Review: 'Dudes of War'

Review: "Dudes of War" by Benjamin Tupper

In a second memoir generated from his experiences as a U.S. citizen-soldier deployed to Afghanistan--the first was "Greetings from Afghanistan: Send More Ammo," reviewed here--Benjamin Tupper presents readers with a rogues' gallery of his fellow soldiers: buddies and frenemies, gun freaks and mule-lovers, tobacco-chewers and pornicators. Tupper talks not only about about the guys who made war, he talks about the guys who made war hell for everyone else.

A New York National Guard soldier, Tupper deployed as a 16-member Embedded Training Team (ETT) to Ghanzi and Paktika Provinces. Before his 2006 deployment, he'd also worked in Afghanistan as a civilian non-governmental organization worker.

"Welcome to the war story where nothing goes bang [...]" he writes in his introduction to "Dudes of War." "This second book shoots an entirely different azimuth: To tell the story of the other 99 percent of the time we spend over there; the tasks, chores, and austere conditions that forge today's modern soldier culture."

To tell that story, Tupper profiles a cast of characters constructed of various callsigns, caricatures, and (in one or two cases) composites. Let slip the dudes of war!

The writer's trick is a useful one. By not-naming names, Tupper is able to distill truths good, bad, and ugly from a group of disorderly personalities, the traits of which range from the outrageous and to the compulsively routine. Although brutally candid, he never comes across as mean-spirited. He comes neither to praise these stereotypical soldiers, nor to bury them.

Rather than to air the military's dirty duffel bags, he's out to discuss a laundry list of hard-to-crack and almost-never-discussed topics. For example:

• Dealing with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (P.T.S.D.), as an individual and as a unit.

• The downrange debates between those who loved dogs and those who loved to shoot them.

• The question of whether soldiers are in Afghanistan to provide humanitarian assistance or to play "Whac-a-mole" with Afghan bad guys.

"The longing for women, or beer, or other vices of American culture cannot be wished away by Army regulations. The hours of boredom that are the fertilizer for political debates, pranks, and ball-busting continue to fill the days," Tupper writes. "The American soldier continues to adapt to and overcome these challenges. The means and methods are sometimes morally questionable and the results sometimes problematic, but the outcome is never in doubt: Dudes will be dudes."

The dude knows what he's talking about.

Once Around the Blog-World, and Back

Another three-round burst of blog-filled goodness this Friday morning:

ONE MAN'S AMMO CAN IS ANOTHER MAN'S FUEL TANK According to an Army public affairs article posted via DVIDS this week, a Vermont Army National Guard soldier from the 86th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (I.B.C.T.) resurrected an Afghan motorcycle. In his civilian job Spc. Skyler W. Genest, part of the 1st/172nd Cavalry Squadron in Ghazni, works on the University of Vermont police department. The kid sounds like equal parts MacGyver, Mad Max, and Judge Dredd:

"The fuel tank really stands out," said Genest. "When we got it, we saw the original tank was completely rusted out on the inside. So our innovative idea was to take an ammo can and put it where the rusted tank was. We just have to scrounge to get anything to keep this running. [...]

"It started life out as a Honda," [he said]. "It is a 125n, a early 1970's model, but it has some aftermarket parts on it. The engine has been replaced and the exhaust is not original, but it is the typical bike for this area. It has been beaten up, but these things are pretty incredible. They can take a beating and they still run."

Genest plans to bequeath the bike to a soldier replacing him on a future rotation. I plan to point that out to MauserMedic, who writes the witty and gritty "Mausers, Medicine & Motorcycles" blog. Given the possibility of some wheels, it sounds like Mauser should look Genest up, if he's ever in the neighborhood.

PICTURES (AND SOUNDS) OF BAGRAM

On his "Deployment to Afghanistan" blog, Army Lt. Col. Richard Phillips has posted some pix of some Bagram "B-huts." I know the comparison is a bit of a stretch, but there's at least one image that evokes for me the crowded urban street conditions found elsewhere in the Middle East. But hey--that's the architectural geek talking now.

In an earlier post, he describes the sights and sounds of Bagram Airbase:

The sound of Bagram is jet noise, 24/7. All manner of aircraft come and go, all day and all night. There are many other sounds, but they are all routinely drowned out by the sound of jet engines. Sometimes even conversation between two people standing side by side is impossible for a few moments. [...]

The "buildings" range from tents to containerized buildings to "B" huts to "brick and mortar" structures. An indoor, porcelain toilet is still a luxury. Most residents of Bagram live in a tent (with about 100 of their closest friends) or in one of our infamous "B" huts, which is basically a wooden shack housing from 4 to 8 persons.

Note to self: Bring a cordless drill and other power tools on the deployment, as well as a video camera. We'll shoot a pilot series about extreme B-hut remodelings. Call it ... "This Old Hootch?"

MINNESOTA RED BULL TO RETURN FROM AFGHANISTAN EARLY

Finally, I'm both pleased and sorry to say that Minnesota Army National Guardsman (and "Red Bull" alumnus) Capt. Mark Martin is coming home to attend to some family issues. Even though he may have fallen a few days short of his blog's title, he promises to continue to write about both Afghanistan and Minnesota in "270 Days in Afghanistan". Here's an excerpt of his most recent post:

Recently, I received some difficult news from home. My mother, who has been ailing for some time took a turn for the worse. Long story short, a couple of days and one Red Cross message later, and I am packed and bound for the States. Due to the nature of the situation, and the proximity of the conclusion of our mission here, I will not be coming back to the 'Stan with this particular mission.

I visited with all my Afghans today and said goodbye. I told them that I admired their courage and their willingness to stand up for their country against those who would snuff out democracy. I congratulated them on the progress that they have made, and I assured them that it has been my honor and my priviledge to serve alongside them here in Afghanistan. The friendships and memories I have from this place will forever change how I look at things.

Martin's blog has consistently been plain-spoken, well-reasoned, and easy-to-understand. Afghanistan is no doubt a slightly better place than when he found it; I am, no doubt, a slightly better person for having learned from his words.

Godspeed Capt. Martin and his family.