This book was fantastic. I really enjoyed reading about the National Guard unit stationed in the Middle East and all the trials they faced while deployed. I liked how the book tied in the stories of each member and their families back home. It made the story more personal and more impactful. I will be recommending this book to others. Thank you for the opportunity to read it early!

This book is a bit like war, most of the time not much is happening but then there are occasionally dramatic moments. This makes it hard to rate because there were certainly some strong moments about the damage of war (the final chapter on how the soldiers struggled to adjust to civilian life after they returned is the strongest in the book) but large parts of the book were very bland.

There are so many names and people mentioned in the book that it's impossible to follow them all or feel any connection with any of them (this problem is worst at the start of the book). There is no overarching story in the book, instead it is mainly anecdotes and recollections about a series of raids and IED explosions. This might be an accurate depiction of war, but it doesn't make for an interesting read.

There is very little context of the war in Iraqi, seemingly because the soldiers themselves didn't think or care about this. Instead there is a very simplistic view where the insurgents are the bad guys and the soldiers have to get them and no more context than that is needed.

The author has a very romantic and glorified view of the National Guard, viewing them as noble citizen soldiers, the backbone of the military and the heart of local communities, an institution that treats all its members as family. I don't believe there was a single word of criticism against any Guard member in the book. The book opens with a ridiculous comparison between the militia who fought at Lexington and Concord and the current National Guard, arguing they are the same and carry out the same fight.