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Title: None Braver: U.S. Air Force Pararescuemen in the War on Terrorism by Michael Hirsh ISBN: 0-451-20983-4 Publisher: New American Library Pub. Date: 02 September, 2003 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.27 (11 reviews)
Rating: 2
Summary: Stockholm Syndrome from an embed
Comment: Every once in a while, it is good for a person that reads a lot of history to pick up a book that simply tells a story...it cleanses the palate. Michael Hirsh tells the story of some extremely brave US Air Force Pararescuemen (PJs) that are prepared to give their all to save the lives of others. These men are unique, some of the best trained men in the world who save lives instead of taking them (but will fight to the death to defend their wounded). While this book does a good job of telling their story, MR Hirsh got Stockholm Syndrome while embedded with the PJs. PJs can do no wrong and every other branch should always listen to what the PJ has to say. Hirsh bad mouths the army, the navy, the marines, and even special operations forces when they make decisions that go against the PJs recommendations. My favorite instance is where he makes fun of an army Lieutenant Colonel by saying he has no combat experience but has a PhD in history, and then 7 pages later blasts planners for not studying the history of a certain valley. The PJs have done a great job in the war, but their story should have been told by some more impartial.
Rating: 4
Summary: PJ's are amazing.
Comment: Great depiction of the life of a PJ. Recommended to anybody with a military interest.
Rating: 3
Summary: Good Military Journalism
Comment: Michael Hirsch's "None Braver: U.S. Air Force Pararescuemen in the War on Terrorism" is an engaging work of military journalism. Hirsch, a Peabody Award winning documentary filmmaker and Vietnam veteran, has chosen an unusual subject for his study of combat in Afghanistan: the U.S. Air Force's Pararescue Jumpers, or PJs.
Hirsch is already familiar with PJs from his previous book, "Pararescue: The Skill and Courage of the Elite 106th Rescue Wing." Most readers will be familiar with PJs from either reading or seeing "A Perfect Storm." The bravery and skill of the Search and Rescue crews of the 106th were prominently featured in both. Unlike the rest of the U.S. Military's Special Forces troopers, PJs find regular, hazardous employment in peacetime operations. Jumping out of a helicopter into treacherous stormy seas to rescue civilians from sinking ships is a not uncommon example of a non-combat Search and Rescue operation. Those volunteering to become PJs must pass a grueling 10-week indoctrination course where the failure rate regularly exceeds 85%. By comparison, the SEAL school's failure rate is 75%. Those who pass indoctrination go on to training in advanced combat medicine, HALO parachute jumping, SCUBA diving, mountaineering, special tactics and everything else a man with the primary mission of rescuing injured, downed pilots might need to be able to do to get the job done.
The book provides an enlightening look at what may very well me the most dangerous combat mission of all: to save the lives of fellow soldiers. Whether it is fighting the grizzled veteran muhajadeen of the Taliban, parachuting into a minefield, or offering to hike off the peak of a 10,000-foot high mountain through enemy territory just to lighten the load on an overburdened helicopter, the seriousness with which these men take their mission is readily apparent. While no planes were shot down in Afghanistan, the PJs did find themselves entering enemy territory to rescue crews from crashes, and also going into combat situations where ordinary combat medics could not. Hirsch's retelling of the PJ missions is thrilling.
"None Braver" also provides some insight into what was going on in the rear. Highly motivated and engaged in a dangerous profession, the PJs spared no effort to make their quarters in Pakistan and Uzbekistan as comfortable as possible. The accompanying tales of improving the facilities and "acquiring" creature comforts strike a light and amusing chord. Weighing heavier is Hirsch's attitude towards heavy military bureaucracy and incompetent leadership. His experience as a Vietnam veteran shows strongly in his contempt for bumbling, self-absorbed, careerist officers. It begins with a Colonel (but still just a petty bureaucrat) who spitefully torments Hirsch and his Air Force "minder" upon arrival in the theatre, merely because she had not been informed of their mission. From there, the matter escalates to his damning criticism of interservice rivalry that risks the lives of the men in the field, and to the incompetent planning and execution of Operation Anaconda. Hirsch shows the bitterness of a man who once wore the uniform and feels very poorly used by his superiors.
Michael Hirsch has written an entertaining and informative book on Combat Search and Rescue. That it is drawn from recent events only makes it more thrilling, and hopefully educational.
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