Review: Tour de Force
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 07 17, 2014
LB and his team brought calm to the frantic, order to the chaotic. A fast drop from the Pedro 2, the tandem-flying Pave Hawk, the primary medical bird, was on target, flying into the middle of a firefight.  They joined eight commandos on top of the wall. They needed five on their feet to bring back three. LB had no focus, or memory,  beyond this mission, concerned only for his men on this battlefield.  They had one with a foot blown off, another with a shattered hip. Buried IED's were an ever present danger. Hallett was critically wounded. The final hadji bullet had found him. He'd been hit in the jaw, neck and mouth. He was hemorrhaging, blowing blood. Under fire, they used the Skedeo sled, strapped the downed commando while the Pedro 2 gave cover fire. Doc, the team leader had been hit. Three missions today. All in a day's work. Six barrels flailed.The desert is never empty. It is the most intent of listener when a man is full with his own voice.Major Torres, Brown eyed, dark haired Latina questioned the PJ's inside the Barn, 11Degrees North, the camp canteen. PJ' s talked quietly about the freighter. Memory ghosts were haunting. Two dozen pirate corpses, a dead comrade, the murdered skipper, the corridors slick with blood. Wally didn't want to leave Lemonnier, or Major Torres.  Scars scored and peppered their bodies. Mental doubts were shoved to deep recesses of their minds.Their training was "to never quit. Ever." They fought so that others may live.  Their Indoc was an intensive ten week, pararescue indoctrination. Graduates qualified for a two year Special Ops, "The Pipeline," and "Superman School," one of the most demanding regimes in the military. They earned every sweat filled, gut  wrenching moment. This is a book that should not be by passed, ignored, or shoved aside. Read David Robbins' words. Cringe or cry. They will be branded on your mind.