality disappear once the first AK-47 round hits the Hesco over one's head and the soldier next to him returns fire. Junger acknowledges this conundrum head-on, and in doing so, brings even greater poignancy to the story of 2nd Platoon, Battle Company.

Shortly after War was published, Gen. Stanley McChrystal closed all the Army FOB's in the Korengal, with the bland statement that engagement in the Korengal no longer fit into the Army's strategic vision. Junger mentioned to me that it would be interesting to see what the surviving soldiers of 2nd Platoon thought of the decision that their 15 months and some 500 firefights had been deemed unnecessary.

"Immediate Response" Brit Chinooks in Helmand!

2010-08-24T05:04:00.000-07:00

"Immediate Response"
Maj Mark Hammond
Penguin-Michael Joseph, 2009

It's easy in the United States to overlook the robust British effort in Afghanistan - but "Immediate Response" goes a long way in setting the record straight.

Written by Maj Mark Hammond, Royal Marines,"Immediate Response" is the story of Hammond's Chinook squadron fighting in Helmand Province. Hammond is a helicopter pilot flying British troops into hot LZ's and taking out the wounded. These are incredibly important and stressful missions in which lives are saved or lost due to his flying ability.

Hammond is a superb writer. He succeeds in bringing the reader into the cockpit with him, in the heat, sand, and dust in which he and his mates live and work. They cope with the stress with black humor as saracastic, sophmoric, and semi-obscene as do our troops; this is a no-holds-barred look at men at war.

Our British allies are doing an excellent job in Afghanistan; well done Maj Hammond in making us aware of it.

Noble Warrior; The Story of MajGen James Livingston; USMC-Medal of Honor

2010-08-21T10:42:00.000-07:00

Noble Warrior; The story of MajGen James Livingston, USMC, Medal of Honor
By James E. Livingston, with Colin Heaton and Anne-Marie Lewis
Zenith Press, 2010, U.S. $28.00
ISBN # 978-0-7603-3807-0

So few Medals of Honor; yet so many are awarded for those quick and usually fatal decisions made in combat; so many citations are of those young Marines who threw themselves on a hand grenade or charged a pillbox. With some 70% of Medals of Honor awarded posthumously, it is rare to have the opportunity to learn about the action from the Marine himself.

“Noble Warrior; The story of MajGen James E. Livingston, USMC (ret), Medal of Honor” provides a unique window into the world of a Medal of Honor awardee who is both a survivor and an officer. An autobiography written with experienced military authors Colin Heaton and Ann-Marie Lewis, MajGen James Livingston’s book gives the reader a look at the man behind the medal. From enlisting in the Marine Corps to fighting in Vietnam to his post-combat career, Noble Warrior is a well-written book that begins to shed light on the life of a most interesting Marine.

Not quite a depression baby; Livingston was born just months prior to the start of WW2 in rural Georgia. With his family economically better off than most, he relates how his parents were unique in ignoring the segregationist practices so prevalent at that time, and how those beliefs carried over to his Marine Corps years. “I always believed,” he wrote, “in what Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said…that a man ‘should be judged by the content of his character and not by the color of his skin.’ This was never truer than on the field of battle, and it is one of the great hallmarks of our beloved Marine Corps”

This was a unique code of ethics for a Georgia boy during those turbulent times, and equally unique was his father’s pushing him off the farm in order to obtain a college degree. Perhaps not so surprising was his joining the Marine Corps, in his eyes ‘the most aggressive outfit,’ Soon Livingston received his commission as a 2nd Lieutenant, sent to Camp Pendleton, and deployed on a southeast Asian float. After a second cruise, Livingston threatened to resign if he was not given command, so he was shipped to Vietnam as commanding officer of Echo Company, 2nd Bn, 4th Marines. The die was cast.

Just weeks earlier, Echo had suffered 60% casualties and Livingston made certain that any casualties suffered in the future would not be due to slipshod training. A hard-charger even by Marine standards, Livingston explains his rationale for the never-ending and sometimes ruthless training programs for which he was known “I led by example,” he wrote, “and was always shaved, had my gear in order, and was always in the front of a fight or PT run. You have to lead from the front…anyone can shout orders from the rear, but I would not want to follow such “leaders” into harm’s way either.” Sound policy as he led his Marines during the firefights so prevalent in pre-Tet Offensive’s Quang Tri Province.

Most actions resulting in a Medal of Honor are short in duration; Noble Warrior recounts how Livingston earned his during the pitched battle at Dai Do. Written in an understated style that belies the intensity of the fight, Livingston narrates how an understrength battalion landing team found itself locked in a three-day battle against 7,000 experienced North Vietnamese regulars.

With Golf 2/4 finding unexpectedly heavy resistance when assaulting Dai Do, Livingston’s Echo Co was ordered to assist. After their first two attacks stalled, he personally led the reserves in a charge that broke the enemy lines. Although wounded twice, Livingston directed his Marines in killing the remaining NVA fighting from their bunkers. Only 35 of more than 100 Marines remained combat-effective.

Yet the fight was far from finished. Hearing that Hotel 2/4 was pinned down by numerically superior NVA forces, Livingston moved the remainder of Echo to Hotel’s position where he led the merged companies in yet another charge. After an hour of hand-to-hand fighting, the Marines owned the field…for the moment.

Later in the day the reinforced NVA attacked in force, so Livingston ordered supporting fires and smoke in order to bring the Marines out in a phased withdrawal. Wounded for the third time, he was firing at the NVA when two Marines dragged him out.

Recovering from his wounds, Livingston returned to Vietnam, and under the command of Col Al Gray (later Gen, CMC), was involved in the desperate evacuation of Americans and Vietnamese as Saigon fell in 1975.

Retiring from the Marine Corps in 1995, Noble Warrior further describes how Livingston went on to a successful public service career. Written in a blunt and unyielding style that co-authors Heaton and Lewis wisely left unchanged, “Noble Warrior; The story of MajGen James E. Livingston, USMC (ret), Medal of Honor” is well worth reading.

Senator's Son

2010-03-18T23:29:00.001-07:00

There is truth, and there is 'The Truth', and in "Senator's Son", former Marine officer and combat veteran Luke Larson gives us the latter.

Based on his two tours in Ramadi, Larson gives the reader a peek into the world of the junior Marine officer on his first combat tour...age early 20's, highly trained and motivated - and worried spitless that he won't measure up to Chesty Puller, Alexander Vandergrift, John Yancy, and all the other awesome Marines whom he'd studied at TBS and earlier.

Larson brings the reader into his world as the young lieutenants plan their missions, interact with the Marines in their commands, relate with their families back stateside, and all the while worrying how to win a battle in which he's not even sure who is the enemy.

His writing is crisp, clear, and very, very honest; if the reader is upset by the directness and earthy humor of young men at war...then stick to watching M*A*S*H re-runs.

And for those of us who spent time in Ramadi...his mentions of OPVA, Route Michigan, Snake Pit, and 17th St Station are dead-on accurate...you can give this book to your children in 20 years and say "I was there; this is what it was like."

This is Larson's first book. Let's hope we see more from him. Bravo Zulu, Marine - Well Done !!

"Inside Story of Pat Tillman" by Jon Krakauer

2009-09-12T20:20:00.001-07:00

Jon Krakauer's Inside Story of Pat Tillman

"Into Thin Air" author Jon Krakauer goes behind the scenes to uncover the life and death of Pat Tillman in his latest book, "Where Men Win Glory"

By JEFFREY A. TRACHTENBERG
Wall Street Journal

Shortly after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, football player Pat Tillman walked away from a lucrative contract offered by the Arizona Cardinals and instead joined the Army.

In his fifth book, "Where Men Win Glory," journalist Jon Krakauer explains why, broadening Mr. Tillman's story by weaving in an account of America's deepening involvement with Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan. He also details how Mr. Tillman was cut down by friendly fire in Afghanistan on April 22, 2004, and examines the disturbing aftermath.

Mr. Krakauer, 55 years old, has long been attracted to risk-takers. In "Into the Wild," he profiled Christopher McCandless, a young adventurer who starved to death in Alaska; and in "Into Thin Air," he chronicled a group of mountain climbers who tackled Mount Everest with heartbreaking results.

In many ways, Pat Tillman became the public face of a new generation's commitment to country and service. In addition to being a superb athlete, he was an iconoclast -- a free-thinker who read widely and admired those who challenged the status quo. After enlisting in the summer of 2002, he joined the United States Army Rangers, where he relished the grueling training program. He died at the age of 27.

The cause of Mr. Tillman's death was not at first accurately reported by the military, leading Mr. Tillman's family to allege that a cover-up had taken place. A Defense Department investigation later found that senior Army officers gave misleading information about the circumstances surrounding Mr. Tillman's death, but that there was no criminal wrongdoing in the shooting and no high-level cover-up. A congressional investigation was inconclusive on whether senior White House and Defense officials were involved in releasing information about Mr. Tillman's death.

Q - Wall Street Journal (WSJ): Mr. Tillman never publicly discussed why he joined the Army. What were his reasons?

Krakauer: He had an old-fashioned sense of duty, masculine honor and masculine pride. He really believed after 9/11 that the United States needed to go to war against al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden. That he had a lucrative contract didn't mean he should be excused from that duty. He felt he could contribute significantly to the war effort and make a difference. He was also drawn by the challenge. Proving himself in combat under fire resonated with him. He came from a family with a history of military service. But it wasn't simply duty to his country. It was a mix of complicated emotions.

Q- WSJ: You note that the military has always had difficulty acknowledging casualties from friendly fire. How did this situation differ?

Krakauer: The Bush administration placed more emphasis on spinning the war, on managing perceptions of the war, than on waging it well. It seemed like the Bush administration launched a propaganda campaign almost unprecedented in modern times. That's different to me. Most friendly fire incidents aren't investigated properly because of neglect or a natural inclination to cover up the embarrassing fact that they killed one of their own. You don't normally see the feverish manipulation of information that you saw with Tillman. Instantly, everyone knew it was friendly fire. But within hours, by sworn testimony, a move was made to give him a Silver Star. That's not typical in a friendly fire situation. All the forensic evidence, including his uniform and journal, were burned. This was an extraordinary case of manipulation of public perception, which is what the Bush administration specialized in.

Q - WSJ: Are you certain that the events surrounding Mr. Tillman's final hours unfolded exactly as you've described them?

Krakauer: Yes, I'm quite confident. It took a lot of time and effort. I've been working on this book for three-and-a-half to four years, and it's been a long, difficult haul. It's the most challenging book I've written. I tried very hard to get this right. I sent chapters in full to every soldier that I interviewed and quoted so that they could see their quotes. A lot of these soldiers don't share my political views. It was a risk, but it created real benefits in terms of accuracy. I also read 3,000 or 4,000 pages of testimony.

Q - WSJ: If you were able to report this, why didn't government investigators dig more deeply?

Krakauer: They were able. They didn't want to. Their conclusions weren't based on a reading of the facts. They didn't want to find out the worst. It's the opposite of a criminal prosecution or a plane crash investigation. Military investigations are designed not to find anyone guilty. And you can't investigate up the chain of command, which is a huge impediment.

Q - WSJ: You report that Mr. Tillman could have likely left the Army after serving in Iraq after 18 months. Why did he stay?

Krakauer: He was very unhappy in the Army. He knew his wife was miserable. But his sense of honor didn't let him consider it. He made a three-year commitment and he wanted to live up to it. That was his point of view, and it was entirely in keeping with his character. It didn't surprise anyone who knew him well.

Q - WSJ: You end the book with a gloomy visit to Afghanistan in early 2007. What did Mr. Tillman's sacrifice mean?

Krakauer: It didn't mean anything. It speaks to the mythology of war and how we glorify it for our national interests. There is nothing glamorous or romantic about war. It's mostly about random pointless death and misery. And that's what his death tells us. It reminds me that the good aren't rewarded, there's no such thing as karma. Maybe it says something about the dangers of any sort of idealism that isn't tempered by pragmatism or experience.

=====

Movie Review: "The Hurt Locker"

2009-08-02T10:22:00.000-07:00

"The Hurt Locker" is good, gut-slammer cinema that captures, quite accurately"

By Michael Fumento
Philelphia Inquirer, 2 Aug '09

One word keeps appearing in reviews of The Hurt Locker, the critically acclaimed war film: realism.

"Realism is the special effect," was the title of one article about the film's producers. "Realism makes for explosive cinema," read the headline of the Chicago Sun-Times review of the film, which follows a three-member Army Explosives Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team over the last 38 days of its 2004 Baghdad deployment.

Actual EOD technicians have been surprised by the description. So was I, a former Army airborne combat engineer (whose job included blowing things up) and journalist who embedded briefly in 2005 with Navy-Marine EOD near Fallujah. That surprise is because of some of the film's serious unrealities, such as:

The men repeatedly don 100-pound bomb suits (useless if the typical rigged howitzer shell goes off in your face) when remote-controlled robots are routinely used. The primary robot, the Talon, pulls the detonation apparatus apart. If it breaks down, as it did in the opening scene of the film, a smaller backup robot (called a "blowbot") carrying plastic explosives blows apart the wiring. I saw this on my first blast in Iraq.

The three EOD technicians in the film repeatedly fire at the enemy. That rarely happens, though the enemy does shoot at them. Rather, EOD meets up with MPs or other soldiers who handle the combat.

In one tense scene, a Barrett .50-caliber sniper rifle jams because some of the huge rounds have fresh blood on them. No way. The amazingly powerful weapon also would have punched right through the flimsy building material that in the film protects the attackers.

It was also irritating to see the soldiers wearing uniforms they wouldn't have been issued until the next year.

In short, The Hurt Locker is not reality but what moviegoers demand: a fast-paced shoot-'em-up. The Sun-Times review title is exactly wrong: Unless the focus is on one extreme, relatively short event - such as Blackhawk Down - reality is financial death for a war film.

That's because reality is the proverbial 99 percent boredom and 1 percent sheer terror. Box-office bucks demand 99 percent action and 1 percent interlude for a bathroom break. Soldiers, too, like those movies - even after seeing the real thing.

The most obvious explanation for what the reviewers perceived as realism is that they know no more about war, Iraq, or EOD than EOD technicians know about reviewing movies.

Fortunately, they are indeed just movie reviewers. Much damage has been inflicted by journalists who "reported" on Iraq from the safety and isolation of their stateside armchairs. Or those who "reported" on combat and the conditions under which combat soldiers must live, and sometimes die, from a Baghdad hotel.

A more complimentary explanation is that the film is visually and emotionally intense, pulling in the audience. When the soldiers are spooked, you're spooked. When they're confused, you're confused.

"Where's the firing coming from?" they ask, desperately scouring the horizon. You find yourself scanning for them. The fog of war drifts from the screen into the theater.

Which is to say I thought it was a damn good movie.

What I was really looking for - besides the action, that is - was respectful treatment of the U.S. soldier in Iraq, as professional a fighter as this nation has ever deployed. And here the term realism truly applied.

The EOD soldiers were scared and often unsure. True, one was a hot dog who repeatedly and needlessly risked his life and those of his teammates. In reality, he probably would have been disciplined, if not replaced. But his actions were central to the plot.

Despite their flaws, these men did their best not just to defuse the bombs and protect U.S. troops, but to protect Iraqi civilians as well.

And there were no hints of glory. That's good. I saw a lot of things in Iraq. Mostly trash heaps, it seems. But I never saw anything glorious.

Granted, the movie soldiers repeatedly faced false dangers. But these nevertheless represented the real ones the movie didn't depict - including being ambushed en route to a mission and hitting bombs planted especially for responding EOD units. The EOD team that replaced the one I embedded with hit such a bomb in its second week of deployment; two Marines horribly burned to death.

Because the homemade bomb is the insurgents' primary weapon, there's nobody they want to kill more than those who defuse them.

That's the brutal reality. And it's a fitting tribute that the best movie to come out of the Iraq war is a testament to the brave bomb-detonators of the EOD.

"Once A Marine" by GySgt Nick Popaditch

2009-07-20T06:31:00.000-07:00

“Once a Marine”
Nick Popaditch, with Mike Steere
Savas Beatie, 2008, $ 25.00
ISBN # 978-1-932714-47-0
www.savasbeatie.com

Only a few books leap off the shelves and demand to be read – and “Once a Marine” is one of those few.

This is the story of Gunnery Sergeant Nick Popaditch, U.S. Marine Corps. It’s important to add “USMC” after his name, because in Popaditch’s story, being a Marine is integral to his survival following a grievous head wound and the subsequent rehab problems afterwards.

In true “Gunny” fashion, this is an aggressive book. “Gy Pop”, as he’s known, came into his own as a young Marine, saw combat in Desert Storm, and became a drill instructor afterwards. He’s as OOH-RAH and Semper Fi motivated as they come, and his energy and enthusiasm for all things Marine comes through loud and clear in this well-written book.

Gy’s life continues on a positive roll when he’s photographed in Baghdad in 2003, cigar-in-hand, in front of the statute of Saddam. Now known to the world as the ‘cigar Marine’, Gy Pop returns home to his loving wife April, and sons. But true to being a Marine, he volunteers for another tour in Iraq, where he’s shot in the head with an RPG in Fallujah, loses one eye, much of his sight in the other eye, and is medically retired from his beloved Marine Corps. A typical macho Marine story, one might think, but it’s Gy Pop who makes “Once a Marine” such a compelling story in the midst of such frustration of his life’s seeming unraveling.

“Once a Marine” is a spellbinding and story. From the stories of his Desert Storm days, to storming Baghdad in 2003, to the horrific story of being shot in the head by an PRG to the personal friction between him and his wife as he contemplates the premature end of his career in his beloved Marine Corps, this is the type of book that the reader will devour in an evening.

What grabs the reader aren’t the battle sequences; those who have fought tend to downplay their role in combat, and Gy Pop is no exception. Instead, his focus is on Marine Corps ethos and work ethic, his Marines, and how they all came together to assist him in his time of need. Needing assistance is unusual for Gy Pop, and he writes honestly and movingly of his struggle to accept help from his wife and sons, his Marines, and even the medical team at the “Blind Hospital.”

For a rough & tough Marine Gunnery Sergeant, Popaditch has written a brutally honest, yet incredibly moving story of his life as a Marine, and how the Marine Corps has prepared him for life afterwards. Recommended? Absolutely!

Movie Review: "Brothers at War"

2009-06-30T14:11:00.000-07:00

BROTHERS AT WAR

Review by: William McGurn
June 30, 2009
Wall Street Journal

If you are one of those Americans who believe that we are not really at war with terrorists, Jake Rademacher has a message for you. Actually, what he has is a film about an ordinary family from Decatur, Ill., that has two members serving in Iraq. It's the kind of film that will give you a new appreciation for the men who make Independence Day possible.

The two soldiers here are Capt. Isaac Rademacher and Sgt. Joe Rademacher, a fact that makes this war highly personal for their filmmaker brother. Isaac is a West Pointer who married another West Pointer, and Joe is a sniper who graduated at the top of his class in Army Ranger school. Older brother Jake wants to know why they fight, and so he takes his camera to Iraq "to find my brothers' war."

Though "Brothers at War" focuses on the Rademachers, they nowhere pretend to be the model family. While Isaac and Joe are off risking their lives in Iraq, another brother, Thad, loses his life to drugs at home. It all makes for sibling relationships that can be close and distant at the same time.

Of the two in uniform, Joe is more reticent about talking about his experiences for the camera, and more skeptical about what his brother could have learned there -- at least during his first, relatively brief embed. As Jake puts it, "Joe needs me to have some confirmed kills, [and] then maybe I can sit next to him at the dinner table."

Over the course of 110 minutes, the film takes us back and forth from Iraq to the home front. The actual fighting is minimal, and politics is completely absent. In some ways, the flatness provides the emotional punch: Watch Isaac kissing his wife and child goodbye before he boards a plane for his latest deployment to Iraq -- and then try telling Mrs. Rademacher that her husband is not so much fighting a war as participating in an "overseas contingency operation."

The scenes in Iraq have a similar feel, less about capturing the big firefights with the enemy than putting faces on the grunts doing the hard work that needs to be done. However many news accounts you may read about what these men go up against every day, it can't compare to hearing a National Guardsman sitting atop a roof in the Sunni Triangle speaking with great relief about the time he didn't squeeze the trigger -- the moment he realized that the terrorist with an AK-47 in his sights was a child with a toy.

While many reviewers apparently find Mr. Rademacher's presence in the film irritating and wonder why there isn't a visual of a wounded or dead American, the military families who have been flocking to this film have a different reaction. When they see Mr. Rademacher in his Kevlar helmet and vest sweating away in the oven-like interior of a Stryker combat vehicle, they see what life is like for their husband, son, or brother.

When Mr. Rademacher shows soldiers cleaning their guns as they watch videos of the TV series "The OC," they get a picture of how their loved ones relax. And when they hear that Pennsylvania Guard unit getting the news about a soldier that has been killed by a foreign sniper, they share the frustration -- and the desire to get the guy responsible.

Though neither pro-war nor antiwar, this film does offer something that probably explains why one reviewer dismissed it as "achingly patriotic": It shows our soldiers and Marines as professionals. In short, there are no victims here, just decent men doing a tough job. In New York, Washington and Los Angeles that may not sound like exciting fare. But in places like Oceanside, Ca., Savannah, Ga., Kileen, Texas., Norfolk, Va., etc. -- cities that are home to our military families -- "Brothers at War" speaks to audiences filled with people who know firsthand what it is like to have a husband or brother in Iraq.

Though it does have its patriotic moments, they are quiet and hard to draw out from men who would rather joke about their cheating girlfriends back home. While spending five days with a reconnaissance unit reporting on foreign terrorists crossing through the Syrian border, Mr. Rademacher asks the men he is with why they fight. A young Army specialist named Christopher MacKay says he's fighting for a better life for his nieces.

Mr. Rademacher presses him: Would it be worth it if it ends up costing you your life? Spc. MacKay answers matter of factly. "Yeah, I'd give my life for America any day. Wouldn't think twice."

That's not John Wayne speaking. That's a young man who knows what he signed up for, knows why he signed up, and knows who he's fighting for. In an America where Michael Jackson's death gets more press coverage than a Medal of Honor winner, it's sure nice to see at least one camera filming men who really matter.

See "Taking Chance' on HBO, 21 Feb

2009-02-09T15:24:00.000-08:00

MOVIE REVIEW
Taking Chance
By David J. Danelo
USNI's "Proceedings", Feb 2009

"Taking Chance" written by Ross Katz and Michael Strobl. Directed by Ross Katz. Starring Kevin Bacon and Blanche Baker. HBO Films. February 2009.

Hollywood illustrates some military stories distastefully, particularly when politics leaves veracity open to debate. HBO’s Taking Chance, a tale of devotion to fallen warriors, is not one of them.

This honorable, poignant, and dignified rendering of Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel Michael Strobl’s escort of a Marine slain in Iraq pays tribute not only to those who have died in battle, but also to all who bear witness to their final journey home.

It’s usually the duty of the casualty assistance calls officer to come face-to-face
with a grieving parent and attempt simultaneously to explain death and honor life on
a grateful nation’s behalf. In 2004, Lieutenant Colonel Strobl (played by Kevin Bacon) paused from churning out personnel reports at Quantico and volunteered to shoulder a portion of that burden himself. As depicted by Mr. Bacon, Strobl is guilt-stricken that he is neither in the fight nor doing a greater part to support Marines in harm’s way.

Recalling the actor’s 1992 portrayal of Captain Jack Ross in A Few Good Men, viewers may struggle to imagine anyone other than Bacon in this role. The psychological
juxtaposition of (Captain) Bacon thundering away at a witness in a courtroom
16 years ago with (Lieutenant Colonel) Bacon wrapping up a less-than-eventful
twilight tour adds another layer of realism to his present character. No matter how many degrees of separation he may be from the real thing, Kevin Bacon is to Marine officers as Al Pacino is to Sicilian dons.

The journey itself is predictable: we immediately know what happened to then-Private First Class Chance Phelps (his promotion warrant to lance corporal arrived after his death), we know where he is going, and we know the reason. Less certain, however, is Strobl’s internal compass, which is what keeps the film interesting, even engrossing. “What about you? What’s your deal?” asks a curly-haired civilian teenager while transporting Strobl from Dover to Philadelphia International Airport. “My deal is . . . complicated,” the officer replies. The reverse winds up
to be just as true: the young driver had signed up for casualty duty after two of his high school pals were sent to Iraq, yet he struggles to relate to Strobl’s passion and enthusiasm for the martial calling.

Stroble's reactions to the civilian interactions - most are respectful, others awkward— sustain Taking Chance’s dramatic thread. Strobl smiles thinly and nods after being upgraded to first class by a tearyeyed flight attendant, then stares down a TSA employee who badgers him about his bag of metal objects (PFC Phelps’s personal effects) and his metal-spangled Service Green Alpha uniform jacket. At each stop along the way—Philadelphia, Minneapolis, Billings—pilots, luggage handlers, and travelers place caps and hands over hearts, pausing to pay homage. As the hearse from Rafferty’s Funeral Home snakes through the arid mountain passes of Montana into Wyoming, carsand trucks turn on headlights, eventually forming an impromptu funeral procession led by an 18-wheeler.

The film strikes two particular emotional chords. First, Marines love each other. The
brotherhood is sometimes distilled into more antiseptic phrases, such as “fierce
devotion to duty.” The film avoids hollow sentimentality and instead conveys the
depth of enduring affection and fraternity that goes with wearing the uniform. More significant, Americans love that Marines love each other. We “support the troops,”
in part, because all of us—military or civilian—long for human connections of
such profundity and self-sacrifice that they would transcend death. The pudgy businessman and spindly cowgirl whose hands cover their hearts affirm as citizens that the Marine who died risked his fate on their behalf. And, rightly, they love him for it.

These are not new notions, but HBO’s restrained, exemplary illustration of them
makes this a striking film. Taking Chance has already been nominated for the Grand
Jury Prize at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival; it should also be considered for other
awards. Even if it receives no formal recognition, the film deserves praise for depicting the squared-away nobility and solemn grandeur of America’s relationship with her Marines. Make no mistake: Lance Corporal Chance Phelps would be proud of this film.

Mr. Danelo served in Iraq as a Marine captain in 2004. A frequent contributor to Proceedings, he is the author of Blood Stripes: The Grunt’s View of the War in Iraq (Stackpole Books, 2006). Mr. Danelo was wounded near Fallujah three days before Lance Corporal Chance Phelps was killed.

Citizen or Consumer ??

2008-12-24T05:37:00.000-08:00

How Free People Move Mountains
by Kathy Roth-Douquet and Frank Schaeffer
Harper Collins, 2008, $ 24.95
ISBN # 978-0-06-123352-4

These are ugly times in America. Wall Street has imploded, the out-going Administration insists on fighting the Afghan war (which is studiously ignored by the American public) with too-few troops, the national debt is virtually unserviceable - and the presidential campaign focused instead on lipstick, moose-skinning, and American flag pins. The parents and families of Marines and soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan must be shaking their heads in dismay.

"How Free People move Mountains," is a timely and unusual book for these hard times, and one well worth reading. Co-authors Kathy Roth-Douquet and Frank Schaeffer address the divide that has split the United States, threatens our being as a respected nation - and propose a solution that is elegant in its simplicity.

Frank Schaeffer and Kathy Roth-Douquet are unlikely co-authors, yet perhaps their differences are why their premise is ultimately successful. Schaeffer comes from a deeply evangelical Christian and unforgiving New England background while Roth-Douquet is liberal, Jewish, and a former Clinton aide, yet they successfully collaborated two years ago in "AWOL; The unexcused absence of the upper class from military service", which advanced the thesis that patriotism, national service, and duty to country was not just the province of lower-income Southerners and Midwesterners. It is interesting to note that Schaeffer's son enlisted in the Marine Corps and served in Afghanistan while Roth-Douquet is married to a career Marine officer, so both understand better than most the concept of serving a cause greater than oneself. It is these unique backgrounds that enable the authors to unite in their belief in the intrinsic goodness of the United States - and that this is a crucial time for America to regain it.

"How Free People Move Mountains" is written in an engaging style. Set up as a discussion between 'Liberal Kathy' and 'Conservative Frank', the two authors talk about how Americans today have substituted the pursuit of consumer goods and wealth for religious faith and the laws of God (Frank), or a belief in the natural goodness of man (Kathy). While it is up to the reader to decide which road is correct, Schaeffer and Roth-Douquet's debate finishes in the same place; that of ignoring the politicians and talking heads who push the conservative-liberal, red state-blue state divisions for their own selfish reasons and instead take a direct interest in the future of their country.

Their well-reasoned solution is quite simple, and reflects the thoughts of our Founding Fathers: live a moral life, respect others, and work for the common good. The ideals of "Honor - Courage - Commitment" resound throughout the book, and throughout their ideas for breaking through the morass of mindless consumerism that they see as sapping America's spiritual strength. As 'Liberal Kathy' and 'Conservative Frank' are able to engage in spirited yet, civil debate, "How Free People Move Mountains" shows us the way to re-engage Americans in the future of our country.

"Through the Wheat" Marines at Belleau Wood

2008-12-18T11:22:00.000-08:00

Through the Wheat; The U.S. Marines in W.W. 1

by BrigGen Edwin Simmons (USMC, ret) and Col Joseph Alexander (USMC, ret)

ISBN # 978-1-59114-791-6
Naval Institute Press, 2008, $ 34.95
www.nip.org

More than just a recitation of history, "Through the Wheat" is a well-written and interesting book that describes how the Marine Corps burst onto the international scene at Belleau Wood and became known as one of the world's premier fighting forces.

Veteran authors (and veteran Marines) Brig Gen Edwin Simmons and Col Joseph Alexander have combined forces to give us a history of the Marine Corps in World War 1. Prior to the war, the Marines were a tiny expeditionary unit that was used primarily to fight guerillas in Mindanao or Nicaragua; its most public large battle was as active participants in China's Boxer Rebellion of 1900. But as the United States’ entry into WW1 transformed the American military into a cohesive instrument of national power, it also changed the Marine Corps from a seaborne expeditionary unit into a major fighting force that was capable of defeating the established army of a western country.

But unlike the Army, the Marine Corps values its small unit leaders, and in telling their stories, authors Simmons and Alexander excel. From young officers and future Marine commandants ) like 2ndLt Clifton Cates and 2nd Lt Lemuel Shephard, to the old breed like (2x Medal of Honor recipient) GySgt Dan Dailey and Col Albertus Catlin, Simmons and Alexander weave a story of how the Marine Corps passed its traditions and small unit expertise from one generation to the next. "Through the Wheat" also presents the stories of a few of those Marines killed while building these traditions; Yale grad and world mile record-holder Lt Johnny Overton never made it home, while LtCol Fritz Wise was never the same mentally after his battalion suffered such horrific casualties. Many old photos, all back & whites, serve to personalize the Marines encompassing this slice of history.

"Through the Wheat" chronicles the Marine fight in Belleau Wood against German poison gas and machine guns where on a single sunny June day, they suffered more dead than in thyeir previous 142 years of existence combined. In the days both preceding and following Belleau Wood, the Marines fought and won at Lucy-de-Bocage, Soissons, Blanc Mont, St Miheil and the Meuse-Argonne.

"Come you sons-of-bitches; do you want to live forever?" bellowed GySgt Dailey when his men were hung up in the wheat at Belleau Wood. While many of them did not, their tradition and quiet heroism did, and "Through the Wheat" is their fine story.

LEATHERNECKS - An Illustrated History

2008-12-15T11:54:00.000-08:00

Leathernecks

By Merrill Bartlett & Jack Sweetman
Naval Institute Press, 2008, $ 60.00
ISBN # 978-1-59114-020-7
www.usni.org

If you google “Books – Marine Corps”, they provide “about 286,000 listings in 0.19 seconds.” So does the world need yet one more book describing the heroics of Marines since 1775? The answer is a resounding YES !! if the book is as good as this one.

When one walks around the Iwo Jima Memorial in Washington, D.C. he or she is treated to a history of the Marine Corps when reading the inscribed battles… the French & Indian Wars…the Boxer Rebellion…Belleau Wood…Guadalcanal…Chosin…Fallujah… instead of a walk around the Memorial, authors Merrill Bartlett and Jack Sweetman have collaborated to give us the same tour, but with all 233 years of Marine lore added.

“Leathernecks” is simply one of the finest illustrated histories of the Marine Corps published.

The difference between this book and the many others is both the depth of detail and its readability. Finding a balance between an academic book and an ooh-rah flag-waver, the authors present not only the Corps battle history, but the equally important story of the men who built it. Traditions are not created overnight, but are earned over generations; a fact of which the authors remind the reader with 280+ old photos, maps, and illustrations, many of which are published for the first time.
While the casual reader likely knows of the Marine Corps 10 November 1775 founding, it’s Bartlett and Sweetman’s “Leathernecks” that provides the background information that the 10 Nov. act of Congress chartering the Marines “…that two battalions of Marines be raised…” was in response to a petition by the residents of Passamaquoddy, Nova Scotia who wanted to join the newly independent United States – and these same Marines were to be used to capture the British Naval base at Halifax.

While Marine Corps lore in recent years has been built on such land-locked fights at Chosin, Khe Sanh, or An-Nasiriyah, prominent naval historian Jack Sweetman has teamed with Marine historian Skip Bartlett in a way that emphasizes the sea roots of America’s pre-eminent sea service. Describing the first landing (and victory) of the Continental Marines back in March 1776, when an eight ship convoy sailed to seize Nassau, The Bahamas. The Marines captured “fifty-eight cannon, fifteen mortars, more than sixteen thousand shot and shell…,” as well as establishing a tradition for those hard-chargers following: the Bahamas governor complained that the Marines “helped themselves to his liquor.”

Drawing on a collection of rare photographs and illustrations from the depths of Marine and private archives, authors Bartlett and Sweetman personalize the early days of the Marine Corps that makes one understand the institution today. In addition to describing the battle in Veracruz, Mexico after the Marine landing in April 1914, they have a picture of LtCol Wendell Neville, Col John Lejeune, Col Littleton Waller, Maj Smedley Butler, and Maj Randolph Berkley; all China, Philippine, and Cuba hands, sitting together on a Mexican veranda: Butler-two Medals of Honor, Lejeune and Neville – both commandants, Waller –lost the commandant’s position 2x due to politics…what Marine alive today would not want to discuss counter-insurgency with these men? If it is the institutional ethos that drives the operational, it is fair to say that this was the generation – and these were the Marines – who were responsible for the birth of both.

The authors made a considerable effort to present the Marine faces behind the battles, many of which were fought in the halls Congress. Shortly after Gen. Alexander Vandergrift (aided by the familiar names of BrigGen Merritt Edson, LtCol Victor “Brute” Krulak, and Col Merrill Twining) beat back President Truman’s and the Army’s plan to reorganize the American military, Gen Vandergrift added the equally familiar LtGen Roy Geiger and future commandant Gen Lemuel Shepherd to analyze amphibious warfare in the atomic age. Their report initiated the movement of the Marine Corps into “Vertical Envelopment” – helicopter assaults – which was the beginning of a doctrine that the Corps saw as the key to its future. Battles are easy to analyze, it is the men who fight the battle that make or break the story – or the battle – and authors Bartlett and Sweetman present them superbly.
“Leathernecks” ends with a discussion of the war on terror, with emphasis on the current fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq. The battles and counter-insurgency operations are discussed candidly and accurately, no small feat when so many of the participants are available for interview.

There is an old adage to the effect of the world being divided into two groups: those who are Marines and those who wish they were Marines – and after reading “Leathernecks”, both groups will understand why the adage is so true.

Doonesbury -from The Sandbox

2008-12-12T04:55:00.000-08:00

Doonesbury.com's: The Sandbox

edited by David Stanford
ISBN # 978-0-7407-6945-0
Andrew McMeel Publishing, 2007, $ 16.95

Who are these Marines and Soldiers whose courage and tenacity is so politicized or trivialized by those who never served ?

Editor David Stanford brings us the daily stories of those fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, and in their own blunt and brutally honest words. A Gary Trudeau-inspired addition to his 11-year old Doonesbury.com website, Trudeau and Stanford invited the warriors overseas to write back so the folks back on the home-front could stay informed about the war. They weren't looking for strategy and tactics but rather the daily routine - ranging from boring to mundane to kinetic - that the troops experienced.

And write they did, as "mil-blogging" increased in popularity, the writing skills of a few of the blogging Marines and Soldiers brought the wars back home in a visceral fashion that often leaves the reader with damp eyes. No slick writing here, but rather just the honest words of your son and daughters and husbands at war.

1st Sgt Troy Steward, New York Guard, writes of his time in Afghanistan as part of an Embedded Training Team (ETT) with an Afghan National Army Unit. Sgt Roy Batty, stationed in Baghdad, writes of the boredom associated with living on a FOB and then later segues into problems with an Iraqi Police unit that shot and killed an old man. "They are our buddies," he writes, "our comrades in arms with whom we are supposed to bring Jeffersonian democracy and security to this wonderful country...". 1st Lt Stefan laments the death of a fellow officer, 2nd Lt Scott Lundell, with whom he attended OCS. "Rest in peace, "Stefan grieves on his keyboard,"...a brother in arms who is loved and missed. The debt will not go unpaid..."

Stanford has sifted through the hundreds of articles posted on the more popular milblogs such as bouhammer.com, sackiniraq.blogspot.com. and traversa.typepad.com, and posted a few of the best. "The Sandbox" has articles from men and women, officers and enlisted men, and warriors, chaplains, and corpsmen. These are unforgiving wars where the combat zones start at the border, and Stanford lets those doing the fighting talk about how it affects them. In an environment where the media is criticized for playing politics by wanting to show photos of coffins being returned to the United States, one can instead read SPC J.R. Salzman's (jrsalzman.com.weblog) blunt description of having his arm blown off "...the taste of blood in my mouth, realizing that the bottom half of my arm was missing with nothing left but a couple of fingers and part of my hand hanging off by some skin and tendons and realizing how much pain I was in."

The value of "The Sandbox" is that it lets the reader forget the petty politics of the last few years and instead get to know something about the Marines and Soldiers who are doing the fighting and dying. Republicans - Democrats are unimportant when one reads 1st Sgt Stewards reports from Afghanistan, or SPC's Salzman writing about how "the last time I saw my wedding ring was when it was being snipped off with a pair of bolt cutters at a hospital in the Green Zone in Baghdad." Thank you, Gentlemen, for what you are doing, and thank you for sharing it with us; "The Sandbox" should be read by every American.

The Highway War - by Maj Seth Folsom

2008-03-24T08:57:00.000-07:00

The Highway War

Maj Seth Folsom, USMC
Potomac Books, 2006, $ 29.95
ISBN # 1-57488-988-5

Years ago Marine artist Col Charles Waterhouse drew a cartoon of a grizzled Marine Gunny, complete with cigar, pulling on a Santa outfit as he prepares to entertain young children, as compared to his normal demeanor of an intimidating Gunny. Maj Seth Folsom’s book details a similar transformation, as he grows from a nervous young officer facing his first combat to that of a skilled and articulate officer and husband.

A Captain at the time, Folsom is a blunt and honest writer who discusses his fears and concerns of what he is about to encounter in Iraq. The likely-hood is that many Marines and soldiers, both officers and enlisted, can identify with his worry of how he will fare in his first combat: Can he hack it? How well will he perform? Will he make any mistakes that might cost the lives of his Marines? The difference between them and Folsom is his frankness in discussing these concerns.

Folsom uses the story of his role as company commander to tell the story of Delta Company, 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion as they participated in the March 2003 invasion of Iraq. From breaching the berms into Iraq, to watching and waiting as his fellow Marines fought at An-Nasiriyah, to the fighting on the way to Baghdad and beyond, Folsom pulls no punches and spares no feelings in his descriptions of leading 130 Marines into combat. The invasion in March 2003 was the beginning of an unusual war against a non-traditional enemy, and Folsom has to find his balance as an officer when dealing with both his superiors and the Marines under him while learning how to lead Marines in combat. Sand, stink, rain, lack of sanitation, fatigue, grime, and nerves are just some of issues with which he dealt even before he and his men even encountered the enemy. Folsom covers the military actions from 21 March 2003 through the April 2003 capture of Baghdad, and he accurately recounts the stress, excitement, and confusion of those historic days.

With the book written from the notes and recollection of his wartime journal, this is a fascinating memoir revealing are his feelings as he dealt with his Marines, and how he matured as an officer and as a human being. Many readers, especially his fellow officers will find much to critique in his rough and abrasive leadership style, and his dislike of the media is at odds with Marine Corps policy. But it is Folsom’s same bluntness that lets him write so revealingly – and perhaps these same readers can use his vignettes as an ‘after-action report’ in order to guide themselves in similar circumstances.

In perhaps a reflection of the asymmetrical nature of this war, Folsom recounts participating in briefings with the generals and colonels leading the invasion, and later singing with his men as they blast rock & roll music at rock concert levels. Perhaps one unexpected bonus of war in the wired age is that we readers can share in our warrior’s thoughts and experiences while they are still fresh, and as such, Maj Folsom’s book is both an exciting read and highly recommended.

Blood Stripes - A Grunts View of the War in Iraq

2008-03-24T07:53:00.000-07:00

Blood Stripes: A Grunts View of the War in Iraq
by David J. Danelo
ISBN # 0-8117-0164-6
$ 29.95, 334 pages

There are an increasing number of books coming onto the market now about the war in Iraq that have been written by various Marine or army veterans who fought there. “Blood Stripes” is one of the better efforts available today.

Written by David J. Danelo, a former Marine officer, and combat veteran of Iraq, “Blood Stripes” chronicles the efforts of four Marine infantry units fighting in the western desert towns in the Sunni Triangle. He follows these four squads of grunts as they leave from the United States and spend their seven month tour fighting the fedayeen. Danelo writes with the clear and concise style of the combat veteran he is, as he brings the reader to the edge of their seat with his description of these young Marines walking a daily IED patrol, or getting themselves physically and emotionally ready to clear houses in Husabayah and Haditha.

“Blood Stripes” refer to the red stripe running from the waist to the cuffs on the dress slacks of a Marine non-commissioned officer, and these are the Marine leaders who are the subject of Danelo’s book. A non-commissioned officer is typically 22- 25 years old, and whose ranks are corporal and sergeant. These NCO’s are the lead characters; they are the “small unit leaders” who take their Marines into battle. Danelo tells their story powerfully; with the quiet authority of a Marine officer who has ordered such NCO’s into battle, and has seen the bloody consequences of these ugly street fights.

Danelo does not dwell on the rightness or wrongness of the war. Instead he introduces the reader to the individual Marines, to their families, and to how they cope – both back home in America, as well as in Fallujah, Ramadi, and the other nasty little towns where the war is being fought – with the daily stress of heat, IED patrols, and combat. As we get to know the Marines and their girl friends and wives, Danelo gives us a glimpse of what these young men experience in combat in the narrow streets and back alleys of western Iraq.

“Blood Stripes” is Danelo’s first literary effort, and it is well done indeed. This is not a feel-good book; not all the Marines return alive. But for a reader who wants to know what your Marines are experiencing every day – be sure to read this book

"Charlie Battery; A Marine Artillery Battery in Iraq"

2008-03-11T06:56:00.000-07:00

Book Review from MILITARY WRITERS SOCIETY OF AMERICABy Bill McDonald
Charlie Battery; A Marine Artillery Battery in IraqAndrew Lubin
Hellgate Press, $ 16.95
ISBN # 155571-642-3

A Marine’s Father’s Account of the Iraq War

Author Andrew Lubin whose son is a Marine, writes a heartfelt view on war, patriotism, history, and most importantly, father-son relationships in his book “Charlie Battery: A Marine Artillery Unit in Iraq”. The title of the book does not give you the fullness of the story that lies within those pages. This book walks you through what it is like being a parent of a Marine in combat whose life is in great danger. The author does it without “going emotional” on you and yet you know that it has taken its toll on him. It is an understated style that feels very much like a Marine family way to handle things.

Lubin’s story of his son Phil and his son’s unit “Charlie Battery” is not just about them but has more universal appeal to all military families and most especially Marine ones. Anyone who has ever sent a son or daughter off to a war will be able to identify with this book; I know I did, I re-lived the emotions of my son going off to Desert Storm as I read this book There are parts of this book that were gut wrenching from a parent’s point of memory. It is so surreal watching the war on TV knowing that your own son is over there someplace. In Lubin’s situation, he actually is able to see a news report on Charlie Battery in the battle for An-Nasiriyah in the middle of the night. For any parent that would make sleeping that much harder to do after that. It is that not knowing element that makes being a parent so difficult. Is your son safe? Is he hurt? God forbid, but could he get killed?

This book takes the reader though the whole build up and the shipping-out process. We are able to be there with the father and son as they spend the past few hours together before he ships out to Iraq. We follow along with the few emails and phone calls but mostly very late and old news via letters. The author weaves into his personal story lots of USMC history and tradition. He also wrote about all the men of the unit and does not just focus on his son. He even adds some great quotes at the beginning of each chapter. The personal black and white photos tell another story that only photos can do.

I think there are several key emotional parts to this book that hit me. One of them was the playing of Amazing Grace on bagpipes by one of the Marines in their base camp before the invasion. Lubin recaps one of the chaplains playing the ‘pipes the night before the invasion and how it affected the troops.. That song is powerful stuff and Lubin’s account helps the reader visualize the young Marines listening, and thinking about God, their families, and the up coming battles. Another emotionally strong part of the book is the actual battle of An-Nasiriyah and all that the unit experiences. The background details about that prolonged engagement has some real teeth. I gained a new perceptive on that battle even though I have read dozens of accounts of that same battle.

It is great writing in all aspects of good story telling. It is both informative and entertaining as well. The coming home and even his carefully managed remarks at the end of the book about the politics of this continuing war all contribute to give this book much more depth and feeling then any history book on this war. He makes it very personal at times; and yet the book is expansive and inclusive for all military families. It is a book that you should read even if you think you understand and know all you want to know about this current war over there. It will give you a better understanding of the human element and what makes Marines special.

This book gets FIVE STARS – and my personal recommendation. This is a must read for all military families who have a son, daughter, husband, brother, sister or wife in any war zone. If you are a Marine family there is absolutely no excuse for not adding this to your personal library. The book is THAT GOOD!