PMCI - October 2014

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Desperate Glory by Sam Kiley Bloomsbury Publishing PLC / RRP: £7.99 (paperback) Kris Roberts reviews award-winning journalist Sam Kiley’s book about his time in Helmand with Britain’s 16 Air Assault Brigade had been looking for a book detailing the British experience Iof the current conflict in Afghanistan for some time. For some unknown reason, most of the books I’ve read these past few months have focused on the American point of view and I was eager to re-dress the balance and bring my attention back to Blighty. I’d a copy of Desperate Glory sitting on my shelf for nearly a year, so I decided that this was the perfect time to dust it off and give it a go. Sam Kiley is an award-winning journalist who, over a twenty year career, has covered conflicts around the world, including Somalia, Rwanda and Sierra Leone to name a few. With such a track record he was perfectly suited to follow the 16 Air Assault Brigade into Helmand Province for a six month tour. A tour which would take him to the front lines of a vicious and ruthless combat zone. Kiley was granted unprecedented access to all ranks, from the Brigadier in command down to the Rifleman on the ground. As such he was able to offer a broad view of the situation that faces our troops on a daily basis, and the demands that are placed on them not only from the enemy, but from a government thousands of miles away. “I’ll freely admit that I was in bits reading about the Corporal who kept talking to his dead friend as he dragged his lifeless body along a drainage ditch and away from enemy fire” As a witness to the war rather than a participant, Kiley is able to provide the reader with a larger canvas to view than the one offered by a firsthand personal account. Because of this he can cover different events and details and combine them as a whole, so that what we are left with is not only a bigger picture, but a deeper perspective. What with him being in a position to observe soldiers in action, from aggressive patrols into enemy areas, the static defence of Forward Operating Bases, and the large scale convoys that are used to bring supplies, Kiley gathers together a wealth of information and experience from various fighting men and women. The fighting itself takes centre stage throughout the book, and Kiley doesn’t shy away from highlighting the brutal reality and extreme violence that takes place. We are introduced to the soldiers, listen to their stories and opinions as the author interviews them, and then read in horror as some are killed in action just a few days later. Kiley manages to deal with the matter of fact issue of life and death in a balanced and compassionate manner, taking time to show the emotional and psychological effects that the war has on the troops. I’ll freely admit that I was in bits reading about the Corporal who kept talking to his dead friend as he dragged his lifeless body along a drainage ditch and away from enemy fire. What becomes really apparent as the book moves on are the restrictions placed on the troops that, while serving to placate the general public back home in the UK, are nothing short of tactical lunacy. I appreciate the need for political consideration and that hearts and minds must be won at home as well as among the local population but for the soldier on the ground, whose life is at risk, the frustration must be unbearable, and Kiley does well to show these frustrations from a fighting man’s point of view. Gripping, thrilling, insightful and often heart-wrenching, Desperate Glory manages to show the horrific nature of war and how, despite the odds, remarkable men and women thrive and excel themselves in the most adverse of human endeavours. A must read for anyone looking to further their understanding of what modern warfare entails. 6
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PMCI - October 2014

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