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B o o k R e v i e w The Battle for Hunger Hill |
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In LTC Dan Bolger's book, The Battle For Hunger Hill, we learn that the lessons of Vietnam were not lost on the U.S. Army. In an effort to prevent another Vietnam, where conventional tactics fell short when used against an unconvential enemy, the U.S. Army created the Joint Readiness Training Center (JRTC) in Fort Polk, Louisiana. JRTC is where infantry go to do battle with other U.S. soldiers playing the part of the opposing forces. This is serious business and there are few if any considerations afforded to the combatants. Short of live rounds, this is the real thing. According to our reviewer, Dr. Simon Ng, LTC Dan Bolger's book, The Battle For Hunger Hill, is the honestly told, higly educational, and entirely engrossing account of one man's two tours of duty at this ultimate war simulation facility.
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B o o k R e v i e w America's Hundred Thousand |
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If you took all the books written about things military and laid them end-to-end, they'd probably circle the globe. What's a military enthusiast to do when faced with such a range of choices? In a new feature we call "Major Lee's Library," Ken "Major Lee" Golden will select a choice military tome from his collection and give us not only an overall review of the title, but also tell us how the book rates as a resource for military history buffs and a variety of combat simming enthusiasts; namely, 3D shape makers, aircraft skinners, and flight model designers.
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Book Review by Barry Isaacson --- Hornets Over Kuwait |
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Barry Isaacson gives us his take on the no-holds-barred biography of Marine combat pilot Lt. Col. Jay A. Stout's Gulf War experiences in Hornets over Kuwait. If you like biographies that don't pull punches, then you'll want to check out this review. |
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Book Review by Bruce Irving Air Warriors, Bogeys & Bandits, The Sixth Battle |
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Thanks to Jane's F/A-18 Hornet and a few other sims, there are a lot of virtual naval aviators trapping on virtual aircraft carriers these days. If you're one of them, or if you just have an interest in Hornets and carriers, here are three books that will add greatly to your knowledge and enjoyment of naval aviation. |
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Review by Leonard Hjalmarson The Arrow Scrapbook |
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In April, 1924, the Royal Canadian Air Force was born. Barely thirty years later, Canadian Engineers were drawing up plans for an advanced jet Interceptor. The engines to power this craft were two generations beyond anything that had yet seen the light of day. |
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Book Review by Dave Pascoe The Secret Wars of America's Commandos |
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One of the few commando books to be first published in hardcover, SOG is an exceptionally well researched account of the Special Operations Group mission in Indochina, covert and otherwise. I rate it as one of the best books on the subject, as told from the summary viewpoint of the men in the field, their field officers and commanders. |
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Book Review by Scott Purdy Gulf Air War Debrief |
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We carry around a bewildering array of images from Desert Storm: CNN correspondents conducting interviews in aardvark-snooted gas masks, burning oilwells like something out of Dante's imagination. But to understand the events of that war we need something more than old videotapes. |
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Book Review by Dave Pascoe We Were Soldiers Once... and Young |
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As any student of the Vietnam war soon learns, there are two basic types of books about the war: political tomes and your basic war story. First published in 1992, We Were Soldiers Once . . . became the rare Vietnam war story to ever become a New York Times best seller. |
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Book Review by Scott Purdy The Killer Angels |
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For the past two weeks I have learned the tactical difference between Little Round Top and Cemetery Hill (Little Round Top was a better defensive position). I have come to know that Robert E. Lee was often called "The Old Man". I have "limbered" and "unlimbered" the guns. I have sent out squads to harass the enemy artillery. |
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Military V i d e o s Boeing and Lockheed Martin Video Libraries |
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Lockheed Martin and Boeing maintain their own video libraries. Check them out for some great footage. At LM find the F22, HIMAR, Armor etc. Then check out the Boeing (used to be McDonnell-Douglas) library for footage on the AH-64D Apache, Super Hornet, JSF and more! |
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Book Review by Scott Purdy The Face of Battle |
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Think military history and dry tomes in the cobwebbed halls of academia with dull-surfaced books with less life than the soldiers who died to fill them. Not so with John Keegan: So vivid and alive is the combat described in "The Face of Battle" you may at times feel yourself witness to a grisly scene from the fabled Norse Paradise, where warriors already dead leapt up to rejoin the fight. |
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Naval Combat E n t e r t a i n m e n t by Troy Whigham Summer Movies Part III |
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It's July. It's hot. What better way to cool off than to spend some time in, on, and under the water. For those of us who prefer to stay indoors and out of the sun, here's some movies that are almost as good as being there. These are some of my favorites, ranked in order. |
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Armor Combat E n t e r t a i n m e n t by Scott Purdy Armored Cav: A Guided Tour of an Armored Cavalry Regiment |
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You shouldn't come to any text by Tom Clancy assuming your vast knowledge of military acronyms will be needed to appreciate this tech-savvy author. On the contrary, Clancy's descriptions of the (increasingly complex) implements of war are decidedly down-to-earth and accessible to most any civilian. |
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Air Combat E n t e r t a i n m e n t by Troy Whigham Summer Movies Part II |
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Last week I presented a list of some of my favorite movies that are out on video (except for "Flying Leathernecks" with John Wayne). Since then I've been reminded about several movies that didn't make it the first time around. My thanks to those who took the time to write and point out these great flicks. |
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Combatsim Book Review by Scott Purdy James Salter: The Hunters |
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What better way to get fired up for Rowan's MiG Alley than to read one of the great novels of fighter combat depicting that era? "The Hunters," is just such a book, the tale of a daring bunch who soared over the Yalu in F-86 Sabres, thirsty for immortality, but often meeting their fate in a terse moment of gunfire. |
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Air Combat R e t r o s p e c t i v e by Scott Purdy Flight of the Intruder |
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One of the most cherished books in my personal library is a first edition hardback of Flight of the Intruder, by Stephen Coonts, a novel about the decidedly un-glamourous A-6A, its pilots, and the war it starred in. Not only does this book enhance one's interest in military aviation (and thereby the games we love), but it also proves one heck of a good read! |
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Air Combat E n t e r t a i n m e n t by Troy Whigham Summer Movie Fun |
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Summer's here and the time is right, for dancing in the streets and watching movies at home. Here then is my take on movies that are "must-see" for any air combat fan, in order of importance. (In some cases you can also get your hands on the book!) |
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Adventure E n t e r t a i n m e n t by Maurice Fitzgerald Summer Movie Fun |
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Summer's here and these are my top picks for ground pounding adventure movies. |