Customer Reviews

The Eyes of Orion: Five Tank Lieutenants in the Persian Gulf War

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4 star:		(7)
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1 star:		(3)

 

 

As a former Armor officer in the Persian Gulf War, I can tell you that this book genuinely conveys the feelings and experiences of young officers in the desert. The authors are humble enough to admit their own shortcomings, and their memory of detail is truly astounding. The only way you will ever get a better idea of what the Gulf War was like from the turret of an M1A1 tank would be to read this book after going several days without sleep while wearing a charcoal-lined suit inside your clothes dryer.

The attack on the USS Cole came just hours after I had just finished a book on the Gulf War. The book was titled "Eyes of Orion". Its subject was five 23 year old US Army M1 tank/ Bradley Fighting Vehicle commanders' experience during Desert Shield through Desert Storm. Their accounts held no punches and left me feeling on the bounds of horrible that our country had to ask these boys to do this, but happy that they survived. A large portion of the book was dedicated to the 5 months of Desert Shield which in my own terms I could sum up as my own experiences as a US Marine in practically any CAX I participated in at 29 Palms. The desert is a brutal place to live and work. That part of the book was refreshing to remember some of the hardships I had endured. However it was the actual battle that was horrifying. It left me with the impression of some components of our Army as being a group of "I'm not going home til I shoot something". This story doesn't cover tank vs. tank battle with the Iraqi army (however it does cover US Army Tanks Vs. US Army tanks). "IRON SOLDIERS" (Tom Carhart) is the book you want to read if thats what you want. Once the ground war started they were constantly under fire from their own units. In our military there is a special unit assigned to Division level that has radar which can electronically "see" enemy (as well as friendly) artillery firing through the air. It can immediately plot where the rounds came from, send out these coordinates to a counterbattery unit which within moments fires its own volleys on the artillery position the radar had tracked. Too often in these accounts, when an American artillery unit fired, they themselves were fired upon by our own Divisional artillery. And in each major enemy engagement this unit had, there was fratricide, or a serious attempt to do so. The sick part is, after they stopped shooting at the Iraqis (and themselves) they would find the surviving Iraqis with their achilles tendons cut (so that they couldn't desert) and no will to fight at all. It was a great book in the case that it presents. Having read a dozen books on this subject...the others left me with a vision of John Wayne on the Sands Of Iwo Jima, with his helmet strap hanging and throwing his hand high in the air and yelling "follow me!". I am proud of their service, and as well they should be as indicated in their story. But they do make an excellent point of the emptiness of the way the battle ended without closure. By all means I recommend this book to anyone. It is a fitting account to read for any 18 year old going into Military service. It should tone down an individuals affixation with the need to mount weapons and go off killing folks without knowledge of what it leaves you feeling like.

This book is the most provocative account of modern battle I have ever been exposed to. The authors translate their experiences through the eyes of the platoon leader, the heart & soul of our fighting forces. This is a "must read" for anyone who wants to know what combat is like. There is more to the story than bullets and bombs...there is the human emotion that takes place behind the triggers. This is the only book I have ever read, and I've read almost everything out there, that takes the reader into the minds of the platoon leader. It reveals the challenges faced by junior military leaders facing an unsure future. This book has the potential to be a best seller and will move the reader in ways that no other book has been able to do. I cried, I laughed, I trembled, and I was humbled all within the pages of this book. This is the first time I actually experienced anything like this. Most of all, I COULD NOT put it down once I began reading.

The narrative is thoroughly engrossing and really fills an open void in the Operation Desert Storm historical literature area. While we've been treated to accounts of the entire operation from the strategic down to the tactical levels, the latter has been limited to the observations of those who were senior commanders, i.e. Schwartzkopf, Franks, Pagonis, etc. This is the first I've read that > tells the story from the perspective of the actual "trigger-pullers." The insights and observations of the five authors provide an accurate and commentary on the Army institution during time of war.

Ostensibly, the Eyes of Orion is a war memoir of five American armor lieutenants in the Persian Gulf War. In actuality, most of this book was written by only two of the lieutenants - roommates Vernon and Holmes - with only minor participation by the other three. The Eyes of Orion consists of five sections covering pre-deployment activities, Desert Shield, the Air War, the Ground War (only 26% of the book) and Redeployment. The book has numerous sins, beginning with its pretentious title; at different times the authors assert that the constellation Orion is the "God's eternal monument to soldiers," that he is "the liberator" or can unite two separated lovers across vast distances. Please. The structure of the book itself is not only annoying, it is confusing since the five lieutenants' stories are often interwoven without identifying who has written a particular section. Nor does Vernon, the primary author, take much effort to introduce the unit or characters in any kind of logical order; it is not until page 69 that we learn exactly which companies each of the authors served in during the war. Four of the five LTs are West Pointers, with a token ROTC lieutenant thrown in because he was the scout platoon leader; the over-focus on West Pointers appears cliquish and elitist. Perhaps the worst sin of this book is the alienation of all possible audiences: military readers expecting a war memoir will be disappointed by the anti-US Army tone of much of the book, historians will be disappointed by its casual attitude toward rumors and facts and the general reader will find this book too plodding and confusing. Advice to new lieutenants at Ft Knox: avoid this book like the plague!

Since most of the book is written by Vernon, the book collapses under the weight of this lieutenant's evident and self-admitted flaws. Vernon, as well as some of his cohorts, believed that the US Military Academy existed to give him access to sports and a free education, and that the US Army was a good place to spend a few years until graduate school. Prior to the war, the authors all complain that they had little or no field training with their platoons, although Holmes had time to go to the London School of Economics (and then claims he hadn't had a chance to learn the names of all his platoon members). There's a lot of selfish dishonesty in this book and it begins in the pre-deployment phase. However when orders for deployment to the desert came, Vernon begins to come unglued. Vernon cries a lot, and former tankers will find this nauseating. At Ft Stewart, Vernon cries in the chaplain's office, pleading not to be deployed. Once deployed, Vernon cries when he sees a Julia Roberts movie, when he sees a goat giving birth, when he dreams, whenever his company commander criticizes him. On the other hand, Vernon spends a great deal of the book criticizing his superiors: his battalion commander ("..in the desert I hated him. I hated him because he was a warrior."), President Bush (for refusing Gary Trudeau permission to visit the troops), his company commander, his platoon sergeant, etc. Vernon's leadership skills were non-existent; in one letter just before the ground war he wrote, "I do not want to lead men into battle. I want nothing to do with the things leaders do." Morale and discipline in Vernon's platoon appear shockingly bad, with the author unable to get his allegedly brain-dead platoon sergeant to do anything (the reader should consider that the truth may have been the opposite). It also appears that Vernon displayed cowardice in the face of the enemy at the only significant fighting his unit participated in, the attack on Jalibah airfield on 27 February 1991. The author's account is unclear, but somehow his platoon failed to link up with rest of the task force, failed to find the airfield that was under attack and failed to see a single enemy (when all four of his cohorts were under fire). This sounds suspiciously like deliberately getting lost to avoid combat. At the end, the author offers a mea culpa of sorts by asserting, "I knew I did not have the stuff to command troops...American soldiers deserve better leadership than I could provide."

The elitist angle and faux intellectualism of this book is also annoying. The West Pointers read French essays on Cowardice and the Economist. While the soldiers talk about getting back to the land of beer, pizza and hot women, their elitist lieutenants discuss plans for grad school. Amazingly, there is no mention of "duty, honor, country" by any of the West Pointers. Did they miss that part of their four-year military education? Once the war is over, four of the five quickly opt to leave the US Army for hypocritical reasons: I can't stay because I could deploy for another war, but it's boring in the peace-time US Army if there is no war. Ridiculous. When the Army gives them a chance, they stiff the US taxpayers by leaving the service with 40% of their obligation remaining and quickly trot off to grad school and business opportunities. It is also irksome that several of these lieutenants complain that they didn't want to remain in the army to be "only a staff officer," or in a non-armor slot. The level of immaturity and unprofessionalism is astounding - they apparently never digested the "needs of the service" imperative of a military career. In fact, the level of self-absorbed, whining and avoidance of self-sacrifice evident in these pages is totally at odds with the ethics of the officer corps.

What I liked about this book was how it took you through every stage of a deployment. Starting in Hinesville, GA to the Persian Gulf and back to Hinesville. Too many books these days glorify war stories but this book is more of a deployment story and a story of what a LT is thinking when challenges surface. I am a newly commissioned Armor Officer and this book is helpful. What I did not like about the book was the skipping around from one author to the next without clarity in who is speaking. Another thing is that most of these officers seem awfully proud they went to West Point, it is mentioned in too many of the paragraphs. Not that they shouldn't be proud of having gone there, but they sort of belittle their comrades from OCS and ROTC with their comments.

As a reserve Army officer, formerly active duty, I can say the book speaks for most of us when we were lieutenants. It really struck a chord for its realism and candor. The other great aspect of the book is it gives an awesome account(by men who were there) of a major tank battle: something which hadn't happened since World War II and may not happen again for another 40 years...if ever. Accordingly, this book is a valuable account of history as well as being fun to read. If you enjoy any military subject matter, buy this book. You won't be disappointed.

I heard about this book a few years ago while attending OCS, but reading it took on a new sense of urgency with the possibility of fighting the Iraqi Army again.

What these 5 young leaders did, not only during Operation Desert Shield/Storm, but also in taking the time & energy to put it down on paper, is absolutely invaluable to company grade officers. As an Mech Infantry Company Commander with no combat experience, I feel that I am better prepared for what lies ahead now that I have been exposed to this book. The candor of the 5 authors is a welcome relief.

Thank you to the 5 authors for providing today's military leaders with a glipmse into the most difficult leadership situation known to mankind...leading soldiers into battle.

For anyone that wants to know what being a Lientenant is really like, read this book. As a former Army Officer, I was impressed with the accuracy and honesty of the authors experience. I would recommend this to anyone who wants to know what it is like to be a young Army officer in combat.

This book is an unblinking assessment of life as a junior Officer in combat. While some of the derogatory reviews bemoan the lack of duty, honor and country at the front of these young Officer's minds, it is a completely accurate and unflinching look at junior leaders under the most stressful of circumstances imaginable.

These young Lieutenants are real, accurate representations of leaders in combat - not caricatures wrapped in the flag and bound by duty, honor and country. That is probably why this book is perpetually left off "required reading" lists - the subjects are not flag drenched faux-patriotism role models. They have aspirations for areas unrelated to the military. They have fears. They live in a constant aura of self doubt about their decisions. They have a natural mistrust of those above them who seem to only make things worse. And that's the reality they lived for over a year. To present it any other way would be dishonest and disingenuous.

However, the great strength of this book is that it was written long enough after the events described that the authors are able to provide unflinching commentary. The book is filled with "this is what I thought then, five years later, this is how I view it" analysis. Much of the raw emotion of the past is put on balance by the authors by reflection and temperance. This approach captures reality without patronizing the reader. This separates it from the heard of other self-absorbed military memoirs that are written to memorialize a moment in time. The authors admit fault and the ignorance that comes with youth. That four of the five Lieutenants profiled separated from the service also speaks volumes about its honesty and credibility.

Additionally, there are hauntingly vivid accounts of life on the battlefield. After months of inaction, the combat they hope and dread only makes their decisions that much more complicated. There are no simple solutions to their fears and doubts, and certainly nothing that can be answered with the simplistic refrain of duty, honor, country.

If you are looking for glorious war stories or role models to place on a platform, this is not the book for you.

If you want an honest account of the life of a modern leader in combat, this book is an exemplary example that should be required reading for every history buff and aspiring leader.