By Christopher (Moon) Mullins.

A striking reminder that all the warrior’s kills, destruction, battle, wars, and narrow escapes from death have an end result on the body as well as the mind. This book narrows the vision to focus on the isolation and helplessness a warrior experiences near the end of their road. As John-Paul Jordan explains; his story is “a testament to the strength of the human spirit; to get back up and lead from the front”. He did not “go thru all that” for the sake of saying I went thru “all that”. A great read for modern Special Forces operators. A straightforward look at the impact of war on individual soldiers.

The Joys of War, indeed, are fleeting as the warrior’s ethos fails to remind modern-day special forces operators who navigate their way through the modern battlefield piling up kills, takedowns, body counts, missions completed, etc.

John-Paul Jordan tells a hero’s tale of volunteering for the French Foreign Legion at a young age. That assignment and the hard, brutal training motivated him to follow that assignment by training for selection into the British Special Forces, Special Air Services. His stories of train-ups and the impact on the body and mind will resonate with the modern-day Special Forces operator. John-Paul also served in mercenary forces, my words here, deploying to Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya fighting his way through the modern battlefield and the opportunities to lead combat forces, civilians, and news teams into some of the most dangerous war zones in the world.

I found John-Paul Jordan’s style of writing/speaking perfect for my style of reading. I would like to think I write in this form. He writes with a straightforward approach, and a lot of Irish slang, which adds a great flavor to the overall tone of the book. He speaks from a voice of deep experience and a good soldier can tell he knows what he is talking about and he explains it in a way that is clear and concise. I truly enjoyed this book on many levels.

More pain and misery via the PTSD train

Unfortunately, the Joys of War, (I hope you catch the pun there!) and the warrior’s path of destruction cover all Special Forces soldiers with glory. Rightfully so. But what I am hearing from John-Paul, about the after-effects strikes a similar tone to both UK and US soldiers returning from war and dealing with the horrors of what they have done on behalf of their country.

For all the pain and misery John-Paul, and most modern warriors, went through to qualify for selection and then deploy as a special forces soldier, at the end of his cycle, the end being – time to settle down and have kids, be a father, establish a home – you are forced to come to terms with all you have done. When that time comes, usually crashing down like a hard, southern Wales rain, you may find your mates, regiment, veteran organizations (US-VA, UK-MOD) not having your back as you expected them to!

You will have to follow his example and let the fog of opioids and painkillers clear, let the alcohol wear off, and help yourself and see it as another challenge, such as the selection phase or a long deployment, and simply knock it down with all your might. “If we deny your sickness, we deny our treatment. You can’t have one without the other.” I raise a pint of Guinness to John-Paul and say, well done Irish, Well done!

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This book review by Christopher (Moon) Mullins of Joys of War was first published by www.argunners.com. Republished with permission of author and editor. This book is available on Amazon.com (US), Amazon.co.uk (UK), and Pen and Sword.

This book is an excellent history of “Det A” – a Special Forces unit with about 100 personnel stationed in Berlin which at that time was in the middle of East Germany! The unit and its personnel were considered legend over the years in the Special Forces community in the US and Europe.

Shortly after World War II and as the Cold War was getting more intense the US planners assumed that the Russian armor and shock troops stationed along the German border would quickly overrun the US and allied forces in western Europe. This is what the Russians trained for and this is what the Americans and allied forces trained for. Along with these operational plans were strategic plans to leave behind multiple Special Forces detachments trained for stay-behind operations.

These were desperate times and called for desperate measures. These Special Forces soldiers would be deep in enemy territory and had no plans to evacuate. They planned on staying behind and organizing and conducting guerilla operations to disrupt Russian communications and rear echelon operations. As a note, there were no blacks, Hispanics, or any ethnic looking men assigned. They were all white, European, German-speaking operators.

As the detachment’s legend grew over the 60s and 70s this was one of the rotation assignments for some of the elite special forces team members stationed stateside. Bear in mind they would not take anyone. You had to be one of the best of the best to get this assignment. Once you had this assignment and proved you could fit in you became part of the elite within the elite. Legend status.

As the US and European armies were forming anti-terrorist groups and other special forces units they would often work side by side with Det A. The Det A personnel quickly became known as the go-to Anti-Terrorist teams for the US. Their ability to work side by side with units like the SAS, CIA, Delta, GSG-9, 10th SF in Bad Tolz, without causing problems or rework in their plans, quickly earned them professional respect.

Growing up as a young soldier in the Special Forces community at Fort Bragg I was fortunate enough to know people that had already been assigned to Det A and returned to the US for another assignment. I would also run into some of these legends in the GB Club (Green Beret Sport Parachute Club) on Smoke Bomb Hill. We would offer them a beer or shake their hands. That’s about it. Mainly these were humble men and did not ever brag about their work, assignment, etc. That’s just the way it was.

This unit was deactivated in the 1990s after years as serving under many names and locations throughout Berlin and the surrounding areas. If you’re a fan of Special Forces you should read this book. You won’t regret it. It represents the US military at its finest.

This book is available at Amazon.com and Casemate Publishers.

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About the Book Author. James Stejskal is an author, military historian, and conflict archaeologist. His inspiration for his writings are from 35 years serving with the U.S. Army Special Forces and the Central Intelligence Agency in interesting places as Africa, Europe, the Balkans, the Near and the Far East.

This book review by Christopher (Moon) Mullins was originally published by www.argunners.com. Republished with permission of author.

By Christopher (Moon) Mullins.

Bret Werner’s book, The First Special Service force at the Winter Line, Italy 1943, details the history and one of the most famous battles of the First Special Service Force at Monte La Difensa in Italy during WWII. A legendary raid that cemented 1st Special Forces in legend and history. Formed in the early stages of WWII in a remote location of Montana in the US, this force was a mixture of Canadian and American soldiers trained in Special Operations.

Overall, the author does a great job of detailing the birth of this historic unit. The First Special Service Force became what we know today as Special Forces for the US and other countries. I have personally served in a Special Forces Support unit, and I can provide testimony that it is a special and unique assignment. You always feel a part of something bigger. You are treated special; you have special missions and the expectations are very high. Leaders expect you to perform your military job at a very high level and maintain that level of excellence throughout your mission.

The First Special Service Force was selected by Allied Leadership for special operations in the Italian Theater. Because the Western Front was not established yet, the Italian Theater of Operations saw some of the best the US had to offer from various units such as the 82^nd Airborne Division, The Ranger Battalions, and British Commandos. Often these units were used as straight-leg infantry shock troops sent into the front line right beside normal infantry soldiers.

The Raid on Monte La Difensa was a special mission because of the approach that the Commander selected. The Force Commander Colonel Fredrick decided to storm a German mountaintop defensive position from the reverse sloop. That part of the mountain was determined to be no-go terrain so severe that the Germans didn’t even defend it or assign troops to watch it. The Commander was determined to assault the reverse sloop by taking an entire regiment and used ropes to climb the mountain. The Regiment took the better part of the night, dusk to dawn, to send the 2^nd Regiment over the approach. Small battles took place that clearly was a surprise and shock to the Germans defenders. They never expected the enemy to approach from that direction, so they didn’t defend it. Therefore, they were initially slaughtered from behind.

The overall joint operation with other US Army infantry Divisions and our British allies resulted in a domino effect of the Allies taking hill after hill over the next few weeks. Later these same forces would go on to Assault Anzio and later Rome. These actions helped close out the Italian campaign. The Germans surrendered and conducted a scorched earth retrograde operation that destroyed the Italian cities and natural resources during their retreat. The First Special Service Force and their assault on Monte La Difensa would go down as one of the Great Stories of the Italian Campaign and WWII.

About the author. Bret Werner was raised in the Philadelphia area of Pennsylvania. He is deeply involved with living history organizations with an emphasis on the soldier of the 20th century. The author is also an associate member of the First Special Service Force Association, and he attends the veteran reunions every year. Peter Dennis the illustrator of this book was inspired by contemporary magazines such as Look and Learn he studied illustration at Liverpool Art College. Peter has since contributed to hundreds of books, predominantly on historical subjects, including many Osprey titles. Johnny Shumate, also serving as an illustrator for the book, works as a freelance illustrator living in Nashville, Tennessee. He began his career in 1987 after graduating from Austin Peay State University. This book is available on Amazon.com (US),  Amazon UK, and at Osprey Publishing.

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Christopher “Moon” Mullins is a former paratrooper with service in the 82nd Airborne Division. He also served with the 5th Special Forces in a communications support role on a “B-team”. Chris retired from the U.S. Army after 20 years service. This article by “Moon” Mullins was first published by ARGunners. Republished with permission from author and ARGunners.