Customer Reviews

Airborne

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I worked as a photojournalist in the public affairs office when this book was being researched and written.

The 82nd Airborne Division is a very complex organization and Clancy does a remarkabe job of pinning that complexity down in concrete terms. Though there are errors, I do not fault Clancy for them as this book was edited by the public affairs officer at the time, and he obviously did not catch them (though I probably would have!). I spent five years in the 82nd and it took me that long to learn all the complexities.

Anyone who is interested in what paratroopers do or what it is like to be a paratroopers should read this book. It is not an easy job and after the 30th or 40th time of chuting up and jumping the dead of night I was very tired of it, but I am glad I did it.

And I am also glad this book exists so others can know what it is like.

Tom Clancy must be the world's number one fan of the USA Military.

And vice versa.

"Airborne" is another in the series of mutual admiration society books written by Tom beginning with Submarine, and progressing on through Fighter Wing, Marine, Armoured Cav and others.

Each one is an in depth look at the men, equipment, training, tactics and history of a segment of the US Armed Services. Tom doesn't give a dry list of statistics, a few cutaway diagrams and photos, no this is hands-on stuff, straight from the people who use the weapons, supplemented by Tom's observations on a guided tour of the facilities and attendance at a training exercise.

I'd give this a top rating, but for the graphics, which aren't up to the standard of earlier books. Many of the photographs, for instance, are literaly the size of a postage stamp.

But that's a minor niggle, and there are some excellent photos, and diagrams.

What comes across very strongly is the awesom esprit de corps of the Airborne. Far more than any other units, Airborne soldiers fight alone without the direct support of other arms, excepting maybe the airforce. But if an airborne force goes into action on the far side of the world, where friendly runways are few and far between, then they are very much on their own until reinforcements win through.

The unique tactics of the airborne units are highlighted. The "LGOP" mentality, where Little Groups Of Parachutists form up and fight through to the objective. The way that subunits are divided up amongst aircraft so that if one aircraft doesn't make it, it doesn't take out an entire platoon or company.

There's more, a lot more, and I particularly liked the historical chapters. Right at the end of the book is a glossary, almost de rigeur for the acronym-laden world of the military, and most valuable of all for those wanting yet more, a very comprehensive bibliography.

This is a book that belongs on the shelf of any military buff, alongside Tom Clancy's other works. Highly recommended.

Tom Clancy and John D. Gresham's Airborne: A Guided Tour of an Airborne Task Force is the fifth entry in Berkley's "Guided Tour" series of non-fiction books about U.S. military units. As one might expects, the book zeroes in on the elite paratroopers of the "All-American" 82nd Airborne Division, their "tools of the trade," training, history and roles and missions.

The 82nd Airborne is America's last true paratrooper division; its XVIII Airborne Corps partner, the 101st Air Assault Division ("The Screaming Eagles") traded in its parachutes for helicopters long ago. Along with the 101st, the 82nd Airborne is teamed with the 3rd Mechanized Infantry Division and the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment, giving the XVIII Airborne Corps both a powerful punch and flexibility.

Clancy and Gresham describe practically every weapon, tool, uniform and aircraft employed in modern airborne warfare today in a clear and concise fashion. The authors also discuss the proud history of the 82nd Airborne (and airborne warfare in general) from World War II to Operation Restore Democracy (the 1994 mission to remove the military junta in Haiti) and the various aspects of life for the modern-day paratrooper, particularly the arduous training regimen involved in getting young men and women to jump out of, as Clancy wryly observes, "perfectly good airplanes."

Airborne also includes an interview with the then-incoming commander of the XVIII Airborne Corps, Gen. John B. Keane and a Foreword by retired Gen. Gary Luck, who commanded the corps during the first Persian Gulf War in 1991.

As in all the books of the Guided Tour series, Clancy includes several short vignettes to illustrate what the 82nd Airborne's roles and missions are. Of course, now that we are in a major conflict in Iraq (in which the 82nd and 101st Divisions are engaged) Clancy's choices for settings (Sudan and Belize) seem odd, but they make for good reading and explain how the XVIII Airborne Corps is used in combat situations.

I'll begin by saying that the average civilian with no military background could learn a lot about the 82nd from this book. I do not, however, understand why a man would spend the time and energy writing a book and not get the facts straight. If there was something he wasn't sure on, he should have either left it out or asked the right people. If the PAO's restricted him, I understand. But I don't think that was the case. I was in B 2/504 PIR at the time this book was written and he could have stopped any grunt on the street and asked. For an example, I will use his errors in reporting on the weapons systems used in the infantry companies. Yes, the M240G and the MK19 are both used, however they certainly aren't found in the "heavy weapons platoon" of the rifle company. Anyone slightly familiar with the 82nd that the division doesn't have heavy weapon platoons in the rifle companies. Also the M224 mortar is supposedly used by the "heavy weapons squads" of the rifle platoon. Rifle paltoons do have weapons squads, but they do not contain mortars. The M224 is found in the headquarters platoon in the mortar section. Other errors such as these are numerous. In closing, I will say that if you enjoy military reading, go for it. But don't use Clancy's facts in a bar argument with a former airborne infantryman. Take what he says with a grain of salt.

First of all, the most distinguishing characteristic of all airborne troops is the Airborne "All the Way" attitude. Clancy devotes only one sentence to this unique airborne trait. Instead, he focuses on the equipment and toys instead of the men. Clancy has never been in the service--he would've known that hi-tech weaponry are just tools. The most dangerous weapon is the individual soldier with the desire to win. Someone tell this to Clancy. And what's with this endless comparison of the 82d to the USMC? The 82d will run circles around the Corps.

My husband retired from the Army a couple of years ago and spent much of his career in the 82nd Airborne, so the book was very interesting to me. My husband thought it was a good PR and recruiting tool but it left out some of the problems he foresaw for the future of Airborne.

The problems he felt with the book were that it doesn't point out that the 82nd Airborne has been transformed in the last couple of years into more of a low-intensity light infantry unit similar to the disbanded 7th Light Infantry division. They are being used more and more like "leg" infantry than air assault troops. The problem with that is that they don't have the tanks and heavy weapons to be able to fight in the cities or to stop someone like the Iraquis that has alot of armor. He and many of the other veterans are afraid that if they were to be sent to fight in the Third World cities (like in Somalia) they would take alot of casualties because they don't have the right equipment and because the politicians are misusing them. He also doesn't think the Air Force is committing enough money to buiild more transport planes so that they can bring on heavier equipment (more armor please) and re-supplies by air and have to depend on the Navy (and the hated Marines) to do it.

But the book does capture the gung-ho spirit of the paratroopers.

I've spent 3 years in the 82D Airborne now. Most recently, my time has been within the 1st Brigade that Mr. Clancy writes about. This book would have been a * * * * read, except for a few errors made by the author. (we don't have any "stop" or "go" pills! yeouch! makes us sound like druggies!) I recommend this to anyone who wishes to learn about military contingency culture.

As a book about the U.S. Army's airborne forces in the 1990s it is an OK book, but so much has happened in the last ten years that it really is dated. Realignment has changed the 82nd Airborne and some of the old airborne units in support of XVIII Airborne Corps are losing their airborne status; those slots are being realigned to Special Forces, where they are more needed and are more relevent.

There are some misconceptions perpetuated by Clancy and the chapter in which he interviewed a former XVIII ABN Corps CG seems totally irrelevent in today's environment. With that being said, anyone interested in the Airborne from a historical perspective should get this book.

I've always been fascinated by the advances in military technology and strategy. As a veteran of the D-Day drops in Normandy I was particularly interested in Mr. Clancy's new book about the airborne units. He has taken the reader on a well-researched tour of an airborne task force, and I applaud his latest book. If anyone out there still cares to read about some of us old-timers I highly recommend the new WWII novel, THE TRIUMPH AND THE GLORY, or the new Ambrose book, CITIZEN SOLDIERS.

Only Tom Clancy could give you such an in-depth look at the United States' rapid response forces. Interesting and a pleasure to read. I recommend Airborne to anyone who cares about how this country and it's armed forces prepare for battle.