Red Platoon: A True Story of American Valor

In 2009, Clinton Romesha of Red Platoon and the rest of the Black Knight Troop were preparing to shut down Command Outpost Keating, the most remote and inaccessible in a string of bases built by the U.S. military in Nuristan and Kunar in the hope of preventing Taliban insurgents from moving freely back and forth between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Three years after its construction, the army was finally ready to concede what the men on the ground had known immediately: it was simply too isolated and too dangerous to defend.

On October 3, 2009, after years of constant smaller attacks, the Taliban finally decided to throw everything they had at Keating. The ensuing 14-hour battle-- and eventual victory-- cost 8 men their lives.

Red Platoon is the riveting first-hand account of the Battle of Keating, told by Romesha, who spearheaded both the defense of the outpost and the counter-attack that drove the Taliban back beyond the wire, and received the Medal of Honor for his actions.

My Review

I am a fan of military books. They are probably the number one type of nonfiction book that I read. Most of the books however have been about the past wars. Red Platoon is the most recent book I have read in a while focusing on a more current war. At first I was not into this book, which disappointed me due to the subject matter. Yet, because of this subject matter I tried to stick with the book. The second time I opened up this book it was like I was reading a different book, I was more focused and engaged in Clinton Romesha and his fellow comrades of the Black Knight Troop. This is probably one of the most realistic military books I have read in a while. There really was no holding back from the poo barrels to life in the barracks to the graphic details of the men getting hit and their brains spilling all over the dirt. If you are a fan of military stories than you are used to the language. Which for me I am used to and accept as part of the story. It was like I was there with Clinton and the rest of his comrades as they were taking heavy fire. It is people like Clinton and his comrades that fight for the rest of us and are willing to share their stories that we can have movies base don these books like the most recent movie, 13 Hours. This is a must, must read.