What Are You Currently Reading?

[pardus]

By now I'm guessing it's Reid-Daly's Pamwe Chete. I'm well into the rift between Croukamp and Reid-Daly over Croukamp's decisions on a botched 3-man recce/RR sabotage op in Mozambique. When I read the part where Croukamp tells his guys to drink all their water quickly to lighten their load, I'm thinking, how did this guy get to be a special operations NCO? So of course they all start to dehydrate and then he jeopardizes the mission by running off--all alone--on a 30 km round trip to find water??? And he doesn't take a radio. :wall: Wow. The fact that they landed 30 kms away from their intended DZ is, IMO, an acknowledged occupational hazard for nocturnal combat jumps in those days. That was surmountable. But the water fiasco was nuts.

I'm enjoying the book, however. There is much of interest here.

No, but that's an excellent book too and one you should read. The book is SHADOWS OF A FORGOTTEN PAST: To the Edge with the Rhodesian SAS and Selous Scouts, author Paul French.
Paul French was one of the 3 man patrol that went tits up when Croukamp went walk about, and he talks about it in his book.
Croukamp is an interesting character, he made some very dubious decisions, a major one you'll get to soon.
Yeah, back then air navigation was a hell of a lot more difficult at night.
That region is known for being extremely dry, water is always a problem.
I have another book on the South African Small Teams, on one particular mission they went into Angola with rucks weighing 265lbs, each man carried 40L of water in his ruck, it was rationed to one liter (quart) per day.

 

[Gunz]

No, but that's an excellent book too and one you should read. The book is SHADOWS OF A FORGOTTEN PAST: To the Edge with the Rhodesian SAS and Selous Scouts, author Paul French.
Paul French was one of the 3 man patrol that went tits up when Croukamp went walk about, and he talks about it in his book.
Croukamp is an interesting character, he made some very dubious decisions, a major one you'll get to soon.
Yeah, back then air navigation was a hell of a lot more difficult at night.
That region is known for being extremely dry, water is always a problem.
I have another book on the South African Small Teams, on one particular mission they went into Angola with rucks weighing 265lbs, each man carried 40L of water in his ruck, it was rationed to one liter (quart) per day.

I'll order both. Thanks. The more I delve into it the more convinced I am that I made the right decision not to go. Croukamp is undoubtedly a tough soldier, good tracker, bush-savvy, brave enough...but maybe not the sharpest tool in the shed.

265lb ruck...bloody hell. I can vividly recall waddling under a 100lbs of gear, in tropical humidity, straps gouging furrows in my shoulders, having to be helped to my feet after every stop...but 265 lbs? Time to steal a mule.

Again, many thanks for the recommendations.

 

[digrar]

In 1999 one of 2RARs DFSW SFMG diggers ran off the back of the chopper into Comoro Airport in Dili carrying a 212lb load (including the tripod). I thought that was the stupidest weight I'd ever hear carried.

 

[SpitfireV]

According to wiki the infamous Bravo Two Zero patrol had between 209 and 260 pounds each. Fucking hard yakka either way.

 

[BloodStripe]

Has anyone read "No Hero" by Mark Owen yet? I will probably pick it up after I finish reading a few other books I have laying around but I was curious on the thoughts of it. From the idea of the book, it sounds like a much more compelling read than "No Easy Day".

 

[RetPara]

Claus: Legend of the Fat Man by Tony Bertauski

A little bit different take on the origins of Santa Claus....
http://www.amazon.com/Claus-Legend-...5&sr=1-1&keywords=claus+legend+of+the+fat+man

 

[Red Flag 1]

"War Beneath the Sea", by Peter Padfield. This author offers a comprehensive look at undersea warfare during WW II. Including US, British, German, Italian, and Japan's tactics. Life aboard submarines, how they were lead, trained, strengths and weakness. Of particular interest is the lack of US response to U-Boat attacks along our Eastern seacoast. Scores of Merchant Marine sailors and their ships were lost, largely due to the USN resopnse of blind eye, and deaf ear policy. This is a very good read, that is presented with a prose that makes for easy reading, without dumbing down the subject. An outstanding work and an easy read.

 

[AWP]

"War Beneath the Sea", by Peter Padfield. This author offers a comprehensive look at undersea warfare during WW II. Including US, British, German, Italian, and Japan's tactics. Life aboard submarines, how they were lead, trained, strengths and weakness. Of particular interest is the lack of US response to U-Boat attacks along our Eastern seacoast. Scores of Merchant Marine sailors and their ships were lost, largely due to the USN resopnse of blind eye, and deaf ear policy. This is a very good read, that is presented with a prose that makes for easy reading, without dumbing down the subject. An outstanding work and an easy read.

I've pimped it before, but I can't say enough good things about Clay Blair's U-Boat series.

First book in the series:
http://www.amazon.com/Hitlers-U-Boat-War-Hunters-1939-1942/dp/0679640320

 

[Red Flag 1]

I've pimped it before, but I can't say enough good things about Clay Blair's U-Boat series.

First book in the series:
http://www.amazon.com/Hitlers-U-Boat-War-Hunters-1939-1942/dp/0679640320

Going in my Kindle library.
Thanks!

 

[SkrewzLoose]

Wayward Pines trilogy. 75% finished with the 3rd book. Did I mention I love my Kindle Paperwhite...

 

[Chrich]

No Room For Error by Col. John T Carney and Benjamin F. Schemmer. Solid read on the evolution of Air Force Special Tactics from its beginnings to the modern controller. Just finished up the chapters on the hostage crisis in Iran and Grenada. There's a lot of fascinating history about combat controllers and how they have worked with other special operations groups since the 70's.

 

[Sendero]

Leadership in the Shadows by SGM (RET.) Kyle Lamb. It has an easy flow to and the leadership lessons have been excellent and something that the civilian leader can learn from too. It's not a "tell all" but he does share some real life anecdotes, that are compelling in making his points.

In one chapter he asks the question, "what is your word?", in reference to leading and it had me ruminating on that and taking notes for a while. He shares his word for leadership and another interesting person as well. No spoilers.

I've read quite a few books on leadership and so far I give this one high marks.

 

[AWP]

Has anyone read "No Hero" by Mark Owen yet? I will probably pick it up after I finish reading a few other books I have laying around but I was curious on the thoughts of it. From the idea of the book, it sounds like a much more compelling read than "No Easy Day".

I have. I..."acquired" a copy and would recommend against purchasing it for full price. Wait until you can score it at a used book store or something. It is a good read, but I question his version of events surrounding his departure from the Navy and DEVGRU. Most of his stories are motivational/ educational which provide a few good lessons, but mostly he uses stories to illustrate things we already know. Arguably, it is the book he should have released before No Easy Day because No Hero smacks of a weak attempt to bolster his image and perfrom some damage control.

 

[AWP]

I just started Why we Lost by Daniel Bolger, about Iraq and Afghanistan. On one hand, I'm glad to see a GO acknowledge our failures, but on another it is too little, too late. Still, I'm up to Chapter 4 or so and he isn't pulling any punches. If you've read many of our posts on Afghanistan over the years, little Bolger's saying will be a surprise.

 

[digrar]

I just picked up a reprint very nicely presented hard copy of A Fortunate Life by A.B. Facey.

Looking forward to reading it again. Albert had a pretty crook run, his father died when he was young, enslaved, put into very hard brutal physical labour as a 7 or 8 year old and regularly physically abused, he received very little formal schooling, medically evacuated from Gallipoli, lost his son in WW2. Anyone born in the last half century or so would have called their book "why do I always get the shit end of the stick?" but Albert triumphs over adversity at every turn, it's a great read.

 

[CDG]

Finally finished "Fratricide In Battle". Wasn't able to get as much personal reading in as I wanted due to my Terrorism and US National Security class readings. Managed to make it through Beyond Close Air Support: Forging a New Air-Ground Partnership by RAND and have started on The Last Jihad by Joel C. Rosenberg.

 

[TLDR20]

Gone Girl

 

[Viper1]

Left of Bang.

Decent and quick read. I'm not familiar with the USMC Combat Hunter Course so any Marines care to comment?

There are some good discussion points about non-verbal and verbal communication, the various mental conditions (yellow, orange, red), and identifying anomalies within a particular baseline. It would have made for good training and discussion points with my team prior to deployment.

It also provides good language for explaining actions. For example, instead of saying "something didn't feel right" or "my spidey-sense acted up" you can say a individual was exhibiting dominant, uncomfortable non verbal behaviors during a patrol.

The book says it can be used for military, police, and civilians but specific civilian examples or discussion is lacking. Then again, with the foundation on baselines it can be modified to identify anomalies, say in a boardroom confrontation setting

If anyone wants to read, I'll send you my copy or you can get it here: http://www.amazon.com/Left-Bang-Marine-Combat-Program/dp/1936891301

 

[CDG]

Left of Bang.

Decent and quick read. I'm not familiar with the USMC Combat Hunter Course so any Marines care to comment?

There are some good discussion points about non-verbal and verbal communication, the various mental conditions (yellow, orange, red), and identifying anomalies within a particular baseline. It would have made for good training and discussion points with my team prior to deployment.

It also provides good language for explaining actions. For example, instead of saying "something didn't feel right" or "my spidey-sense acted up" you can say a individual was exhibiting dominant, uncomfortable non verbal behaviors during a patrol.

The book says it can be used for military, police, and civilians but specific civilian examples or discussion is lacking. Then again, with the foundation on baselines it can be modified to identify anomalies, say in a boardroom confrontation setting

If anyone wants to read, I'll send you my copy or you can get it here: http://www.amazon.com/Left-Bang-Marine-Combat-Program/dp/1936891301

Looks like a good read. I might have to pick that up.

 

[Dame]

The Archangel Response.

Don't bother.