Ironically, in order to find targets, FACs frequently had to present themselves as targets. She even touches on careerism, which grew among more senior participants later in the war. She describes frequent FAC clashes with other Air Force subcultures. Toward the end, the author provides the moving stories of Capt Hilliard Wilbanks and 1st Lt Steven L. Bennett, two FACs who received the Medal of Honor posthumously. There is an appendix containing actual FAC training manuals and a decent bibliography.
Portions contain enough detail to hold as a reference.
This book belongs on the shelf with other tomes of what really happened in the war. If generals always prepare for the last war, Stephen Duncan deserves a star. Because the war was successful, he argues, we should learn from it and reestablish our forces as they were on that occasion. Citizen Warriors has potential as a major study of the effectiveness of the reserve structure and missions established in the aftermath of the Vietnam War. Veterans of Vietnam, determined that never again would American forces fight without public opinion in their corner, created an active force incapable of fighting a war without the help of citizen soldiers.