Generation Kill

I just finished a book last night called Generation Kill by Evan Wright, and I would like to recommend it to all of you.

GENERATION KILL: Devil Dogs, Iceman, Captain America and the New Faces of American War is Wright's account of being the only reporter to travel with the USMC's elite First Recon Battalion as they spearheaded the Iraqi invasion. For weeks he lived on the front lines with 23 young men from the opening hours of combat through to the fall of Baghdad. Rather than coming at his story from cynical ground, Wright instead strives to convey the stark realities of combat from the perspective of the participants. He is unique among reporters covering the war in Iraq for giving a voice to the “grunts” so often rendered invisible by the media. In magazine articles and his book ‘Generation Kill’, Wright chronicled the triumphs and horrors—physical, moral, emotional, and spiritual—that these marines endured.

In an interview with GODSPY online, Wright talks about the book, and how he sees the reality of war:

"I think we as a society are content to remain isolated from the military, which is part of the beauty of an all-volunteer army, from the standpoint of empire-building, because we as consumer-citizens don’t have to worry about these issues. If there are problems with the military, it’s their problem, not ours, because that’s how we conceive of war. We’re really alienated from the people who fight wars. They’re almost a separate class. Then we get angry when we hear reports of people getting affected by war, and we say, well, they’d better take care of theirs. But we forget that it’s our society that suffers when they suffer."

He shows young Marines the way they really are. The exceptional officers and the idiots. He exposes a part of military culture that most people will never understand or accept - the brotherhood of combat, the profanity, the violence, the raw humor, the depth of emotion, and the humanity of the men.

This is a good book for anyone who sincerely wants to have a glimpse into the lives of young American warriors who are thrown into the chaos of combat, for better and for worse.

UPDATE: In response to one of the comments on this post I thought I would explain a couple things about the book that are apparent to Marines and soldiers, but may not be to the layperson.

Marines and soldiers are trained to be warriors. They constantly train in warfighting tactics and as a result are prepared to conduct warfare. They strive to be proficient warfighters in their body and their mind. Having said that, the average "grunt" is still a young man with a normal social life outside of the military. He has a family and friends who aren't a part of his martial world. The warrior must balance the two separate lifestyles psychologically (i.e. a loving father at night, and a hardcore Marine by day) which is easy to do in peacetime, but much harder to do in combat. Warriors find individual coping mechanisms to deal with combat stress. They must keep their internal motivation up in order to survive and keep moving forward. Some of the bravado they display in combat is contrived to maintain their motivation and to deal with the realities of war. Some of the doubt and criticism they convey is how they balance the other side of their conscience. Yin and yang.

The profanity and the "moto" (motivational) statements allowed them to be fierce warriors and work through their fear. Don't mistake that kind of behavior as an indicator that those Marines are crazy. It is part of the warrior culture. As you will see in the book, not all Marines dealt with the eventualities of war the same. Some like Lt. Fick were rock steady throughout. Everyone deals with the fear, anxiety, and "fog of war" differently.

Bottom line is those kids are a cross-section of American society. Regardless of their background or ideological persuasion, they are first-and-foremost warriors who must make war. They did what they did to win and to survive. They do what they do in defense of our Nation and its objectives. I am proud to stand and fight next to any of them.