If you’ve read Evan Wright’s Generation Kill, you’ll already have a big part of the backstory of this book, which is mostly about the author‘s career as a Marine officer. Fick begins with a short chronicle of his time at Officer Candidate School and the Basic School, followed by the Marine infantry officers’ course. This to me was the most interesting part of the book, since I served in an air wing unit and don’t know much about the professional education required for infantry officers. Fick served as a platoon leader in Afghanistan after 9/11, followed by a tour as Recon platoon leader in Iraq. This is really where the book hits its stride. Fick writes with power and clarity, and he never descends into obfuscation. When he sees something wrong, he calls it– a traitc common to, and welcome in, Marine officers. It’s refreshing to see in a work that will be in print for a long time to come; in many ways, Fick reminds me of James Webb’s body of work. I hope to see more from him in the future.
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