I miss the old work, the boys, and the national mission. You know the deal, Brandon. This, I’m sure, is no different from how most SOF guys feel when they jack it in. Some arm up and contract overseas, some teach shooting and CQB, some delve into a startup. I simply chose to peddle my wares from the hotel sofa and am extremely thankful and lucky to have an agent and editor who allow me to fend off my demons how I see fit, more or less. Of course, without faithful readers willing to give new authors a shot, I’d be looking to update my passport photo, too.
3. Can you give us a snap shot of the current book?
FULL ASSAULT MODE, book 3 in the Delta Force Thriller series, took longer than I wanted it to (see the critic comment above), but I’m excited it finally made it off the laptop.
Embracing the daily suck in eastern Afghanistan, Delta Force Major Kolt “Racer” Raynor finally pulls execute authority from COMJSOC to snatch an HVI across the border in Pakistan. Shit goes bad, the fuckers up at platoon are screaming “abort,” but death-wish Racer won’t hear of it. Not after they have put a ton of effort into the target folder and one of his boys has PID-ed the targeted personality alone, while pulling a singleton mission. Huge cool points for getting it done, but many narrowed their eyes at Racer’s judgment call.
Back home, dodging a 15-6 Investigation and the purgatory of mandatory up-or-out officer schooling, Kolt is recruited into Tungsten, a blacker than black NCA eyes-only program that uses alternative methods to solve our nation’s toughest problems. One of those problems is al-Qaeda’s insatiable thirst to attack the USA, this time our critical infrastructure. Hitting the power grid, if successful, will kill a hundred times more than we lost on 9/11.
4. It seems like the Special Operations community is getting better about accepting former Operators who have taken up writing non-fiction and fiction. What’s your experience been with this?
Are you kidding? Maybe some of the community has, but not the Tier One units. It’s always going to be a very in-depth personal decision to write non-fictionally about any special operations unit, but Delta and SEAL Team Six particularly come with ball and chain – don’t expect there to be too much spiritual support from within.
For sure, I violated the unwritten code, the proverbial first rule of Fight Club. But if the book helped one decision maker’s thought process, when the intel picture was sketchy, or things weren’t General Officer book-perfect actionable, and the window of opportunity was closing fast, then it was entirely worth it.
As for my fiction, as long as the SOF veteran writer is still sensitive to special programs, relationships, and SOF-unique tactics, techniques, and procedures – essentially respecting his responsibility to the men and ongoing mission – then he should be less worried about what their former organization thinks and more worried about putting together the next all-nighter nail biter for the reader. They have moved on and so should the vet.
5. Since I have your attention. Two questions. 1: If you had five minutes with McRaven, who heads up SOCOM, and he asked your opinion of current operational temp and force readiness for the future, how would you answer him? 2: What’s your thinking on US foreign policy these days?
Aaahhh, no softball questions to close this out, I see. The last time I saw McRaven, he was standing there worried about what we were going to do with Saddam Hussein three weeks after he was pulled from his rat hole in Tikrit. The rub was that Saddam’s prison cell location had been compromised and that some of his diehard supporters might attempt a jail break. I was the Unit liaison to the CIA then, and he had the Chief of Base and me scouring Baghdad International for some suitable dark holes.
I respect him for sure, always have, and think he has been the right guy at the right time for SOCOM, especially so at JSOC after following the tough act of McChrystal. And, yes, even though McRaven is a former Sixer, he most certainly doesn’t need my opinion on how to run his outfit.
I do worry, though, about the standards and OPTEMPO of SOF – the latter driving the former. I remember the days when nobody else wore black Velcro, slanted shoulder pockets, or tucked their fatigue top into their pants. All of a sudden, everyone looks alike on the battlefield. But that’s obviously not a unique selection and assessment process based on a proven set of tried and true standards.
In my day, we had a hard time filling every operator billet. It’s hard for me to imagine increasing the force size substantially while still maintaining the same standards. But I’ve been out a long time and left behind guys much smarter than me. No hidden sarcasm at all, I’m sure they have it all figured out.
Besides watering the selection standards, PTSD and TBI problems in our specops vets also touch my heart. Here is where I give McRaven’s influence high marks, as he and his command team have done a truly remarkable job in awareness, treatment, and removing the stigma from the guys that have experienced the ugly side of war. Depending on your perspective, war might only be ugly.
As for the ten-pound head question, my pay grade was never high enough to worry about the direction of our Foreign Policy, but like many vets, there are things that rub me the wrong way. However, God bless those who stand up to seek high office and are put through scrutiny every day by millions of Americans who think they know better.
I do hate political correctness, particularly when our highest leaders are flat-out scared to use the term “Muslim” or “Islam,” and refuse to believe that there are a certain group of extremists that could give two shits about how many wells we dig in Afghanistan or schools we build in the Horn of Africa. Many of us have worked very closely with Muslims during the wars and fully understand not all secretly have it in for us.
But the Fort Hood shooting in 2009 is a perfect example. The President and his ilk know damn well it was terrorism, just like Benghazi, but it doesn’t fit the narrative of al-Qaeda as “on the run”, “decimated”, and “on the path to defeat.” A simple look at the number of green-on-blue in Afghanistan is proof that our standards don’t necessarily excite everyone else.
6. What’s your opinion of SOFREP and the other mil blogs on the Internet?
Really have no opinion as long as OPSEC and protection of TTPs is maintained by the host. I read SOFREP articles pretty regularly and you guys do a great job in sharing the uniqueness of special operations without compromising the next OP Neptune Spear. They seem to have accurate information more often than most and I enjoy reading Jack Murphy and Kerry Patton’s insights, which, with their obvious contacts in certain places, separates SOFREP from most of the others. The other blogs I’m usually reading think Dalton Fury is a traitor. So, keeping it light, thanks for the opportunity to talk to you guys.
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