I've skimmed the first 6 chapters. Despite my obvious hate for her and the Bowden's/ Logan's/ Naylor's of the world who interview a bunch of guys and are now SME's as it relates to Special Operations...
If the book is to be believed, and I don't doubt the narrative, we lacked a comprehensive policy WRT to SOF in Afghanistan, even making changes or creating policy as late as 2010. She quoted one AD Group commander who admitted, in so many words, that he didn't consider El Salvador a model until 2009 or so. "I never gave it any thought" or words to that effect. I was left with the view that our SF BN and Group commander's were....myopic in their worldview. Maybe that stemmed from a lack of an overall plan, much less a SOF plan, and the war being run by 2 and 3 star conventional commanders, but the SF Officers interviewed in the book came across as two-dimensional at best.
There is a chapter devoted to the border raid which killed a number of Pakistani soldiers. I need to read it in detail but the short version remains: they brought it on themselves.
I found it curious she spent her time with 3rd and 7th Groups. Knowing that 3rd had tours in 2010-2011 which left 20th group sandwiched betwen their deployments, she never addresses 20th Group's time in country in those first 6 chapters. For someone who is trying to discuss big picture items, omitting 6 months' of work and another unit's contributions seems sloppy or disingenuous.
Being reminded of our lack of vision pissed me off enough that I put it down and picked up the Jennifer Saunders autobio. I'll return to it eventually, but I didn't know if anyone has read it or not.
If the book is to be believed, and I don't doubt the narrative, we lacked a comprehensive policy WRT to SOF in Afghanistan, even making changes or creating policy as late as 2010. She quoted one AD Group commander who admitted, in so many words, that he didn't consider El Salvador a model until 2009 or so. "I never gave it any thought" or words to that effect. I was left with the view that our SF BN and Group commander's were....myopic in their worldview. Maybe that stemmed from a lack of an overall plan, much less a SOF plan, and the war being run by 2 and 3 star conventional commanders, but the SF Officers interviewed in the book came across as two-dimensional at best.
There is a chapter devoted to the border raid which killed a number of Pakistani soldiers. I need to read it in detail but the short version remains: they brought it on themselves.
I found it curious she spent her time with 3rd and 7th Groups. Knowing that 3rd had tours in 2010-2011 which left 20th group sandwiched betwen their deployments, she never addresses 20th Group's time in country in those first 6 chapters. For someone who is trying to discuss big picture items, omitting 6 months' of work and another unit's contributions seems sloppy or disingenuous.
Being reminded of our lack of vision pissed me off enough that I put it down and picked up the Jennifer Saunders autobio. I'll return to it eventually, but I didn't know if anyone has read it or not.