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Red Army by Ralph Peters. I like the tertiary-under-theme of "We're not war criminals, we're just incompetent!"

I've been progressively reading Locust: The Devastating Rise and Mysterious Disappearance of the Insect that Shaped the American Frontier, by Jeffrey A. Lockwood. An excellent book for all intents and purposes researched to death by the author. A little dry in places, but practically everything you ever wanted to know about the Rocky Mountain Locust and its impact on American westward expansion and social development is in there.

Edited by Horrido
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Not long ago I finished "Voodoo Warriors" by Nigel Walpole and quite enjoyed it.

It's a quite decent overview of the F-101's service life with particular emphasis on the recce mission. A decent read by an informed author that doesn't get to mired down in techno-babble and similar jargon.

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Not long ago I finished "Voodoo Warriors" by Nigel Walpole and quite enjoyed it.

It's a quite decent overview of the F-101's service life with particular emphasis on the recce mission. A decent read by an informed author that doesn't get to mired down in techno-babble and similar jargon.

finished the same book a few weeks ago. Bought it with a major reduced price on Kindle and enjoyed every bit of it.

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  • 4 weeks later...

"The Only Thing Worth Dying For" by Eric Blehm. It's about Special Forces Team ODA 574 shortly after September 11 and their infiltration into the mountain region of Southern Afghanistan to help pave the way for the various tribes to organize and revolt against the Taliban. Great book, very informative, easy to read and follow. Recommended.

Also read an oldie but a goodie in Robin Moore's "The Green Berets:The Amazing Story of the U.S. Army's Elite Special Forces Unit". Fascinating! It takes place in Vietnam and is "fictionalized"...but barely. Many stories are reportedly based on true events, just with names, dates, and locations altered. Well worth the read :thumbsup: !

Now...for a change of pace and something a little lighter, I am reading "The Gettysburg Campaign: A Study in Command" by Edwin B. Coddington. So far very good, very in depth.

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...One more gripe. The book doesn't have a single decent map!!! I can't understand how someone can write a book about a historical battle and not include a single map of the engagement. Heck, I'd pay more to have a full size map enclosed in the book so I can lay it out and follow the battle in closer detail....

Agreed. Geography, knowing where you (the reader) is located on the field or even within the Country where the events took place is often crucial to gaining a proper understanding of what it is you are reading. Maps are often irritatingly neglected in books. A pet peeve of mine.

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I've blazed through a dozen or so Ginter Naval Fighter books since my last post update. Not saying a lot since text mostly deals with units using the aircraft. The F7U-1 Cutlass book was quite juicy, though, since it was written by Thomason. Gotta see if there is a -2 and/or -3 book(s). Next up are over a dozen Squadron Walk-Around titles. Oh, and the Squadron treatment of the Battleship Texas.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Just went through two aviation books in four days. "The Mercenary", by Dan Hampton. It's a story about a manhunt for a former AF pilot who is killing off some former officers who he holds responsible for the death of his family. Cliche for sure, but there are some pretty dark, violent, and graphic episodes in the book. The author really rips into the Air Force in a way only someone who lived it can (think David Hackworth's book "About Face") in the vein of the true warriors vs the careerists.

"Flying Low"' by Brian Bryans, an autobiographical journey of a USN attack pilot's 20 year career. It reads a lot like Paul Gilcrest's "Feet Wet" , mainly because they are both from the same era (post-Korea to post-Vietnam). Several of the flying stories he tells really illustrates the role that luck and/or fate plays in aviation.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Nice selection! That is a great book about a little-know subject. I wouldn't call NV's MiG and SAM assets "meager" though. They put a huge hurt on the USAF early in LB2. To the point that there were numerous incidents of insubordination / vandalism by demoralized BUFF flight crews at Anderson AFB. It didn't help that SAC's original tactics were pathetic and that they also chose to commit poorly defended G-model B-52's to go up against the most heavily defended piece of airspace on the planet. Regardless, anyone interested in the Vietnam airwar should pick this up.

With regard to other books, I'm currently reading

The Guns at Last Light, the third part of Rick Atkins's Liberation Trilogy. This is a comprehensive history of the US Army's war against Germany. All three books are absolutely fantastic.

http://liberationtrilogy.com/ if you want any more info on this series. Highly recommended.

The first issued Mig21's had a rough time against the Phantom. Then the issued the Mig21mf, and that was a nightmare. Below 10,000 feet the Phantom couldn't fly with them. Especially on the deck.

Until the Christmas raids, there was never a venture above the 17th Parallel by the B52. They were virtually untouchable below the 17th Parallel. By the end of the fourth or fifth day most SAM sights were non existent. Still there were still quite a few radar guided 57mm sights to be dealt with. Yet by the end of the second day, the NVA were in serious fear for their lives.

gary

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I agree, but didn't SAMs have a bit of a resurgence about 2/3 into campaign?

Also, I believe that at the time of Linebacker the MiG-21MFs made it into Vietnam and scared the bejeebus out of the Phantom pilots encountering them on the deck and low and dense cloud cover. Their improved engines offered a large improvement to the old F and PF/Ms they had used before. Many Phantom pilots felt like they were being out accelerated for the first time against the MiGs.

Edited by Exhausted
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Forgotten Fifteenth by Barrett Tillman

Predator : The secret origins of the drone revolution by Richard Whittle

Fabled Fifteen: The Pacific War Saga of Carrier Air Group 15 by Tom Cleaver

Within Arm's Length: A Secret Service Agent's Definitive Inside Account of Protecting the President by Dan Emmett

Inside Marine One: Four U.S. Presidents, One Proud Marine, and the World's Most Amazing Helicopter by Ray L'Heureux

For fiction I can recommend Brad Taylor's Task Force series starting with "One Rough Man"

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I agree, but didn't SAMs have a bit of a resurgence about 2/3 into campaign?

Also, I believe that at the time of Linebacker the MiG-21MFs made it into Vietnam and scared the bejeebus out of the Phantom pilots encountering them on the deck and low and dense cloud cover. Their improved engines offered a large improvement to the old F and PF/Ms they had used before. Many Phantom pilots felt like they were being out accelerated for the first time against the MiGs.

before digging into Linebacker, one needs to know the bombing was handled by areas (the whole country was divided up into sectors of responsibility). The navy had it's own areas and the Air Force had theirs. Electronics wise it appears that the F105G became the eyes and ears of the strike force, and kind of lead the way. The Russian SAM operators figured this out, and the F105G's made a major tactical change. Most fighter bombers could carry the Shrike (not sure about the later advanced version, but they probably could). The Wild Weasels were capable of charting targets at 75 or more miles out. Well out of SAM range, but the SAM operators were getting smarter. SAM site operators became the receiver of CBU's once they were located. The CBU's were really more effective than the Shrike once the targets were located.

The story goes that by the end of the fifth day, they were running out of targets! With Hia Phong shut down cold there was only one resupply route.

gary

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The first issued Mig21's had a rough time against the Phantom. Then the issued the Mig21mf, and that was a nightmare. Below 10,000 feet the Phantom couldn't fly with them. Especially on the deck.

Until the Christmas raids, there was never a venture above the 17th Parallel by the B52. They were virtually untouchable below the 17th Parallel. By the end of the fourth or fifth day most SAM sights were non existent. Still there were still quite a few radar guided 57mm sights to be dealt with. Yet by the end of the second day, the NVA were in serious fear for their lives.

gary

I think it was more an issue of the NVA running out of SA-2's than their sites being taken out. Also, I've read some stuff online about full B-52 raids being directed at specific SAM sites that appeared to be significantly more effective than the others. It was suspected (but never proven) that these sites had Russian or other Warsaw Pact personnel assigned.

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Let us not forget the SAMs were less active in the day, thus less targets for the USMC/USN/USAF assets fragged with SAM suppression. Let's remember that SA-2 stockpiles were not near as low as was hoped, and SA-2s made a resurgence during the last third of the raids. SA-3s may have also been active, but US pressure on the USSR kept massive SA-3 proliferation from happening. I seem to remember the Marines taking over B-52 escort on strikes, ingressing from the south and east, in terms of anti-air and SEAD.

As far as the targets, there were never very many targets worthy of B-52 strikes to begin with, and accuracy, while being influenced by large numbers of SAMs getting through to the -Gs, made repeat strikes necessary.

11Bee, I believe we have all we need to infer that the SAM sites in question were heavily controlled by European advisors.

I, like many, have gathered further interest in the logistical part of Linebacker II: the BUFF crews very near to revolting, LeMay's lasting influence on Air Force doctrine in tactical conflicts, Nixon's continuation of Johnson policies in the air war, and the vast bureaucracy mid-level leadership pressed through in order to wage a sensible air campaign mid-way through the operation.

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Let us not forget the SAMs were less active in the day, thus less targets for the USMC/USN/USAF assets fragged with SAM suppression. Let's remember that SA-2 stockpiles were not near as low as was hoped, and SA-2s made a resurgence during the last third of the raids. SA-3s may have also been active, but US pressure on the USSR kept massive SA-3 proliferation from happening. I seem to remember the Marines taking over B-52 escort on strikes, ingressing from the south and east, in terms of anti-air and SEAD.

As far as the targets, there were never very many targets worthy of B-52 strikes to begin with, and accuracy, while being influenced by large numbers of SAMs getting through to the -Gs, made repeat strikes necessary.

11Bee, I believe we have all we need to infer that the SAM sites in question were heavily controlled by European advisors.

I, like many, have gathered further interest in the logistical part of Linebacker II: the BUFF crews very near to revolting, LeMay's lasting influence on Air Force doctrine in tactical conflicts, Nixon's continuation of Johnson policies in the air war, and the vast bureaucracy mid-level leadership pressed through in order to wage a sensible air campaign mid-way through the operation.

To me, the biggest failing of that campaign was the criminally negligent tactics forced on the B-52 force by SAC command in Nebraska, which completely over rode the in-theater staff. A lot of crewmen paid with their lives due to these decisions. Once tactics were revised, losses dropped significantly.

That and the use of G-model B-52's which were totally unsuited to the mission.

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Non-fiction:

Finished "Pak 6" by the late Gene Basel. Light, easy, quick read. Recommended.

Fiction:

Completed "Termite Hill" by Tom "Bear" Wilson. AWESOME! Highly recommended for those interested in Wild Weasles in Vietnam. I couldn't put it down. I also have "Luckys Bridge" and "Tango Uniform" by the same author and former Bear (obviously) to read yet. :thumbsup:

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  • 10 months later...

Thought there was a more current thread on books but this is the only one I could find with the crappy search engine we have here. Anyhoo... This should be an interesting read, another "tell-all" on US Special Operations forces.

The author was told that Fort Bragg, where the U.S. Army's Special Operations Forces is headquartered, "is going ape sh*t over your book." LOL, whatever happened to the "Quiet Professionals"?

Relentless Strike: The Secret History of Joint Special Operations Command, being released today.

http://thehill.com/policy/defense/252342-special-operations-community-bracing-for-book-release

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For those of you interested in Latam Literature, I can't recommend enough the work of Mario Benedetti.

His poetry is just wonderful at any time. I just finished reading again "La Tregua" (The Truce) if you like me are in your 40ish and above this book is a must.

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Thought there was a more current thread on books but this is the only one I could find with the crappy search engine we have here. Anyhoo... This should be an interesting read, another "tell-all" on US Special Operations forces.

The author was told that Fort Bragg, where the U.S. Army's Special Operations Forces is headquartered, "is going ape shoot over your book." LOL, whatever happened to the "Quiet Professionals"?

Relentless Strike: The Secret History of Joint Special Operations Command, being released today.

http://thehill.com/policy/defense/252342-special-operations-community-bracing-for-book-release

Looks interesting. I will have to put that on my list of "to reads". It kind of reminds me of Robin Moore's book "The Green Berets" that wasn't...but was ;) ...about Special Forces ops early on in SEA. When it was published the SF brass and senior Pentagon folks went bananas and actually called Moore in for questioning as to where he got his classified Intel and who he was talking to. Good read.

Thanks for the heads up.

Regards,

Don.

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I just finished reading "Never in Anger" by Anthony "Bugs" Bendell and really enjoyed it very much.

The title works in two ways as it reflects that he never fired a shot in anger during a 30+ year career in fast jets and also his positive outlook and lack of bitterness when he was grounded by multiple sclerosis.

Bendell gives a good overview of all his RAF flying from Tiger Moths at basic training to Harvards and T-33s in advanced training in Canada and works his way through Hunters, Lightnings, commanding a Phantom squadron in the RAF and an exchange tour in the USAF where he was an instructor on the F-105 Thunderchief.

Accounts he gives of off duty life are refreshingly light on skirt chasing escapades and alcohol induced amnesia. The book is written with a good deal of humility and humanity.

The book is quite moving in the period where he must adjust to his wings being permanent clipped due to MS and the condition ultimately ending his RAF career a few years later. It's also moving as he talks about the friends he made and lost in the business of fast jet flying, particulalrly the USAF F-105 pilots he worked with and trained who subsequently were sent to Vietnam and did not survive the experience.

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