Outlaw Platoon: Heroes, Renegades, Infidels, and the Brotherhood of War in Afghanistan

Wow... just wow. I'm kind of at a loss for words, but I will do my best for this review. First, Outlaw Platoon is going into my "6 star reads" shelf; a shelf reserved for those rare books that deserve 6 stars (I think I have 4 others in there). Outlaw Platoon is one of those books that will change your outlook and stay with you for awhile. Sean Parnell recounts his 16 months in Afghanistan while he was in charge of the Outlaw Platoons, a unit who was stationed on the border of Afghanistan and Pakistan. Now if you have read your history and followed the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, you will know that Pakistan is supposedly our ally. And you will also know that they let the Taliban and other networks cross their borders and attack our troops. What a bitter assignment, knowing your enemy is crossing the Pak border to kill you, and not being able to engage in Pak territory. Also, Sean's assignment took place in 2006 when the war in Afghanistan was starting to heat up and change course. Pakistan President Musharraf made a "deal with the devil" which increased the tempo on the Pak/Afghanistan border. So Outlaw Platoon takes you through their harrowing battles and interactions with the local Afghans. Sean's writing skills are exemplary. I have read a few soldier memoirs, and Sean just has a way with words. He makes you feel like you are there with the platoon. You can picture every scene like it is playing out before you. I kept returning to his prologue when he states this is non-fiction. It reads like a fiction... full of rich detail and unbearable twists and turns. Within the first 100 pages I had cried twice. And not just a stray tear streaking down my cheek. I felt heart-broken over the events they encountered. And angry. The story of Abdul (one of the platoons interpreters "terps"), just broke my heart. My son asked me why I was crying and my face was full of anguish. I looked at him (sweet and innocent at age 8, and wanting to join the army), and wanted to beg him never to grow up. Outlaw Platoon is an incredible story. I cannot recommend this book enough. I think everybody should read this so they can understand what our troops went through, and continue to go through. And through the story of Abdul and the Village of the Damned, you will also understand what the Afghans are going through. It is heart-pounding, emotional, and beautifully written. This is not a "tough guy" "macho bulls***" war novel. Its one of the best memoirs I have ever read.

Every book I read, fiction and nonfiction alike, leaves an imprint on my view of the world. Parnell left not only an imprint, but shifted the prism through which I look. This is one of many books I've read on the "War on Terror" if you will (if we even think of it in that context anymore) and the men and women fighting it still after all these years. "Outlaw Platoon" is not just a story of warriors however; here, Parnell manages to rise above the din with his refreshingly unique voice, and deserves a place on your electronic or physical bookshelf. Every book has it's share of quote-worthy passages, compelling the reader to engage. "Outlaw Platoon" is rife with them, but one stands out for me as most riveting: "In their most naked moments, veterans tell stories of the unseen bond, founded on love, that unites us psychologically to those who matter most to us. In times of hardship or disaster, wives have risen from half-empty beds, knowing that their warrior husbands have suffered harm. The morning arrival of the contact teams on their doorsteps is no surprise but rather a confirmation of what their hearts already understand". Parnell's account of his time in Afghanistan, and those with which he served and fought against is more than a war tome. It is a searing, no holds barred look at the entire experience, told with a raw and brutally honest shot from the heart and soul of his humanity. He does not lecture us, he does not dilute it. To wit: Parnell really drives it home when he speaks of his parents, most notably his father, in whom he confides during his tour. I won't spoil it for you, but it will hit like a hammer when he gently lets you in on his revelation about those emails, which he wrote because there was nowhere else to go with them. He was masterful in painting that for all of us, even though it was really none of our business. There are heroes, villains, autocrats and ambushes that will leave you cheering and seething. There are battles that will have you gripping your seat, and defeats large and small. All are woven intimately into the narrative. Add this one to your permanent collection. Parnell brings you into his world as few others can or have. It is an immersive, unflinching story of a war within and without, seen through the eyes of a soldier that does not blink in his telling of it.

Having read warriors' tales from World Wars I and II, Korea, and Vietnam, I decided it was time to try something a little more contemporary. I chose Outlaw Platoon. There are some traits of war that are the same in all ages: innocents are hurt or killed, and war changes those who fight its battles. The adage, "You can't really appreciate what an experience is like until you've lived it personally" holds true. While war remains personal for those doing the fighting, modern weapons allow for the impersonal killing of the foe. It is also a sad fact that, unless we have a friend or a father or a sister in the service, these recent wars are distant and don't seem to have much impact on our everyday lives. That why I wanted to read this book. I wanted to understand what was going in a place far across the world from me, a place where American service personnel are fighting, getting hurt, and dying. Outlaw Platoon recounts the tours of duty of Captain Sean Parnell in Afganistan. It tells of his bonds with his men as they fight an elusive, well-supplied enemy. It also tells of his struggle to maintain the distance required between officers and the men they command. It gives a limited picture of Afganis who seem to be fighting for the same cause as the Americans there. One thing amazes me: with as much ammo and ordinance as is being expended, it seems more injuries and casualties should result. Miraculous and wonderful I found it! I was also amazed that the vehicles could take such heavy fire and still remain viable means to strike back at the enemy, or allow the soldiers to escape or take cover in them. I was also incredulous that these soldiers continued to return to combat or remain on active duty with injuries that could impair their ability to fight and make life or death decisions. One thing that perhaps Outlaw Platoon tried too hard to express was the brotherhood or bond formed between the men. How could it be otherwise? Nevertheless, this book was very readable and a good start in trying to understand, however distantly, what it is like to be there, far from the U.S., in a hostile land.

Outlaw Platoon should be required reading for high school American history classes. Not only because it is such a riveting account of one platoon leader's experiences (and his platoon's), but because it is an example of what so many American fighting men have experienced. I have interviewed over 100 veterans of the 10th Mountain Division who served in the first battalion in Kunar Province and when I read Outlaw Platoon I felt like I was reading the interviews again. In one of their critical actions, LT Parnell had to make the decision to call for artillery (instead of helping his wounded friend) in order to save his platoon. That is exactly what happened to soldiers of the 2nd Platoon, A/1/32, when SGT Adam Gordon had to make the (same) decision to not help his friend, SGT Chase Gean (who had been shot and paralyzed) and call for 155 mm artillery. I imagine that has happened to hundreds of American fighting men. And the guilt Parnell spoke of is no different from the guilt Gordon has experienced and still suffers. There was a part when one of Outlaw Platoon's young soldiers was trying to fire a .50 caliber machinegun that had been loaded incorrectly during a firefight. It was basically a huge, .50 caliber bolt-action rifle. The exact same thing happened to Corporal Robert Duncan (2/A/1/32) during a firefight in the Korengal Valley. When I read the part about the dog's, which were such a huge morale boost to the U.S. troops, being euthanized, because higher thought it prudent, it reminded me of what Corporal Shane Wilkinson (2/A/1/32) and SGT Bill Wilkinson (no relation, mortars/A/1/32) and so many other soldiers said when they returned to the KOP and found that all the dogs (on orders from battalion) had been killed. The dogs that hated the Afghans and loved the U.S. troops; the dogs that warned them when there was anyone on a nearby ridgeline, and made them feel like they had a piece of home with them while in Afghanistan. Then there was a part in Outlaw Platoon where the soldier who kept everyone's morale up was killed in a HMMWV going out on mission. That reminded me of Doc Angelo Vaccaro (3/A/1/32) and was just as devastating to the morale of the entire Third Platoon, A/1/32. I read a review that expressed anger that Parnell didn't give enough credit to the rear echelon, or what the front line troops called "fobbit's". As true as that criticism may be, it was still very honest of Parnell. In fact, every combat vet has heard, and probably knows the lyrics to the song "fobbit". If you talk to any line infantry combat veterans, they all have a dislike and a distrust for men behind the line. That is the Afghanistan War, WWII, and probably any Legionnaire during Roman times. If you take offense to that, you must take offense to almost every combat vet, and that is simply not right. Outlaw platoon also talks about how Parnell was on leave and all he could think about was getting back to his men. That reminded me of SGT Dan Haff (3/A/1/32) and SPC Manuel Ferreira (and so many other soldiers) when they were wounded and evacuated to Jalalabad. All they could think about was getting back to their respective platoons--so much so that they hitched a ride back before they were healed. Haff had no use of his arm, which was in bandages from a PKM wound, and Ferreira couldn't sit without pain due to the bullet wound through his lower-back and buttocks. When Parnell gets home, the things that the average American finds important (going out partying, or even vacationing) just seems so trivial. That very thing has been stated by Brandon Camacho (1/B/1/32) and Jeff Levesque (1/B/1/32) and almost every other veteran I have spoken to. In fact, SGT Josh Lomen (2/A/1/32) simply could not understand many of his fellow students at the University of Washington when he got back after his deployment. He felt so much older, even though many were his same age. The book was so real: trouble communicating with the ANA (which every unit has); good Terps and bad Terps; animosity between platoons within a company; good officers and bad officers. There are so many more examples and what happened to Outlaw platoon has happened to a lot of American units. Read this book and be grateful for veterans who give so much. Like Parnell, each of them has suffered mental anguish almost daily after the war. I only hope they can find someone, like Parnell did, to help them put the war behind them, if that is possible. Excellent book!

Book is the best minute by minute accounts of firefights ever written. It is heart rendering, suspense filled, adrenalin pumping and tension filled recounting of firefights and bravery. A book that I could not put down because it is so exciting to read. It also recounts the type of experiences that I also had with the frustrating idiocy, and stupidity of the US ARMY command structure. I am retired Army Medical Corps and deeply frustrated that despite multiple requests I was never allowed to be deployed. In my experience, if there is an intelligent thought running around anywhere the Army then the command would stomp on it like a cockroach. I was fortunate enough to serve under a General who recounted his experience in the Army. He stated that when you start out that you are at the back of the bus and you assume that someone is driving the bus. Finally, when you get close enough to the front of the bus, you look at the front of the bus and realize that there is no one driving the bus. There are several instances in this book where the moral of the Outlaws was destroyed because of these idiot decisions. One of the worst was the execution of the dogs that were such a comfort to the troops when they returned to base between combat missions. This was done because of false accusations by the female "postal bitch" that she had been bitten by one of the dogs. Sean Parnell is a brilliant combat leader and one of the bravest, wise and caring combat commanding officers that has ever existed. I thank him for his service and for giving us this fantastic book. I will know that I will read it several times.

Good read with plenty of action and insight into the minds of our military frontline troops. It makes you feel like you are there and makes you grateful for the job they do. My thanks to all our military and their families.

Very good audio book

I finished this book about 10 minutes ago; I had to take a few deep breaths and pull myself together. Sean Parnell writes a gripping and detailed account of his thoughts, his men, his sadness and his joy while on deployment in Afghanistan in the Hindu Kush. This book is extremely well written and flows smoothly. I started and ended this book in less than two days. I have recently read several really good books about the Iraq and Afghanistan wars from the writers first hand POV and this one though from a different perspective easily stands with them. This book exposes things about the war that on some level I am sure had heard about at one time or another but truly had no true understanding of. I cannot tell you how many times my heart broke and tears poured down my cheeks. I feel like I got to know Outlaw Platoon personally and with every battle I could feel my chest get tight in fear for all the guys that I felt like I knew intimately. I feel like I laughed with them, cried with them, was frustrated with them, was heart sick and injured with them, each time Sean would describe the scenes around him I felt actual fear or joy, or frustration or gut wrenching sadness. I was completely drawn in to the book and in to Sean's leadership. I am so glad these guys and many like them have each other in a time that was so horrific I doubt the average person (myself) could endure it. I cried so hard for the fallen men my family thought I had lost a dear friend. I find myself wondering how everyone is doing now and pray that they are all healthy and living happy and full lives. To Sean and all of Outlaw Platoon Thank you, Thank you, Thank you for your sacrifices. Thank you for standing and fighting for a belief in freedom that many have taken for granted. You will always be in my heart and will be held in my utmost of gratitude. If you have any desire to know what these brave men go through READ this book. Even if you don't have any desire to know, READ this book anyway. It is an eye and heart opener.