Dick James

"Slurp Sends" by Dick James is a "Cliff Notes" version of what it takes to become an Army Green Beret in fourteen months or less. It is written in such a way that both veterans and civilians can relate to and/or learn from it. As an Army veteran, I often laughed out loud while reading some of the methods used by Drill Sergeants when treating recruits during basic and AiT training in the early 1960s, and then recalling similar instances during my training in 1970; hilarious today but not funny at the time. One thing that sticks out for me in the book is during jump school in Ft. Benning, when it was stated to the recruits that "gnats" were the Georgia state bird and killing them would result in severe punishment. Were you ever pestered by swarms of gnats that buzzed your face and ears? Not only can the experience sharpen your karate skills, but in this case, having to ignore them for fear of retribution is truly a lesson of discipline.

The author also cites many of the actual military rules, regulations, general orders, marching cadences, and other nuances that trainees must memorize and cite verbatim when challenged by superiors. Readers will see that sleep and free time are a rare commodity during military training and the cadre will ensure that recruits are always busy. Yet, the author shares ways to "ghost".

I found the Special Forces training intriguing and quite extensive. However, I was unaware of the constant gap of time between training classes when trainees had to wait until the class was filled. Surely, the military could have found the time better utilized than performing KP or painting rocks white during that downtime.

For all they endure, readers will learn that Green Berets are a special breed of individual.

I highly recommend "Slurp Sends" to anyone interested in Special Forces or even considering enlistment in the future. There's a wealth of information included within, and to some, it could even become their compass.

Great job brother! Thank you for your service and sacrifice to our great nation.… (more)