America’s Fighting Force

Thomas Hurley
Nightingale Press (2005)
ISBN 1933449225
Reviewed by Joe Graham for Reader Views (5/06)

Thomas Hurley is a young man who enlisted in the Army in February of 1997 when he was 18 years old. He completed his basic training in South Carolina and then completed his AIT (Advanced Individual Training) at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. His MOS (Military Occupation Specialty) was to be a 13 Papa, Fire Direction Specialist for the Multiple Launch Rocket System. At the time he completed his book, he was 26 years and his record of his eight years of military service will appeal to anyone who has ever served in the Army.

For those who have served in the Army, or any other branch of the service, they can quickly relate to Hurley’s experiences. Veterans of military service will find themselves thinking back on their own experiences in the service and it does not matter when the veteran served - World War II, Korea, Vietnam or Desert Storm - they will find Hurley’s experiences will jog memories of their own.

Any former serviceman or woman can quickly relate to the endless drills, the hurry ups and wait, and the long, lonely hours on duty away from home; and the enjoying of alcohol and partying as they attempted to fill the long hours as Hurley did.

One of the best anecdotes by Hurley is when he tells about playing Rock- Paper-Scissors with a group of Korean children. He shows the way a serviceman looks for ways to connect with the familiar when they are far away from home trying to adapt to a different culture.

The author states his purpose early in the book. “All the book is about is a bunch of normal everyday kids from all over the place all thrown together with an extraordinary, sometimes overlooked and unappreciated mission: Defending the United States of America.”

The book will best be enjoyed by someone who is currently serving in the military or who has served previously. A general reader might be put off by all the military acronyms from NTC (National Training Center) to MILES (Multiple Integrated Laser Engagement System). To the nonmilitary, all those acronyms can make the reader’s head spin. At times Sgt. Hurley has a habit of listing everyone in his unit and keeping all the names straight and remembering who he is talking about can be challenging. At times, I found myself wishing that he had tightened up his chapters so that events seemed to flow in a more logical fashion instead of jumping back and forth in time.

American’s Fighting Force creates a picture of the current American fighting man and woman that any veteran can relate to. Even though, the equipment and technology has changed over the years, the challenges of dealing with the mission, training and down time as portrayed by Sgt. Hurley, is a story that any military man or woman can relate to.

Make comment on weblog