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(More customer reviews)Mr. Tom Willard, in book #5 of his Black Sabre Chronicles: Sword of Valor has done a great injustice to 2nd Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment, the 101st Aviation Brigade, the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), and Ft. Campbell and their involvement in Operations Desert Shield and Storm. While, on one hand, he touts the book "as a teaching tool... to provide insight into the African-American experience in... [American] military service" what is in the other hand paints a very different picture. His characterization of a female African-American pilot (LT Sharps) as one who is controlled by her hormones for a Special Forces officer and one who continually makes decisions not in keeping with flight regulations and what is best for her soldiers and the Army. His portrayal of the Sharps family as one that can never do wrong, one that has no black sheep or deviants in 130 years, rings of "positive racism" for lack of a better term. Mr. Willard's lack of knowledge of Ft. Campbell, Clarksville Base, Fiddler's Green, Sabre Army Heliport, and the surrounding communities indicate that he has not been to any of them. His lack of knowledge about military equipment, Army procedures and Cavalry traditions indicate that he has not done the necessary research, even though most could be obtained on the Internet. He referred to an OH-58D Kiowa Warrior as an OH-54D. He has the Kiowa Warrior in the book when the 2-17th Cavalry did not get them until 1996. He never mentions what Troop LT Sharps is in or if she has a Stetson Cavalry hat and spurs or not. He has LT Sharps allow a sick pilot to attempt a flight. He has LT Sharps fly a reconnaissance mission in her Kiowa by herself because the sick pilot couldn't make the flight. He has LT Sharps fly that Kiowa in a flight of one aircraft. All of the three preceding points are against flight regulations. The first is a demonstration that LT Sharps does not take care of her soldiers. The second is physically impossible because one person cannot fly the helicopter and operate the reconnaissance equipment at the same time. He has LT Sharps allow a reporter impersonating an officer to continue his deception. He does not explore the professional working relationships LT Sharps would have with her Troop Commander, Troop First Sergeant, fellow pilots and crew chiefs. He had a recommendation for an award for LT Sharps be submitted to LTC Cody who was the commander of an Apache Battalion, not the Squadron Commander of 2-17th Cavalry. He implies that the Kiowas and Apaches are part of the same battalion named the 101st Aviation Battalion. In reality, the Apaches are 3 battalions and the Kiowas are 1 (battalion-sized) squadron that are part of the 101st Aviation Brigade. He has the Commander of a National Guard water unit personally deliver a three-day pass to a specialist, thereby bypassing this soldier's Platoon Leader, Platoon Sergeant, and Squad Leader. He has C-17 cargo planes in the book when they did not enter full active service until 1995. There are more errors than what I have listed. In the light of these errors and the character flaws of LT Sharps, I am not sure what positive lessons this "teaching tool" is intending to impart, if any. I will not be recommending this book to my fellow soldiers.
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Tom Willard's critically acclaimed Black Sabre Chronicles trace the 130-year history of the Sharps military family from the time of the Western Indian Wars through the two World Wars, Vietnam, and, in this fifth and final novel, the Gulf War of 1990-1991.Lieutenant Argonne Sharps is a West Pointer and the only black woman to pilot a Kiowa reconnaissance helicopter in the 101st Airborne "Screaming Eagles" division. She is assigned to the Persian Gulf in preparation for the 101st's deployment to Saudi Arabia in Operation Desert Shield, and in its behind-the-lines assault into Iraq in Operation Desert Storm.Her valor in "extracting" Special Forces officer Jerome Moody from Kuwait City earns Argonne a Bronze Star citation and Moody's undying gratitude-and love. Argonne's experiences in the Gulf War impact her family at the Black Sabre Ranch in Arizona-a military family anguishing over seeing their beloved daughter become the first woman, and fifth generation of Sharpses to go to war.Tom Willard's intimate knowledge of combat-earned in Vietnam-gives Sword of Valor a special ring of authenticity as the brief, high-tech war unfolds, and the Sharps family history of warfare unfolds with it.
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