On November 10, just in time to comment for Veterans’ Day, I finished reading:
Embarrassing Confessions of a Marine Lieutenant: Operation Branding Iron
It was funny because it’s true – the author is a Marine officer who took all his godawful experiences and feelings from war zones in Afghanistan and described them honestly – which means a lot of references to killing, crude sexual commentary, and all the other immaturity that allows our brave soldiers to mentally survive not just combat but modern combat/nation building with one hand tied behind their back with horrible rules of engagement. Earlier vets had enemy nations to conquer. They had authorization to kill anyone threatening. Newer vets don’t have a simple war where they are sent to an enemy nation; they are sent to fight insurgents within “friendly” nations where we are supposed to win the hearts and minds of the people. At the end of the book the author gets into a serious discussion of the high rates of suicide among veterans and what he is attempting to do about it.
As the book suggests:
“A Marine Infantry Officer confesses his lust for killing and fucking everything in sight, his desire to beat his boss’s face in and frag the battalion staff, his willingness to risk Afghan civilians in order to save Marines, his burning desire to win a game of gay chicken at all costs, his personal mission to nail the combat reporter who joined his unit, his sexual arousal at the sight of ED (Enemy Death), and his inability to take serious things seriously; while planning and executing the last combat operation of his deployment in Afghanistan; a nighttime helicopter raid named, Operation Branding Iron Part 2.1A. (Continued from National Geographic’s “Battlefield Afghanistan”)
This is undoubtedly the most honest and raw account of an Officer’s thoughts and actions during combat that has ever been written. After publishing this book, Donny O’Malley’s job options are now reduced to low level sales and day labor construction. It is still unclear how he ever made it out of the Marines without court martial.
Senior officer’s will slam him, military historians will be shocked, and all civilians will be 100% certain he’s psychotic. Fortunately, the book is written for the opposite of those mentioned above. It’s written for Enlisted guys. Officers who are brave enough to read will either cry themselves to sleep, jerk themselves off to Donny’s picture, or will ask their buddies to write them up for an award with V for having the moral courage to finish the book.”
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