Customer Reviews

Team Sergeant

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

 

 

After forcing myself through 300+ pages, I had to let others know how boring this book was. If you're looking for action, combat, courage under fire, etc., this book's got about 30 pages of it. The rest is all about his everyday life, written in excruciatingly boring detail. He takes pages to describe the school bus schedule for his kids, his wife's interest in sewing clubs, and other boring household stuff like that. He spends more time describing his efforts at manipulating and getting around the system to keep his family on Okinawa then on military action. He doesn't describe SF training, openly complains about having to return for his tours in 'Nam, and complains about just about everything else. In comparison with other great books about combat, such as James Watson's "Point Man," this is a real dud. If the choice was available, I'd have rated it 0 stars.

Sounds like my miserable Uncle relating his military career. The first 90 pages deals with 4, count em, 4 illnesses Craig contracted during his early Nam years. Very little of the book deals with any actual Vietnam experiences, and what is described, is actually quite boring. A resume of Craig reaching Sgt Major is not what I had in mind nor in yours, if what you're expecting is at least a minimal personal narrative of Special Force experiences.

Team Sergeant was certainly different from other VN war memoirs I have read. CSM Craig was no doubt a true warrior and hero. He was at Lang Vei during the famed "Tanks in the wire", "Night of the Silver Stars" attack.. What sets this book apart is his attitude. He was a brawler, complainer, and hard headed. A lot of the ways he acted you might read about in other memoirs, but I think he took these attributes to the extreme. It is surprising that the Army kept advancing him in rank to where he achieved Command Sergeant Major. He no doubt was a good soldier, but he rubbed a lot of people the wrong way. So his Army success surprised me quite a bit.

I think to say CMS had an attitude problem would be an understatement. He had a poor opinion of officers, even though among those he describes are some fine ones. But those good officers were not about to make him reconsider his position on officers or the Army in general. I came away from this book thinking that CSM Craig is the kind of person that needs to be bitter about something in order to be happy, and so he was.

Like another reviewer stated, listening to the complaining at times was a little much. But it doesn't take away from the fact that this is HIS story. And that sets it apart from other memoirs. CSM Craig annoyed me, made me laugh, and impressed me all at the same time. So, while he grated sometimes, I am glad that I read this book. Primarily because it was quite a departure in some ways from many of the other VN Veteran memoirs I have read (and I have read dozens).

Therefore, my recommendation would be as follows. If you are planning on reading just one or a small number of memoirs from VN war vets, then you will probably want to overlook this one. Stick with Linderer or some of the other authors. But if you are like me and trying to cover the topic from many different perspectives, then this is a perspective you probably shouldn't miss.

I find that knowing about a person's background prior to going to Vietnam allows me to understand why they reactyed the way they did in Vietnam. If a person wants accounts of just Vietnam they should stay away from most books written one first person accounts or by those relating the stories of men who have been in Vietnam. I find if all you want is the action and the war you miss out on getting to know the people who were there. For Most people Vietnam was not just being in in combat every day. Vietnam had day to day routines and jobs. Not all of a person's time in Vietnam was about fighting, but about their lives in country.
I found this book to tell a story about a soldier who lived a life of a soldier in Vietnam from how he got there, to training, to daily acticvities, and to battles.
This book is like many other first hand accounts written about life in Vietnam. A story about the soldier who lived and fought in Vietnam

The book is not well written and offers limited historical information. There are too many good books out there that deal with the US Army in Asia to waste money on eith this book or "Night of the Silver Stars". Perhaps we are being spoiled by the Keith Nolan books about the Vietnam war which are all 5 star quality. Sorry, but this one is a real dud.

Craig has written a true, first-hand account of how fragile life was for Green Berets at the A-Team level. He details the gruesome facts of his experience helping to defend Lang Vei against a superior, but less-determined force. He also exposes the inherent difficulties of coordinating the activities of two srvices (Army & Marines) living and fighting the same enemy. This heart-pounding, blood-running, action-packed thriller will blow your mind. It says a lot about what makes the magnificent NCO Corps tick. Without Craig and, of course, others like him, the losses in Vietnam would have been much greater. It takes a lot of guts to fight for your life and the lives of your comrades when, in doing so, you are exposing yourself to lethal weopons designed to rip your insides and put you at rest, forever. Craig did that. He is a true hero.

In Team Sergeant, young soldiers are treated to an explosive account of how the NCO Corps best works. Craig helped his officers and his unit solve battlefield problems the old fashion way - with confrontation, integrity, selflessness, determination, the courage of a young lion and, oftentimes, with a cold beer. Craig did what needed to be done.

Thanks, SGM Craig, for your service to our country. Welcome Home, brother.

HARD TO FORGET Newport News, VA

Team Sergeant is a great book dealing not only with one man's struggle to survive when all around is crumbling but a revealing look at the life of a warrior NCO! Team Sergeant focuses on the little known battle of Lang Vei were armor was employed by the NVA for the first time during the Vietnam War. At the time, William Craig was an SFC and the Special Forces Team Sergeant of the ill fated outpost during the Tet offensive in 1968. He provides a great first person account of the battle and gives his personal commentary on all aspects of the NVA assault. He even provides insight into the Marines refusal to provide assistance when the outpost was all but overrun. Craig's story does not end with the death of Lang Vei and he goes on to detail his final years with the Army in the aftermath of Vietnam and the many accomplishments he can take credit for. Command Sergeant Major Craig is a true warrior in every sense of the word and deserves many thanks from his country.

Finally, if you are interested in the real world of SF and the battle of Lang Vei, this is the book to read. I can save you time and money by saying don't waste your time by reading Night of the Silver Stars by William Phillips which professes to detail the battle of Lang Vei. His primary motives are only to try to justify the marines refusal to come to the aid of the SF personal at Lang Vei. Craig provides a real view of the events of that night, not William Phillips in Night of the Silver Stars who was a marine in Vietnam and his objectivity is conspicuously absent in the pages of his book.

Team Sergeant is a great book about a great but little known warrior! I would salute you CSM Craig but NCOs don't salute one another. My greatest tribute to you would be to say I would follow you into battle anytime!