John R. Bruning

Michael Golembesky

Follows the members of U.S. Marine Special Operations Team 8222 on their assignment to the remote and isolated Taliban stronghold known as Bala Murghab as they tried to break the Taliban's grip on the valley.

The Story of U.S. Marine Special Operations in Bala Murghab, Afghanistan

Level Zero Heroes

Jeremy Anderberg

Written five years ago, Level Zero Heroes was an immediate bestseller as a combo of battle memoir and exposé of the war in Afghanistan. Golembesky was part of a Marine Corps Special Operations team (like the SEALs, but the Marine version) which was tasked with seizing control of a small valley from the Taliban.

Bombs were a frequent companion in this book; Golembesky's job was as a JTAC, which is the person on the ground who calls in and directs air strikes to help aid the forces on the ground.

Honestly, I haven't read that many books about the war in Afghanistan, but this one is sure to be the standard bearer for any future reading I do. It's written with a depth of honesty that isn't often seen in war memoirs. Yes, there are gripping, crazy battle scenes — including ones that would be hard to believe in novel form. But the real strength of the book is how Golembesky writes about the brotherhood of the soldiers in his team. Even when given inexplicable orders, or hamstrung by well-intentioned but ineffective Rules of Engagement, these men fought for each and for their nation without batting an eye. (Those are aspects he touches on quite a bit actually, which made the book draw comparisons to the classic Catch-22.)

In our modern age, Americans aren't connected to our wars like we were in the middle part of the 20th century. Most missions and battles are carried out by small, highly-trained special ops units like Michael's. This book helps the average reader connect to what's happening — we get a glimpse of what that war is really like. To Michael's credit, he even gets into the paradoxically exciting aspects. He notes how plainly badass it is to direct an American jet to drop a huge bomb on an enemy stronghold and how remarkable it is to see bravery and courage on a level that is hard to replicate outside of a battlefield.

Level Zero Heroes is a great story, and really well written. It's touching, exciting, jaw-dropping, angering — I wasn't expecting it, frankly, but the pages just kept turning themselves.

Level Zero Heroes The Story of U.S. Marine Special Operations in Bala Murghab, Afghanistan

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