One Bullet Away: The making of a US Marine Officer: The Making of a Marine Officer [Paperback]

Nate Fick decided to join the USMC from an ivy league college in New England, not traditionally the Corps biggest recruiting area. Moreover, he did so after attending a lecture by a journalist who praised the unit so we are not dealing with ignoramous, but instead an intelligent man. His timing meant he served in Afghanistan in Nov 2001 and the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

I bought this book as I had read "Generation Kill" by Evan Wright and enjoyed it immensly. Fick was the platoon commander that journalist Wright was embedded with during the invasion of Iraq and Wright spoke well of him. There are a myriad of combat memoirs available now and I am somewhat cynical of many of them. However, based on the high praise of a neutral, I gave this book a go and was glad of it.

He paints a vivid picture of trying to lead men against an uncertain enemy, living with the reality that they sometimes shoot the wrong people and trying to do the best in tough circumstances. What stood out most for me was his opinions of his superiors, which are generally not favourable (and shared by Wright incidently). He is outraged at the indifference of his superiors to the death of innocents and their apparant delight of the war for the promotion opportunities it brings.

He is also very open and frank about the fear he felt in combat and thankfully steers away from any chest beating or self agrandisment, which makes the book a better read.

His opinions on the war would have carried some weight but, perhaps wisely, he gives none, preferring to stick to the story rather than the politics. The book and his attitudes to the situation are summed up in an incident he reacalls at the end while he is applying for places on post grad courses shortly before discharge. The admissions secretary of a major institution asks him to explain some comments attributed to him in Wright's book where he displays an apparent bloodlust. He sees no reason to explain himself to one who has not seen combat, merely saying he does not enjoy killing. For me this passage neatly described the book quite well. Clearly a devoted leader trying to do his best by his men who is at ease with the knowledge he did the best he could.

Given he now has a Harvard MA to go with his fine combat record, it would not surprise me if we see him scouted by politicians in future. While I suspect Fick would view this with some distaste, at least he has enough expereince of war not to delight in it.

In some ways the same story as Generation Kill but written without as much swearing or Jennifer Lopez references but a fine memoir of combat leadership nonetheless.

Nate Fick book on the making of a Marine Officer [and un-making since he has now left the USMC] charts the career of a young man in the Corps from pre 9/11 through the build up for Afghanistan and Iraq and the subsequent wars that follow.

This book is well written and Fick is obviously an intelligent man, it is also most striking in its difference to how Britain viewed these operations and how American sees them. If the British and American are a common people divided by a common language then we have never been more divided in how we see the operations in the Middle East.

US sees itself at war[2001-03], and 9/11 as another Pearl Harbour, and Nate brings this home with some thoughtful observations, such as how many Rifle Platoon Commanders in the USMC serving in 1941 where still alive in 1945, probably not many.

Fick moves through his basic training and gives a good insight into how the USMC turns out its low level command, if the US Military is the new Prussian Army [see BAR 139 Spring 2006] then the USMC is the Imperial Guard, with its traditions and ethos based on our own Royal Marines, but with the usual heavy slice of American Gung Ho, however the USMC does produce some very capable men as this book proves, can we learn something from the USMC possibly.

Anyone with an interest in the last two wars in the Middle East will find this an interesting read, especially those on Op Telic 1 [and in 1 PARA like myself in particular, since the cancelled operation onto Qalat Sukkar airfield is covered in detail. Oh what might have been!] If there is a criticism of this book it's the lack of detailed maps and glossary of USMC terms, if you are in the military you should have no problem although your average civvy might struggle.

Well worth a read, especially if you are about to deploy to Afghanistan or Iraq as a Platoon Commander.

G Long

As gripping to read as any novel, this young man lets us into a world we would not normally see. News reports are one thing, but the story from the front line is quite another. From preparing their equipment with their own money to incompetent senior officers, this could be a story from any recent war. All of the technical advances on the battlefield count for little compared to the courage and skill of those who must enter the cauldron at great risk to themselves and their colleagues. It is somehow encouraging that such dedicated young men still exist in our times. A striking parallel with WW2 is the self preparation of the vehicles that the Marines will use in the desert, just like David Stirling and the fledgling SAS, just substitute Humvees for Land Rovers. An immensely valuable book and a pleasure to read.