Major Caraccilo

The Persian Gulf War is replete with stories of warriors who rose to the occasion and displayed those leadership attributes necessary to produce victory for the Allies. As the Air Component Commander for the US Central Command (CENTCOM) during Operation Desert Storm, Air Force General Chuck Horner epitomized the highest level of leadership. He masterfully designed and then flawlessly executed one of the most devastating air campaigns in history. In his second nonfiction book in a series that began with the acclaimed Into the Storm: A Study in Command, Tom Clancy once again offers an insider's look into the processes that forged victory in the 1991 Middle East War. Every Man a Tiger is a provocative look at the personalities and intricacies of military command. Writing with now-retired General Horner, Clancy verifies that he is a master at storytelling. Clancy and Horner trace the organizational success story of the U.S. Air Force's rise from the tribulations of Vietnam to the heights of victory in the Persian Gulf.

This book is both a comprehensive study of how the air campaign matured into an awesome display of power and precision, and a coming-of-age story of the United States Air Force. Then-Lieutenant General Chuck Horner wore two hats by mid-1990. As the Ninth Air Force Commander stationed in the continental United States, Horner was part of the United States Tactical Air Command, ready to provide air power to any one of the regional commands positioned throughout the world. However, when war was inevitable in the Middle East, Horner donned his second hat, that of leading the Central Command's Air Force, the air arm of General Norman Schwarzkopf's Central Command.

This is where Clancy picks up the story. He places the reader center stage on that fateful day in August 1990, when Horner was alerted to form the air forces that, some eight months later, would punish the Iraqi enemy. Interjecting stories about Horner's career, Clancy analyzes battle damage assessments, new information on sortie missions flown during the war, and details about how the massive Allied coalition was formed. Exploring the career of a fighter jock in combat, Clancy offers a peek into what makes a warrior like Chuck Horner great, and at the same time provides a useful analysis of how this warrior achieved victory.

Major Dominic Caraccilo is the Operations Officer of the 3rd Brigade, 101st Airborne (Air Assault) in Fort Campbell, Kentucky.

Mystery & Suspense, Suspense

Mystery & Suspense Suspense

In Danger’s Path

Review by Major Caraccilo

by Major Caraccilo

W.E.B. Griffin’s 27th novel and eighth in his Marine corps series, In Danger’s Path: A Corps Novel, is a mixture of real-life historical personalities that includes the likes of President Franklin Roosevelt, General Douglas MacArthur, Admiral Chester Nimitz, and OSS Director William Donovan. As with all of his novels, Griffin superimposes this story on a historically based scenario allowing his fictional characters the ability to interact with the icons of World War II.

Using missions in the Philippines, the Gobi Desert of Chinese Mongolia, and Second World War United States as the lens through which he portrays this complex yet cohesive novel, Griffin once again proves that he is a master of storytelling.

Portraying an odyssey full of secret missions, separated loves, and reacquainted friends, Griffin skillfully intertwines a full spectrum of plots. Brigadier General Fleming Pickering, newly appointed head of the OSS’ Pacific operations during World War II, is Griffin’s hero in this novel. President Roosevelt assigns Fleming this position in a desperate measure to find someone to unite the warring interests of MacArthur, Nimitz, and Donovan. Accompanying Pickering as protagonists are a myriad of characters in an underlining two-fold plot: rescuing a band of former American serviceman and their dependents on the run from Japanese capture and, at the same time, establishing a weather station in the Gobi Desert to aid aerial attacks against the Japanese homeland.

Men like Ed Banning, Ken McCoy, Jake Dillion, and, much to Pickering’s surprise, his own son Malcolm participate in this and other exciting missions. Together, they venture incognito into enemy territory fully aware of the risks involved. Each of Griffin’s characters has his own story interwoven into a seamless narrative that’s sure to surprise readers in the end.

In Danger’s Path is historical fiction defining the Pacific Rim during WWII and a coming-of-age story. Of the 125 different novels Griffin has written, including those written under each of his eight different pseudonyms, In Danger’s Path, may be his best yet.

Major Dominic Caraccilo is the Operations Officer of the 3rd Brigade, 101st Airborne (Air Assault) in Fort Campbell, Kentucky.

W.E.B. Griffin's 27th novel and eighth in his Marine corps series, In Danger's Path: A Corps Novel, is a mixture of real-life historical personalities that includes the likes of President Franklin Roosevelt, General Douglas MacArthur, Admiral Chester Nimitz, and OSS Director William Donovan. As with…