Punk's War

This novel is a brilliantly realistic view into the life of Naval Aviators. Carroll is clearly someone who has experienced patrolling the No Fly Zones in Iraq, flying the Tomcat, and living on an Aircraft Carrier with a close-knit unit.This book is not for the reader who enjoys the Clive Cussler-Tom Clancy hero-saves-the-world-plot, but instead wants to experience what the pilots and NFOs feel when they are out there doing their duty.A similar book to this, but with a little more fictional and slam-bang plot is James W. Huston's Flash Point, which also gives you a realistic slice of Naval Aviation life.

Many of the reviews rightly focus on the military aspects of this book. And yet as a civilian, I found the book immensely satisfying as a character study and a slice-of-life portrait. Yes, they are Naval aviators on "the boat," and yes, the fact they are fighting a war impacts their behavior. But the focus of the story, and ultimately the power of the book, is on these men as men, as human beings. Carroll's gift is the three-dimensional qualities he gives his characters so that you recognize your own friends and pieces of yourself in them (both for good and for bad... we all have a little Soup in us). It is because of Carroll's strength as a writer that you fully experience their frustrations with their jobs, their bosses, and the system. And that experience is universal. We've all been there, and we all need to learn how to deal with our imperfect control over the imperfect systems we find ourselves in. Punk's War is an eloquent statement about life, not just the military.

Punk's WarBy Ward CarrollNaval Institute Press "Punk's War" is by far and away the best book I have ever read about day to day life in a Navy fighter squadron. It's near 100% accurate, extremely well written, engaging, amusing, insightful and even thrilling in places. The author, a Naval Academy graduate and victim of several tours as the Radar Intercept Officer in an F-14 squadron at sea, is currently an English and ethics teacher at the Academy in Annapolis, so he speaks with authority about life on the boat and in a squadron. The fact that he sat in back while the hero, a Tomcat driver with the callsign of "Punk," (having to do with his musical tastes and not his attitude) is a pilot seems to have no adverse effect on the legitimacy of the story. (For some reasons, backseaters write the best books; pilots fly the best loops.) Only 224 pages, the hardbound novel grabs the reader from page one and won't let go. The story begins with the ex-Blue Angel, ego-driven squadron skipper ousting his ready alert five crew - Punk and his backseater - so he can take over the presumed MiG interdiction mission. It won't give away too much to confide that the engagement goes to hell in a hurry. As the story unfolds, Carroll does a masterful job of combining the day to day minutiae of life on the boat while simultaneously weaving a well-told tale that's said to be fiction but one wonders ... You'll meet the surface warfare admiral who has no idea how to handle those pesky flyboys, the air wing commander who'd rather be behind a Pentagon desk, the squadron skipper who has let his Blue Angels tour and Topgun graduation go to his head. There's the usual collection of quirky squadron characters, tough missions, dangerous shipboard approaches, a sneaky Middle East country that's trying to start a war and a bunch of likeable guys doing a very tough and dangerous job (and they're still out there doing it now). You'll gain new insight into what it's like to fly and fight the F-14 Tomcat, how the Navy interacts with the Air Force, what happens on a strike planning mission, and how life with enlisted men (and women, nowadays) can often be tedious and not a little frustrating. Happily, the only "love story" (which seems to be a requirement of late) woven into the fabric of this multi-colored tail is Punk's remote relationship with his girl, which is touched upon but barely enough to slow down the story. Mostly, its a wonderfully accurate and revealing look at life among the Navy's carrier elite - fighter pilots. Carroll is also to be commended for not assuming the reader alreadys knows everything there is to know about Navy life. When he writes about life in the ready room, he describes how it looks (and it sounds exactly like everyone I've ever been in). If there's a complicated piece of equipment used by the aircraft crew, he names it and what it does. But mostly this is a story about people, men who fly and fight F-14 Tomcats, and those who command them. If you

Ward Carroll joins the short list of modern military novelists who have earned their stripes and who write with authenticity borne from their experience. Carroll's novel "Punk's War" earns highest marks for an exciting story and strong technical detail. But it is the development of the personalities of the VF104 Arrow Slingers that I found the most engaging. Having been a junior officer in the Navy a few years before Punk, I had experienced the same feelings that Punk and his shipmates confront about the Navy and their careers. Each understands the noble cause they serve and the need for sacrifice, but endures unnecessary frustration, boredom, isolation, and danger.I salute Carroll for his FEARLESS account of the experiences of modern naval aviators and for counseling us to never forget why we serve.

For one interested in modern Naval Aviation, Commander Carroll has written a fascinating volume for your information and pleasure.The book is a novel about aircraft carrier operations in the post Desert Storm era, enforcing the no-fly zone over southern Iraq.Here the reader is treated to an insider's look at the workings of an aircraft carrier at sea; launching and recovering jets, night flights, and living conditions aboard ship. But more importantly, Commander Carroll pulls back the cover of glitz and glamor of jet fighter pilots to reveal the inner workings of the mirad of inter-personal relationships that exist in a modern jet fighter squadron, aboard a nuclear aircraft carrier, and ashore in the Pentagon and other command-and-control headquarters that supervise and manage Naval Aviation.The reader is shown how the decisions of one man in a pressure situation can affect the delicate balance that exists between war and peace. But there's more. Commander Carroll has also entertwined throughout the entire 224 pages of this story the stuggle of character that is present at all levels of leadership. We see the difficult tension that always exists between honesty and deception, between integrity and pragmatism. There are many valuable lessons about ethics and leadership in these pages.Don't let the title fool you; this nations needs men like Punk. May his tribe increase!