This is a pretty good book authored by a medically retired, former platoon sergeant in 2/75. His journey starts pre-9/11 and ended in 2013 after being seriously wounded in the Tangi Valley, Afghanistan. The author had the distinction of being present for the Jessica Lynch rescue, search for Marcus Luttrell and Turbine 33 recovery, and was the PS for the raid that kicked off the eventual loss of Extortion 17.
It is a really good book and as the author stated and tried to achieve, devoid of "salty" language and not a "me" book. He rarely goes into anything he did without a clinical approach, focusing instead on the men and missions. I think this is a nice change of pace for memoirs. He also had a full DoD review of the manuscript before publishing, some 8 months in total. His perspective on the evolution of the Ranger BN's from BN-sized missions to the modern platoon-sized missions is pretty neat. It took a bit of mental recalibration to discern that "Army Special Forces" is Delta and "special forces" is SF. He had some criticism for those organizations as well as the SEALS, but also praised them at other times. I'll let others decide if any of his observations are fair.
His coverage of other deployments was solid, especially the numerous trips to Mosul. Instead I'll close this with some observations on Extortion 17 and the aftermath.
- NSW was not acting as a QRF. According to SFC Moore the Ranger platoon even advised against it, but eventually decided the JOC was gonna' JOC and to insert the team. The insert was to be 3-5 kilometers away which would deconflict any friendly fire issues. The team inserted to chase some squirters from the original OBJ and devlop the situation in the valley.
- One moment was kind of..gave you the feels. He said the K-9 handler had wrapped up his dog to prevent the pooch from being thrown around on impact. They found their charred remains and had to pry the two apart. The heat was so intense other remains had fused with the wreck itself.
- The flash flood controversy. IIRC, the location of the bodies and sensitive items was in relation to the CCP. He had decided where to place everything and never thought about possible rain turning the wadi into a rapids. He said a few Rangers narrowly missed being swept downstream.
Ironically, his career-ending injuries came during his platoon's return to the Tangi, attempting to capture the guys who started the whole mess and who fired the fatal RPG. SFC Moore was shot three times, mangling his leg and receiving a TBI. His platoon lost one KIA, SPC Ricardo Cerros Jr. in the same fight. SFC Moore also stated that one of the Rangersinvolved that night in the EN17 recovery would later take his own life.
As an outsider I enjoyed the book. I'm curious if any current or former Rangers have read it and their thoughts.
ETA for spelling and to correct one statement.
It is a really good book and as the author stated and tried to achieve, devoid of "salty" language and not a "me" book. He rarely goes into anything he did without a clinical approach, focusing instead on the men and missions. I think this is a nice change of pace for memoirs. He also had a full DoD review of the manuscript before publishing, some 8 months in total. His perspective on the evolution of the Ranger BN's from BN-sized missions to the modern platoon-sized missions is pretty neat. It took a bit of mental recalibration to discern that "Army Special Forces" is Delta and "special forces" is SF. He had some criticism for those organizations as well as the SEALS, but also praised them at other times. I'll let others decide if any of his observations are fair.
His coverage of other deployments was solid, especially the numerous trips to Mosul. Instead I'll close this with some observations on Extortion 17 and the aftermath.
- NSW was not acting as a QRF. According to SFC Moore the Ranger platoon even advised against it, but eventually decided the JOC was gonna' JOC and to insert the team. The insert was to be 3-5 kilometers away which would deconflict any friendly fire issues. The team inserted to chase some squirters from the original OBJ and devlop the situation in the valley.
- One moment was kind of..gave you the feels. He said the K-9 handler had wrapped up his dog to prevent the pooch from being thrown around on impact. They found their charred remains and had to pry the two apart. The heat was so intense other remains had fused with the wreck itself.
- The flash flood controversy. IIRC, the location of the bodies and sensitive items was in relation to the CCP. He had decided where to place everything and never thought about possible rain turning the wadi into a rapids. He said a few Rangers narrowly missed being swept downstream.
Ironically, his career-ending injuries came during his platoon's return to the Tangi, attempting to capture the guys who started the whole mess and who fired the fatal RPG. SFC Moore was shot three times, mangling his leg and receiving a TBI. His platoon lost one KIA, SPC Ricardo Cerros Jr. in the same fight. SFC Moore also stated that one of the Rangers
As an outsider I enjoyed the book. I'm curious if any current or former Rangers have read it and their thoughts.
ETA for spelling and to correct one statement.
Last edited:
