Bouhammer's Military Blog

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Category Archives: Book Review

Book Review: The Only Thing Worth Dying For

When I was contacted by the publisher asking me if I would be interested in a copy of this new book that has come out titled The Only Thing Worth Dying For, I knew from the title alone that it was probably going to be good. Once I checked out the website at www.onlythingworthdyingfor.com/ I was convinced it was a book I HAD to read.

I have been struggling with how to write this review as I want to be able to highlight key parts of this book but don’t want to give it all away. I have edited this many times so I hope this review gives the book justice.

Eric Blehm (who was interviewed on You Served Radio Feb 11th, www.blogtalkradio.com:80/youserved/2010/02/12/episode-75) did a great job writing the story of ODA574 and how this single 11-man Special Forces A-team did the true Special Forces job of partnering with local opposition to overthrow an oppressive regime and help that opposition train to get ready to fight against the regime. In this case the oppressive regime was the Taliban, and the opposition was a little-known influential leader in the area named Hamid Karzai. Even though there were already SF teams and CIA in northern Afghanistan teamed up with the Northern Alliance, the Northern Alliance was a loosely disciplined and defined fighting force. In the south, it was Hamid Karzai with maybe a dozen loyal supporters.

Eric does a fabulous job of not inserting his opinion or viewpoints into any part of this book. Instead he simply tells the story of them men that were part of this critical mission. Actually to call it critical is an understatement. Had this team not partnered with Karzai, or had any number of things happened which could have caused this mission to fail, it is without a doubt that Afghanistan would not be where it is today. Yes, this 11-man team wrote history and has had a direct influence into where we are today in the Global War on Terror.

Kandahar was the last city to fall in Afghanistan, and was considered the headquarters of the Taliban in 2001. When that city surrendered the initial “liberation” stage of the war in Afghanistan was considered complete. The actions of this team, and many others that supported them caused that to happen. In addition to helping bring down Kandahar, they also protected Hamid Karzai at all costs because they recognized his importance to the success of Afghanistan.

Unlike many other books I have read which tend to name and highlight people that do good things but hide the identity of people that screw up, Eric does not do that. Because he is truly just telling the story of these men, he calls out and tells the story of even those that made mistakes…even mistakes that costs American lives. The book is an easy read and does not cause the reader to have a Google page opened up to define military jargon. As my buddy CJ says, it does not go into the technical weeds that will cause the non-Special Forces reader to get lost.

The book starts with a prologue of Eric finally getting a chance to meet with Hamid Karzai in a NYC hotel room. Eric was given 15 minutes between meetings of (then) VP candidate Sarah Palin and (then) Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. That 15 minute meeting dragged on for over an hour as Karzai recited many facts from memory about the men on that team and looked at photos that Eric brought with him. Secretary Rice was made to wait, but I am sure she would understand if she knew why.

As per Eric’s website, I want to highlight the following paragraph

From the author of the award-winning The Last Season comes a one-of-a-kind war story that redefines our understanding of America’s early days in Afghanistan. THE ONLY THING WORTH DYING FORreveals, for the first time, the astonishing true story of the Special Forces A-team that helped conquer the Taliban in southern Afghanistan, and bring Hamid Karzai to power. In powerfully simple prose, Eric Blehm weaves together the unbelievable chain of events that intimately expose the realities of modern unconventional warfare and international politics during the critical months after the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. Following Captain Jason Amerine and his ten Green Berets, Blehm puts the reader on the ground alongside Hamid Karzai and his guerrillas as the men of two very different worlds unite to seek a reckoning for the horrors haunting both of their nations…

The video below is Eric himself telling a good overview of the story and them men he wrote about. It is worth the watch.

The story actually starts with ODA574 training in K-stan with local forces there on 9/11/01 and how they agonized with being stuck overseas while their country is under attack. Eventually they get back to the US and thru all the right things happening at the right time, they become the team selected to insert into Pakistan for a mission that would take them and Karzai into Afghanistan to start what was supposed to be several months of local fighter training for an eventual clearing of Taliban forces in Southern Afghanistan. However, as we always say in the military, the best plans in the world get thrown out the window once you hit the ground. That is no different for these true warriors. Murphy’s Law was present, but they adapted and overcame and rather than a couple of months of train-up, they had literally days before they were thrown into the fight.

The courage and bravery of not only the 11-man A-team, but also the courage and guts of Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) rescue pilots is demonstrated in this book. These guys flew the first daytime missions into Afghanistan, over populated areas and some of the crew had only been in the area for a few hours. Sadly the incompetence and fear of the Marine Commander at Camp Rhino is also portrayed and I am sure it will make you as mad as it made me. Especially seeing who that Marine General was and what he eventually became to be. I can also say (as I had blogged on here before) that this book changed my mind about Hamid Karzai. I have said some very non-so-nice things about Karzai on this blog many times, but after reading this book I have to be honest when I say that I have a lot more respect for Karzai now than I ever did before. Not to say Karzai is perfect, but at least I know how he used to be and where his roots are in the Global War on Terror.

The whole story is told in this book, from the impact of 9/11/01 on these guys and our military, to the planning process and decision making, to the decisions entrusted to a Captain (Now-Major Jason Amerine will be interviewed on You Served Radio on Feb 18th, 2010 at www.blogtalkradio.com:80/youserved/2010/02/19/episode-20) and 10 of his men to how things tend to get screwed up when higher command go against their own doctrine and micro-manage competent professionals.

There is no doubt that as the years pass, more and more “history” books will be written about the war in Afghanistan. But you don’t have to wait long to find out how our forces inserted cold into the southern part of the country, with no support network, cut off from the rest of the world while deep behind enemy lines. How they ensured that the person who would eventually be selected to lead Afghanistan (three times) stayed alive and how all of them were either wounded or killed doing it. But for those that died, they knew it was THE ONLY THING WORTH DYING FOR.



So you think you know what it is like to be an ETT?

So do you think you know what an ETT (embedded training team) member does? ETTs have been the true tip of the spear in Afghanistan since Task Force Phoenix was first stood up in 2002. Task Force Phoenix and the ETT teams were initially charged with standing up, training, mentoring and assisting the Afghanistan National Army. The first mentoring was done by the active duty 10th Mountain Division. After Iraq kicked off in 2003, it was realized that the mission would need to be transitioned to the National Guard as there were not enough active duty forces to do the Phoenix mission in addition to the other ones they were being tasked.

The mission of training and empowering a country’s indigenous Army has always been a mission of the Special Forces and what they have mastered over the last 40 years. However there was not enough of them either, so National Guard was tapped. However if there were a 2nd best option to Special Forces doing the mission, then it was the National Guard. The soldiers in a National Guard unit have just left being a civilian and will soon return to it. They know and understand the basics of COIN, long before it became a buzz-word and well before it became a standard part of our doctrine. The National Guard soldiers bring with them a mixture of civilian skills which are vital to the mission as many of the ETTs are very far downrange and must provide for their own life-support. There is little to no support from higher headquarters at all. So the skills of carpenter, plumber, HVAC, mechanic, school teacher, etc., etc. all are transferable to the mission of being forward deployed on a small FOB or COP with no support and almost no other Americans with you. In 2007, Task Force Phoenix took over the mentoring and advising of the Afghanistan National Police with PMTs (Police Mentoring Teams).

Famed WWII history author, James F. Christ who is known for his novels about the small but important Marine Paratroopers during the battles in the Pacific has now taken up a new focus for his writing. James is in the process of writing a 10-book series on ETTs in Afghanistan and very important, but unknown battles that have happened there since 2003. His first two books are available and can be downloaded for the Kindle or purchased from Amazon.com HERE or HERE. You can also learn more about the books at the publisher’s website at www.mountainlandpublishing.com/catalog.html.

I have read both of these books cover to cover, along with the next one in the series that is not yet published. They are all easy-reads and will suck you right into reading them non-stop until you are finished. There is no building up of characters, there is no plot development, all becuase there is no need. James takes you right into the ETT team, and before long you get to know the individual soldiers, how they act in combat, etc. If they have dialects or accents, James writes in a way so you can hear the accent as you read. I relate these books to the famed book Blackhawk Down (which the movie was based on). I say this becuase just like Blackhawk Down, James’s books start right before the battle, take you through the battle and then wrap up soon after the battle is over. The entire book is about the battle itself.

The battles are huge and the odds are stacked up against the American forces (most of which are National Guard ETTs). As you read either Morghab Canyon or The Boneyard, you will be amazed at how out-numbered and how brave the American soldier are and you will even be more amazed that more US and ANA forces were not slaughtered. The ingineuity, initiative and drive to survive by these soldiers is amazing. 

I have interviewed James twice on You Served Radio (you can hear the latest interview on You Served Radio here, www.blogtalkradio.com/youserved/2009/12/11/episode-67) and after talking to him then and on multiple one-on-one phone conversations, I am convinced he is one of the most knowledgeable civilians about Afghanistan that has never actually been to the country. He has spent so many hours interviewing ETTs for these books that he has truly become immersed into what it is like to be an ETT and in my opinion earned an honorary ETT title if there were such a thing.

I have told James and his publisher that if these books are not finished and published that it would be a dis-service to all ETTs, past and present. I have circulated several of his books to other past ETTs to get their opinions and the response has been 100% that “he gets it” and “this is the best book ever written about ETTs”.

I recently heard back from Vampire 6 from www.afghanistanshrugged.com and his response to James’s writings were

“This book is awesome! It definitely needs to be out there for people to read. I think every ETT has a story like this, …. While reading this I could identify with these guys and felt like they were just like guys on my team.  Truly awesome book!”

So if you have been an ETT/PMT, are an ETT/PMT, will be an ETT/PMT or you are a family member or friend of a past, present, future ETT/PMT then you need to go to Amazon.com and get these books. I cannot stress enough how accurate these books are and how well they will educate you as to what it is like to be on the “Tip of the Spear, but at the end of the line”

04/30/09 You Served Radio

Tonight we will be catching up with film-maker and embedded freelance journalist/blogger, Scott Kesterson, live from Afghanistan. Scott’s film, At War, was just shown at the Annual Milblog Conference last weekend and is showing at the Buffalo-Niagara Film Festival this weekend. He has been out on missions the last few days and will be giving us a fresh perspective of how things are going on the front lines of the Global War on Terror.

We are also talking with Mark Baker, creator of the popular Army Times cartoon “PVT Murphy’s Law” (www.pvtmurphy.com/). Mark and CJ are old friends so it should be a good time to find out any dirt on CJ from the past. We will be talking about his very famous comic strip, the feedback he gets about it and how Murphy has grown over the years from a Private to a Sergeant.

Last but not least, Wesley Gray, author of “EMBEDDED: A Marine Corps Advisor Inside the Iraqi Army” will join CJ and Troy to talk about his book and the story he is trying to tell the world through this book.

Bouhammer.com blogs in a new book

I am so pleased to finally be able to announce that there is another book coming out that features writings from Bouhammer.com. This is a unique book and not like one I would have ever thought to be featured in. It is called I.E.D., War in Afghanistan and Iraq (www.powerhousebooks.com/book/1013). This is a photography art book by acclaimed artist and photographer, David Levinthal (www.davidlevinthal.com/).

David L. is a old and good friend of my friends, Garry Trudeau and David Stanford. Last year, David Stanford approached me about including some of my writings in this book, of which of course I told him yes. I have not seen a copy of it yet, but there is a courtesy copy coming to me very soon.

If interested, you can pre-order the book here, www.powerhousebooks.com/cart2.php?book_id=1013&AID=1.

You can look inside the book and see some of David Levinthal’s great photography here, www.powerhousebooks.com/look-inside/1013.

Tonight on March 12th You Served Radio, Military Authors

During tonight’s show we will be talking with Brandon Friedman, veteran of Operation Anaconda in Afghanistan and the initial invasion force into Iraq. Brandon is an outspoken advocate of soldier’s being active in the political process of this country. Brandon wrote the book, The War I Always Wanted: The Illusion of Glory and the Reality of War, and has served since 2007 as the Vice Chairman of VoteVets.org–a 100,000-member organization dedicated to getting veterans elected to public office.

We are also talking with Professor Andrew Lubin, a proud member of the distinguished USMC Combat Correspondents Association, Andrew has spent much of 2006 and 2007 in Iraq, and Afghanistan. Embedded with Marine – Army – National Guard units, he’s out in the field with the “boots on the ground,” and covering the story with the 0311′s and 0811′s in Ramadi, Mahmudiyah, and the Khyber Pass who are getting the job done. Prior to those embeds, Andrew was one of only 5 journalists on the beaches in Beirut with the 24 Marine Expeditionary Unit as they evacuated the American refugees, and earlier he was in Okinawa with 12th Marines. Andrew is about to go back to Afghanistan to do another embed so we are touching base with him before he does. Andrew also wrote the book, Charlie Battery; A Marine Artillery Unit in Iraq which he sells on his website, www.andrewlubin.com where the proceeds of the book fund his repeated trips back into Afghanistan in order to embed and tell the story of what is happening on the front lines.

In addition to those great guests we are talking to Clint Van Winkle, author of Soft Spots: A Marine’s Memoir of Combat and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. SOFT SPOTS moves effortlessly back and forth across time and continents as war scenes in reality are intermixed with war ravages remembered. Van Winkle desperately sought help from the Veteran’s Administration, but each trip to a VA facility would be another maddening adventure into bureaucratic red tape and ineptitude. He discovered it was an indifferent system that gives lip service about their concern for veterans but in reality seems to abandon them.

Book Review: Never Surrender

Back in July I was contacted by a book publishing company asking if I would be interested in doing a book review. They told me that I would be sent the book for free and all I had to do was read it and write a review on my blog. I have to say that I was very flattered and honored.

The book is titled Never Surrender: A Soldier’s Journey to the Crossroads of Faith and Freedom and was written by LTG (Ret) Jerry Boykin. The name sounded familiar, and after seeing that LTG Boykin spent most of his entire career in Special Operations community I called my dad. After talking to him, Dad said he had heard of him or may have worked with him a time or two. This information alone made me more interested and excited to read the book.

I started to read the book about a week after I received it, and once I started I could not put it down. I could not really figure out where I had heard LTG Boykin’s name until I read the First Chapter. I went to Wikipedia and searched on his name and then I was reminded of when he was in the news. The First Chapter starts off with him going to work at the Pentagon in 2003 and the firestorm that followed after he was appointed to a newly created position by then Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld. After the First Chapter, the book then takes the reader back to LTG Boykin’s boyhood and up-bringing. From the Second Chapter through the rest of the book it follows a chronological path through LTG Boykin’s life and career.

When you think of Special Operations, there are a few names that come to mind; Jerry Boykin, Pete Schoomaker, and Bo Gritz to name just a few. LTG Boykin was involved in every publicized ( I say publicized because I have no doubt he was involved with a few that were never went public) war, combat action, skirmish, etc. that our country has ever been involved with since 1979. He was on the ground in Iran at the scene of Desert One, in Grenada, Panama, Desert Storm, and the GWOT before he retired. He was also involved with our operations in Columbia which eventually led to the taking out of Pablo Escobar. He was one of the first officers, along with GEN (Ret) Pete Schoomaker, to try out for and be accepted into the ever-coveted and super-secret Delta Force. It was the stories from this time in his life that hooked me into the book.

I have never read or heard of such an honest and accurate account of what it is like to go through the Delta Force selection as I did in this book. Not only does the book describe what it was like to be selected, but what it was like to go through in the very first training class. These chapters not only put the reader into the mindset of how grueling this must have been, but they also give the history of Delta Force and how the concept, training, etc. came about. Through the entire book there is one theme that is evident; the crossroads he came to many times between his personal faith and the tasks that laid in front of him. LTG (Retired) Jerry Boykin is truly a God-fearing man. He has managed to stay as close to his walk with the Lord as he could while serving our country. I was as impressed by this as I was by his actions in the military on behalf of this country.

LTG Boykin takes the reader through every one of the combat actions mentioned above and he is not afraid to admit there were times when he was at his lowest and questioned God; as well as, times (usually still in his lowest) that he realized God was still there and allowing things to happen for a reason. He shares with the reader the times he falls to his knees in prayer, the times he wept and when he laughed in the worst of times. It was in reading some of these words that I had some self-realization myself. I realized that my walk with the Lord is not always what it should be and that I too need to do better on trying to stay honest in my faith. There are times when I think all hope is lost I should also and I also should just grab the bible and open it up to the chapter and verse that the Lord lays on my heart.

I went through the whole range of emotions reading this book. I honestly went from being in awe, then laughing, to crying and then back to being in awe again. It was the later chapters of this book that became an emotional journey for me, as he shares with the reader the operations in Somalia and Panama. It was the brutal honesty that he showed in the chapters about Somalia which caused me to have even more than 100% respect for the man. Ironically the controversy over his appointment in the Pentagon, the reason why he probably would never see a fourth star and why he was slandered in the very liberal and God-hating media all came from some of his actions in Somalia. Actions that were mis-reported, if not completely lied about.

This book is not only a book that can educate the reader on different combat actions in our country’s post-Vietnam history; it is also an education on Delta Force, the Special Operations Community, Leadership, Integrity, Ethics, and most importantly faith in one’s God. Whatever God that may be. It is not a book to glorify a person, but instead to provide an example on how to be an effective leader in today’s world. Not just a military leader either, any kind of leader.

As I was heading to Arkansas several weeks ago to visit my Grandmother, parents and other family I did my best to finish it before I got there. In fact I finished it on the flight from Detroit to Memphis. I did this so I could hand it to my Dad. I knew he would know a lot of the people in the book and I am convinced he will really like the book the way I did. Besides just knowing people or being able to relate to the tactics and techniques, I think he will like the message that is apparent throughout the entire book. In the end it is the message of this book is clear and strong, “That being the toughest of men, the most bravado of soldiers, and the true warriors of our great military must also look up to the Heavens for guidance and motivation in both the best and especially the worst of times.” This book is a must read for any military or history buff, or anyone desiring to be a better leader. It is also a must read for someone who desires to serve the Lord and is looking for an example to follow.

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