Reflection on Joker One: A Marine Platoon’s Story of Courage, Leadership, and Brotherhood by Donovan Campbell

              This was a great book to read before going to OCS. It’s all about a Marine infantry platoon in Iraq in 2004 and the story is told by their Lieutenant who authored the book. It explains really well all the basics of military organization and life and for that it was very useful to me. A lot of life lessons are universally applicable, like this one: “Marines could accept even the harshest punishment with equanimity provided that 1) they understood the rules well in advance of the infringement, 2) they felt that the mandated sentence was appropriate for the misdeed, and 3) they were confident that you, as the punishment's administrator, would have doled out the same penalty to anyone else in their situation.” It seems like a fair and smart way to lead in any capacity. The book, like any book about the war in Iraq, reveals the futility of that war. It quickly became a matter of just getting all of his men out alive, which meant that the mission was no longer the primary focus. No one was prepared to fight as hard as the Iraqi insurgents and the presence of Americans only served to draw in more fighting and violence. It is incredibly sad that America sacrificed its best to a doomed war. Their bravery is inspiring and they were truly determined to serve their country even though we put them in a terrible situation.