War

Sergeant Brendan O’Byrne is one of the best interviews in Second Platoon. He lived a hard life as a kid, then straightened up and signed up. He patrols the Korengal with Battle Company’s Second Platoon. Despite the dangers, O’Byrne loves the work, misses it when his tour ends, and struggles for a while back in the US before quitting alcohol, getting married, and settling into civilian life.

O’Byrne’s views are pretty similar to those of his platoon mates; his fears, intense loyalty, and struggles at home also typify those of the other men. The author quotes O’Byrne more than any other soldier, and he follows up on O’Byrne, meeting with him multiple times after the young sergeant retires from the service.

Juan Restrepo is a platoon medic widely admired for his courage, good spirits, and concern for the men. Restrepo is killed during a firefight, and the company builds a new firebase up in the Korengal hills, naming it in his honor. Restrepo also is the name of Junger’s documentary film version of the experiences covered in War.

The attention Second Platoon soldiers give to Restrepo’s memory, especially the naming of their outpost after him, reflects the men’s extreme devotion for each other, a central theme of the book.

A team leader in First Platoon, Sal Giunta rescues Sergeant Josh Brennan during a deadly Taliban ambush, pulling the seriously wounded Brennan from the hands of insurgents trying to kidnap him. Though Brennan later dies of his wounds, the US in 2010 awards Giunta the Medal of Honor for his actions. Giunta’s ceremony is the book’s closing scene, where it’s noted that no award can repair the losses of war or bring back the dead.

Giunta wants to share his award with the entire platoon. His heroic deeds seem remarkable to outsiders, but readers quickly understand that, among platoon members, his actions are considered a normal response to deadly emergencies, that most or all of the soldiers place their lives at the service of the platoon and would take the same risks, and that anything less would feel like letting down the people they care about.

The only Black soldier in Second Platoon, Jones is powerfully built and very athletic. His college sports scholarship fell through, and he missed out on higher education; instead, he drifted awhile and “made thousands of dollars selling drugs before joining the Army to avoid getting killed on the streets of Reno” (21). Jones knew what it was like to get shot at, and he was comfortable with the idea of going into battle; if he were to lose his life in that way, to him, it would seem a much more worthwhile ending than dying while selling contraband.

Jones has an eccentric sense of humor and is always good for a funny comment. He can be caustic, and he pulls no punches. Of Third Platoon, a group he doesn’t respect at all, he says, “Personally, I won’t follow them into a Dairy Queen” (82). The author cites him more than anyone in the platoon except O’Byrne. Jones loves combat; he’s an excellent gunner—he prefers the massive .50 caliber machine gun—and a smart tactician. His cynical-yet-capable mindset and gallows humor typify the attitude of most of the platoon’s members.

Captain Dan Kearney leads Battle Company, home of Second Platoon, from KOP headquarters. Hard-working and a sensible leader, Kearney does what he can with limited resources to try to wrest control of the Korengal Valley from Taliban insurgents. Kearney makes great efforts to win the trust and cooperation of local elders; his strategic decisions don’t always work, but they’re always worth trying, and the men under his command follow his orders and then adapt on the fly. His soldiers respect him, and the author mentions no complaints about him.

Kearney displays solid leadership, earnest competence, and a sincere willingness to achieve policy goals that consider the needs of local residents. Despite this, resource limitations often combine with the nightmarish situation on the battlefront to frustrate his efforts. His experience points up the problems and failures of US policy in the region and how competent people can come up short through no fault of their own.

Battalion commander Lieutenant Colonel William Ostlund is “insanely fit,” looks like a matinee idol, works 18-hour days, and has tremendous enthusiasm for the task at hand. Ostlund shows up periodically to size up Battle Company’s progress and negotiate with village elders. He “made repeated offers to grant temporary immunity to any Taliban leaders who would meet with him” (136), but locals are reluctant to help him.

As the highest-ranking member of the US Army who appears in the book, Ostlund represents the earnest but ultimately futile US project to pacify eastern Afghanistan.

Scout squad leader Larry Rougle, a staff sergeant, is a “legendary badass and some kind of ultimate soldier” (80). His Scouts are lightly equipped, fast-moving, and good at observing enemy activity from hidden positions around the valley. During the Taliban ambush on Abas Ghar ridge, Rougle dies, shot several times, including through the head, as if executed while wounded. Rougle’s death hits the other platoons hard; thereafter, Battle Company’s goals for domination of the Korengal become more measured.