God's Children

This is, without question, the best book I've read about what it is really like to take command of one's first platoon. To my way of thinking, reading this, more than any other "how to be a General/Admiral" reading assignment, ought to be required of all cadets at all academies.Who cares what Dixon was doing in Idaho? Though avid readers of Coyle ought to know. What happened to the Hungarians? Who cares? It's NOT THE POINT OF THE BOOK!Where did the rescue come from? Give me a break! From where it always does -- from others in the unit who care about never leaving buddies in the field."GOD'S CHILDREN" ends abruptly. It doesn't have a nice, neat, sewn-up ending. But that's the way most patrols end. Most of the time the troops live; sometimes some die. When it's over, it's just over. Time to do the scut maintenance work. Hats off to Harold Coyle for accurately capturing the post-action letdown and recreating it in the readers gut.Let's look at the good portrayals in this book: = The male/female relationship between officers. Hey, it happens in today's Army. This book captured the feel of what it's like to be young and "in charge" better than any I've read. = The disconnect between training and real life. Wow! = The (negative) impact our current civilian leaders are having on morale on today's military, and how the civilian government's "don't screw up" attitude is pervading all ranks. = What it's really like to be on the sharp end of fuzzy headed missions thought up by fuzzy headed politicians and lead by fuzzy headed careerist senior officers beholden to those fuzzy headed politicians.Well done, Harold Coyle.

Harold Coyle has written an excellent work on what it means tobe a small unit leader. More importantly, he has written an excellent primer on what it means to be a leader, period. This book has other notable features, too. Coyle does an outstanding job of keeping the Dixon military lineage alive and I noticed with some enjoyment that 1LT Nathan Dixon didn't stray too far from the family fold. Instead of attending West Point, he followed in his father's footsteps and attended VMI. He did deviate however, when he failed to follow his father into Armor branch, instead opting for the Infantry. As anyone who has ever served in the Army knows, the Infantry is where the American GI meets the enemy "up close and personal." The Army 11B is the tip of the spear, the enforcer of all those foreign policy decisions made by men like Bill Clinton who didn't have the intestinal fortitude and moral fiber to do the job when they were called upon. Coyle does a great job describing the fears, doubts, hopes and apsirations of the small mech infantry platoon that becomes a "lost patrol" forced to survive in Indian country while performing a mission they weren't trained for for an uncaring and hostile populace. This is the peacetime army. This is the military that Slick Willie loathes. This is the Army where the sons of affluent fathers no longer serve. This is the Army where the infantry is now populated by kids trying to escape the barrio and the gangs. This is the United States Army that is becoming increasingly more separate from the society it is sworn to defend. This is the U.S. Army of the 21st century, the very same one that the American people and their politicians choose to ignore because it reminds them of too many negative possibilities. In this novel, which was surprisingly short for Harold Coyle, the author captures all of the little things that make infantry service so unmistakable. It has all of the little features that people who have never humped a "ruck" would never even think about. There are the foot inspections by officers and NCOs, the worries about food, shelter, dry clothes and whether this small, isolated unit will ever rejoin its higher headquarters. Coyle doesn't miss a thing and he doesn't let the reader dodge the responsibility of seeing what American infantrymen endure in the name of an ungrateful nation. Coyle gives us likeable and unlikeable characters. He gives his reader a confident and experienced senior First Lieutenant, assigned as a second set of eyes to "observe" a newly arrived Second Lieutenant on his first patrol. The dynamic between these two officers contributes to the ebb and flow of the story and provides the borders for the members of the platoon to operate in. This is not just a book about the conflict between two young lieutenants. I was surprised to read that Coyle had painted the senior NCOs as having serious leadership deficiences and it made me realize that the only reason the men ever had any hope of

Great story line, especially the continuation of the Dixon lineage. The setting, and the fact that he took one plot from beginning to end was very exciting. Hope this leads to many more in a new "line-extension" for Mr. Coyle.

Harold Coyle focuses his attention on the thoughts and actions of individual soldiers in small units. In "God's Children," you get up close and personal with the thoughts, fears and driving professionalism of two junior officers in an unexpected combat situation. The arrogant, wet behind the ears 2nd lieutenant Reider on his first day incountry leading a "peacekeeping" patrol and the slightly more experienced, but far more soldierly, 1st lieutenant Dixon tagging along as an unwanted observer. Coyle writes about infantry combat from the grunt's perspective. You feel the fear of the enlisted men, seeking firm guidance from their officers - and the different kinds of uncertainty emanating from these two very different kinds of officers. I started reading this book Thursday afternoon and, putting my work aside, couldn't put it down until I had finished it Friday evening. That's the power of Harold Coyle's writing.

This book is about the NATO troops sent into Europe to stop the Slovakian's ethnic cleansing of the Hungarians. But, niether side knows why the NATO troops are there.When the 3rd platoon must take a routine patrol, they get a new platoon leader, and another platoon leader to keep an eye on him. Well, the situation soon gets hairy, and the platoon must make their way back to their home, while dodging the Slovakian Army, and a few other unfortunate incidents.The book is full of action, suspense, and drama (a fight for power between the two platoon leaders). Though the end was some what shorter than expected, it also contained a plot turn that I didn't think would happen. But, this book reveals the human nature in combat, how we respond. This is a must read for fans of Saving Private Ryan and Clancy readers.