Customer Reviews

Joint Force Harrier

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

 

 

The story Commander Orchard tells is not one of terrifying combat against frightening odds. Nor should it be. The fight in Afghanistan is an insurgency rather than a world war.

Instead, the author expertly recounts the operations of his 800 Naval Air Squadron (800 NAS) in Afghanistan during the latter part of 2006. He and his pilots flew well-maintained jets (Harrier GR7s) on Close Air Support missions that undoubtedly saved the lives of many Coalition combatants. Although the anti-air threat was negligible, weather and terrain made the flying dangerous. Too, the close-in nature of the fighting on the ground demanded uncompromising precision in order to keep from killing friendlies; Orchard's pilots had to make the right decisions every time they got airborne.

This isn't an "edge of your seat" book, but it is an easy and enjoyable read. More important, it is an accurate no-nonsense account of squadron life and operations during a particular period in this particular war. To his credit, Commander Orchard doesn't try to make more of the sorties than what they were. It is more than enough that they saved lives.

If there is one fault with the book, it is the commander's hype of the Harrier--with its many shortcomings--as a premier Close Air Support aircraft. He brashly declares that the follow-on Harrier variant, the GR9, "is arguably the best Close Air Support platform in the world." In reality, the fact that Orchard's squadron did as well as it did is due more to the training and professionalism of his men and women than to the Harrier. That notwithstanding, this is a very forgivable transgression; few horsemen will believe that their mount is anything but the very best in the world.

In short, this is a good, well-written and honest account that will be a valuable addition to the historical record. I liked it very much.

This is the second book I read about the war in Afghanistan, the first one by a French Rafale pilot. The combination of both books gives a good idea about this type of fighting in the air. The technology in the cockpit, the lenght of the missions, the frequency of ennemy contacts, the surgical precision of the strikes, the extreme caution exercised to avoid blue on blue, the terror sometimes experienced by troops on the ground, the international nature of forces involved.
I also enjoyed accounts of life on the ground with its relative luxury for a war zone, the relative informality of relations between ranks, the stupidity of some ground pounders even in a war zone and I was especially moved by the account of a dead Royal Marine repatriation ceremony.
I would have enjoyed some more technical details of flying the 2nd generation Harrier because it is such a different airplane.
I gave it 4 stars because it is more interesting than gripping but the author did a good job conveying how it was while serving his tour as well as giving some historical background about the Harrier Joint Force.
The next book on my list about Afghanistan will be Apache: Inside the Cockpit of the World's Most Deadly Fighting Machine by Ed Macy.

This is the story of the Harrier team based at Khandahar airport in Afghanistan. Written by Ade Orchard (with help from thriller writer and pilot James Barrington) It details life on the base and in the air, supporting troops under fire from the Taliban insurgents. The author is donating the profits from this book to a military charity, so if you only half fancy this book, buy it anyway.

The Harrier is an awesome aircraft which carries some serious ordinance and is critical in terms of responding quickly to support the ground forces that are in trouble. The squadron detachment to Afghanistan means being based at the airbase 100% of the time so it is quite an intense experience for the pilots and crews.

I am sorry to have to say I was slightly under whelmed with this one. There are a number of technical elements which some will enjoy, but in essence, the jet gets scrambled, flies to incident and drops ordinance onto target. Obviously considerable skill is needed, but it did not make for page turning excitement. Again, life on the base was generally just that - life on a military base. There were some elements that were interesting - the respect shown by the whole base as those who have fallen are airlifted out was very moving, an incident with a Health & Safety officer was amusing but not enough like this to really make me want to turn the next page.

Now, I've seen other reviews and I know I am going to get slaughtered on this one, but I honestly did not find it gripped me in the way that, for instance, Ed Macey's Apache did. These are brave people doing a fantastic job and if you are interested in knowing what it is like to fly one of these beasts, buy this book, if you want to see what life confined on a base is like, buy this book, in fact as the profit goes to charity, buy it anyway. Just don't expect a pulsating thrill ride.

Now that the British experience with Harrier has a neat bow and the F-35 V/STOL must squeek by as USMC I enjoyed basking in the danger with those who went on from the early doubts in 1969 to skijump and all that and then land in the ferocious crosswinds and storms of Southwest Asia.