War as he knew it., October 28, 2005| Reviewer: |
B.Ivers "GySgt Ivers" (Ft Collins CO.) - See all my reviews
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I roomed with Tony for a year or so. I was not with him in STA plt during the Gulf war, I was there with G 2/7 2nd Plt. I hooked up with STA 2/7 after the war. Tony is a nice enough guy and even then he had ambitions of becoming a teacher. Tony had fun off duty,he loved playing sports, drinking and finding girls to chase. The war as he knew it is represented as he saw it, or remembers it.
My failing memory does not serve me well here. I do know that the war itself was an intense 3-4 days that has since faded to nothing in the light of the current conflict. I read this book in Iraq in 2003. I remembered a lot about Tony. This book is about him and his view of what happened during his time in the Corp. I agree with many other reviewers that a lot is hyped and some stuff was fabricated. I can say that a lot of what he talks about happened but not perhaps as he remembered it.
Tony was not a school trained sniper. He spent very little time with a line company before testing and making STA platoon. The discipline problems in the platoon, when I got there in late 91 were serious. There was a lot of scavenging in the 1st Gulf war and it was rumored, and talked about in the battalion, regards STA stealing engines from the army for our battalion's broken vehicles, in the 6 month wait in Saudi Arabia before the war.
We did have issues with morale in 2/7 during the Gulf War as over 80% of the battalion had just got out of boot camp, it was a real problem. But for every issue in that Battalion there were answers in the NCO leadership and people stepping up to the plate to get the job done. The whining in the book is excessive, and Tony had a tendency then, to do that.
The book is less about combat than it is about a young man trying to find himself, and this included the embellishments with it. To put this thing in perspective the gulf war was nothing compared to the 24/7 combat operations that are going on in Iraq and Afganistan now. For every Swafford there is a lot more squared away Marines who really believe in what they are doing, who are bleeding and dying for each other and their country.
The book is a confirmation to all liberals of their world view of the Marine Corp and our countries mission as being floored. It is a sad work for any Marine who is and remains faithful to God Country and Corp.
I do not deny Tony's right to pen the book. Marines and others are dying to give him that right. He says he has earned it, and he has earned the right to say anything he wants. With that comes the slings and arrows of protest from others who disagree.
The definitive book on the Gulf War awaits its author. This is not it. It was war as he knew it, not as it is, or was. Tony made it where he wanted to be, a professor and writer. He is making money from this thing, with the war going on, a continuation of the 3 day war he never got to fire a round in.
I did not like the book and I can't recommend it. Tony has issues, the book is his liberal agenda. (Bold added for emphasis.)