.
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by Robert M. Kurtz.
Hardback (6.3×9.3 inches). 222 pages. 2025.
Subtitle: Two Years as a Security Contractor in Iraq
First-person account of a Personal Security Detail contractor covers his activities in Iraq from 2004 to 2007. Like most, he was ex-military — in this case 12 years in the US military. Other nationalities populated the ranks of the contractors.
All the chapters are short, from one to three pages, and cover one assignment or observation. You get a sense of the chaos in Iraq as he becomes the bodyguard for various clients. Much of what he did was pure anxiety that mostly went off without a hitch, but numerous close encounters with IEDs, hit teams, and suicide bombers populate the pages.
In many ways, this was like the Olde Wild West in transporting executive and technical personnel across the country from one fort to another. They try and fix infrastructure and set up relief operations. The terrorists try to kill them before they do.
One interesting point was that the number one firearm for contractors was the AKM, an upgraded model of the AK-47 (p98). The second favorite was the H&K MP5 submachine gun (p100). These were provided by the contracting company, although it was not unknown for contractors to buy additional weaponry.
Also of note, recreational games could be any type as long as they were not set in the Middle East (p116). The Halo first-person shoot-’em-up video game was a favorite.
A quirk: many infrastructure projects and friendly bases seem to be 400 acres and a number of dollar amounts are $400. I’m not sure why this number is significant, but it’s something in his mind.
The book contains 25 color photos.
It’s a quick read and offers a few personnel shuttles and convoy escort scenarios. The reality is not a spate of shoot-outs, but avoiding shoot-outs in the first place.
Enjoyed it.
— Reviewed by Russ Lockwood
