Pathfinder: A Special Forces Mission Behind Enemy Lines [Kindle Edition]

This book is a great read and had me gripped from start to finish. From the moment the action kicks off it doesn't stop and you get to really visualize what these guys went through and the close calls had me completely on edge! As a reader i tend to dip in and out of books on war, but this is one i would definitely recommend.

Might sound a bit boys own but this account was very gripping.
All concerned must have been blessed to get through as they did.

In 2003, Captain David Blakeley's unit spearheaded the British Army's 16th Air Assault Brigade during the US-led invasion of Iraq.

Blakeley writes: "The First Gulf War had been a race to liberate Kuwait, then `home for tea and medals'...there was an expectation that this conflict would go likewise."

Blakeley has seen action in Afghanistan, Kosovo, Sierra Leone and Northern Ireland, and was once the youngest captain in the British Army. In Iraq he was second-in-command of the elite Pathfinder Platoon, or `Ghost Platoon' as they are also known.

However, leading a nine-man patrol 80kms into enemy territory to clear an airfield Blakeley soon realises his mission stands no chance of success due to the enemy's strength and decides they only have one option - to fight their way out.

What follows is an exhilarating tale of leadership, courage and professionalism as the small group endeavours to make it home and Blakeley's first-hand account provides the reader with a fast-paced, gripping read.

Because of rules introduced in 1993 after the Bravo Two Zero book, there have been no first-hand accounts of UK Special Forces operations for two decades. Pathfinder is the first such book for a generation, and may well be the last.

The Paperback (ISBN: 978-1409129028) is due out early May 2013. [...]

As reviewed in the April 2013 issue of An Cosantóir (The Defender) The Irish Defence Forces Magazine by Sgt Wayne Fitzgerald - dfmagazine.ie - military.ie