Immediate Action, by Andy McNab
Tuesday, 15. July 2008, 16:29:57
Andy McNab is a pseudonym but after reading Immediate Action I believe that his first name is Andy & his second name does begin with 'M'.
I really enjoyed Bravo Two Zero many years ago, the author had a great knack of packing in an enormous amount of information in a way that is very easy to read. That same style is not lost in Immediate Action. The book has a wealth of insights into the training, tactics, equipment & survival skills used by the SAS. Throughout the book I found myself regularly checking the indispensable glossary to keep up with the heavily acronymed & abbreviated vocabulary of the SAS. If everything had been written longhand the book would have been double the size. Despite the cross referencing Immediate Action is still a really easy read & I motored through it in a few days.
The whole thing is a fascinating insight into the working of the special forces. Reading it I was constantly yo yoing to being frightened that these guys were running round with such firepower, then being glad that they do what they do. It was scary to think that a kid who spent most of his youth doing petty crime gets put in charge of an assault rifle, but then heartening to see how the rigours of training beat it all out of him, then disheartening again to see how much of his personal life he sacrificed to be in the SAS. Scores of anecdotes had me chuckling away & made me think, "They're not super soldiers. They're just boys with toys", but then facts like marching ten miles with a 150lb bergen, spending more rounds on the practise range than the rest of the entire British army, learning Swahili & Spanish are just dropped in with a dismissive single sentence as if they are inconsequential.
It's also satisfying to know that the drunks that get taken to hospital on a Saturday night & assault the medical staff may one day be unlucky to find that the nurse is actually a member of the SAS & who may have had a bad day.
For all the mystique & glamour of the special forces the author does a great job of describing the arduous training & the tedium of waiting around for something to happen when out in the field. The book really emphasises the human side of the troop, everyone seems to love Blockbusters & Countdown (two popular UK quiz shows at the time), tea is the most important supply in the Regiment, although for air troop ice cream & sun rays are not far behind.
Top read, thoroughly recommended.
I really enjoyed Bravo Two Zero many years ago, the author had a great knack of packing in an enormous amount of information in a way that is very easy to read. That same style is not lost in Immediate Action. The book has a wealth of insights into the training, tactics, equipment & survival skills used by the SAS. Throughout the book I found myself regularly checking the indispensable glossary to keep up with the heavily acronymed & abbreviated vocabulary of the SAS. If everything had been written longhand the book would have been double the size. Despite the cross referencing Immediate Action is still a really easy read & I motored through it in a few days.
The whole thing is a fascinating insight into the working of the special forces. Reading it I was constantly yo yoing to being frightened that these guys were running round with such firepower, then being glad that they do what they do. It was scary to think that a kid who spent most of his youth doing petty crime gets put in charge of an assault rifle, but then heartening to see how the rigours of training beat it all out of him, then disheartening again to see how much of his personal life he sacrificed to be in the SAS. Scores of anecdotes had me chuckling away & made me think, "They're not super soldiers. They're just boys with toys", but then facts like marching ten miles with a 150lb bergen, spending more rounds on the practise range than the rest of the entire British army, learning Swahili & Spanish are just dropped in with a dismissive single sentence as if they are inconsequential.
It's also satisfying to know that the drunks that get taken to hospital on a Saturday night & assault the medical staff may one day be unlucky to find that the nurse is actually a member of the SAS & who may have had a bad day.
For all the mystique & glamour of the special forces the author does a great job of describing the arduous training & the tedium of waiting around for something to happen when out in the field. The book really emphasises the human side of the troop, everyone seems to love Blockbusters & Countdown (two popular UK quiz shows at the time), tea is the most important supply in the Regiment, although for air troop ice cream & sun rays are not far behind.
Top read, thoroughly recommended.
WIDGETIZE
Nix* # 28. July 2008, 19:25
lokutus_prime # 14. August 2008, 12:56
It is not always a good idea for any critic to talk about the morality of the SAS as a de facto instituation. Neither is it a good idea to rain on any one's parade, especially if all they want is good read and a chance to 'get away' from the perceived humdrum of everyday life. In reading about what you describe I visiualize the aspect of "adventure", the "action hero(s)" and so on as described in the book. But (here comes the rain) do we admire these people? Do we in tacitly say "hey - other countries have their special forces - we need them too!"
If we "need" them - and what a statement that is about our civiization - should they be 'covert', part of the 'neccessary evil' that protects us all in some way (we already have professional military, in the shape of army, navy airforce), and the rainmaker (moi) ponders on that old maxim, from ancient Rome's Imperial era, "who guards the guards?".
orinoco # 19. September 2008, 18:17
Do I admire them? I certainly admire what they do, the feats of endurance are simply mind boggling, & the decisions they have to make under life threatening pressure are extraordinary. Although I don't think that is what you are asking.
Do I admire why they do what they do? That's an entirely different question & is not really a question about the SAS at all. I don't think you can blame a soldier for the war s/he is fighting. I think most conflicts are started by politicians & political differences. Trying to think of wars started by the military I can only come up with Julius Caesar marching on Rome, but it could be argued that at the time he did so Caesar was more politician than soldier.
Do we need them? Sadly yes. Wars have been a constant in civilisation for centuries, I wonder how far you'd have to go back to find a period of time when there was not a war going on somewhere around the world? The human race is a warlike species, we've still got a lot of growing up to do. Until we've done so, my country & others will need to be protected.
If I could choose what protects my country. Either highly trained elite units of human beings that operate on the actual battlefield & can see the consequences of their actions & make real decisions based on the fact. Or an arsenal of sophisticated weaponry that can be launched at the push of a button from the comfort of your own armchair half the world away. I'll go with the former.