Eldaerenth reviewed Danger Close by Anthony Lewis
Review of 'Danger Close' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
This memoir from the commander of 3 PARA, the 3rd Battalion of The Parachute Regiment, details his experiences in Afghanistan during their tour of duty there in 2006, and their eventual return to the UK and his subsequent promotion up and away from 3 PARA. You may remember the name [a:Stuart Tootal|2903668|Stuart Tootal DSO|http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto/nophoto-U-50x66.jpg] from newspapers in 2007, as he resigned from the Army (Sky News and The Sun articles) in response to the mistreatment of soldiers. This book is that story, but conveyed with pride of a job well done, not self-pity.
Unlike most war memoirs, this is written by not only an officer, but the battalion commander. As such, it gives both low level experiences that you would get from an on-the-ground soldier -- such as that found in [b:Sniper One|2439931|Sniper One The Blistering True Story of a British Battle Group Under Siege|Dan Mills|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51bJGZwcGfL.SL75.jpg|2447125] …
This memoir from the commander of 3 PARA, the 3rd Battalion of The Parachute Regiment, details his experiences in Afghanistan during their tour of duty there in 2006, and their eventual return to the UK and his subsequent promotion up and away from 3 PARA. You may remember the name [a:Stuart Tootal|2903668|Stuart Tootal DSO|http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto/nophoto-U-50x66.jpg] from newspapers in 2007, as he resigned from the Army (Sky News and The Sun articles) in response to the mistreatment of soldiers. This book is that story, but conveyed with pride of a job well done, not self-pity.
Unlike most war memoirs, this is written by not only an officer, but the battalion commander. As such, it gives both low level experiences that you would get from an on-the-ground soldier -- such as that found in [b:Sniper One|2439931|Sniper One The Blistering True Story of a British Battle Group Under Siege|Dan Mills|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51bJGZwcGfL.SL75.jpg|2447125] -- and the higher level picture of trying to do the right thing by your men while dealing with the politics and cost-cutting from above. It's an unenviable task, clearly executed brilliantly, and written in a very engaging style.
The final chapter, "Fighting the Peace," is the incredibly moving story of the return of 3 PARA to the UK, particularly the MOD's treatment of the injured (now that the MOD shares existing NHS facilities rather than using dedicated military hospitals), and fighting to ensure that soldiers who have been disabled or mutilated in the service of their country aren't just kicked out of the Army. Lastly, and perhaps more amazingly, although we have been aware of post-traumatic stress disorder for decades now, the chapter outlines that the facilities and procedures in place for dealing with it are laughable at best. If even half of it is accurate, it makes me ashamed to think that my votes and taxes are used to treat these people so badly.
In closing, it is worth mentioning that the book's epilogue states that a number of situations and problems described in it and various newspapers have been, or are being, rectified.