Seals the Warrior Breed: Enduring Freedom

"Enduring Freedom," by H. Jay Riker, is the story of a team of Navy SEALs whose duty takes them on a mission to Afghanistan after the 9/11 terrorist attack against the United States. The book's title references Operation Enduring Freedom, the military campaign against the Taliban regime and the Al Qaeda terrorist organization. In an afterword dated Spring 2005, the author states, "This is a work of fiction, based on real-world events." A blurb on the back cover notes that this novel is book ten in the "SEALs The Warrior Breed" series; the preceding volumes are listed inside the front cover, and include such titles as "Medal of Honor" and "Silver Star." "Enduring Freedom" opens with a prologue dated September 11, 2001; the rest of the sections of the narrative are also dated, and span from December 27, 2001 to January 1, 2002. Riker is a good storyteller; although this novel is substantial in size at 426 pages, it is a fast and entertaining read. The book does have its flaws. At times the narration and dialogue struck me as being corny or cliched. Also, a debate between two characters on the purpose of the war in Afghanistan is poorly developed by the author. But overall I was impressed at how Riker intelligently incorporated some important themes into the adventure narrative. Particularly interesting is the theme of SEALs dealing with issues of cross-cultural insight as they operate in foreign environments; Riker's SEALs are challenged to use their intellect and diplomatic skill in addition to their muscles and prowess with weapons. Also significant is the book's critique of the "Rumsfeld Doctrine" of warfare. Riker also explores the mechanics by which different organizations--SEALs, the CIA, anti-Taliban Afghans, etc.--work together in combat operations. And while the book presents an overall positive image of the U.S. military, Riker also touches on the potential moral ambiguities of the Afghanistan campaign. The book covers action not just in Afghanistan, but also in other locales, and at times has an entertaining sort of "James Bond" flavor. There is plenty of explosive combat action. I liked how Riker incorporated real-world events and people into the story--U.S. President George Bush even becomes a "character" in the book via his televised addresses to the nation in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. Also worthy of note is the detailed attention Riker pays to the hardware used by his SEALs for combat, communication, and intel gathering--it's a feast for fans of technical talk. But who is H. Jay Riker? I believe the answer lies in the anthology "Future Wars," edited by Martin H. Greenberg and Larry Segriff (DAW Books, 2003). One of the anthology's contributors is William H. Keith, Jr., and a short paragraph notes of Keith, "Writing under the pseudonym of H. Jay Riker, he's responsible for the extremely popular _SEALS: The Warrior Breed_ series."

I was very excited when I knew this author would take the series into the present. For the most part this seems very accurate and as good as the Warrior Breed series that dealt with Vietnam. I am hoping he continues with the GWOT (still focusing on Afghanistan and Iraq). I was kind of surprised on one of the major details (at least I felt) in the weapons choice, primarily the MP5, which seems to be a weapon that is only used in CQB and then rarely. I was kind of disappointed by this minor detail.