Book Review: Soldiers Without Borders - A Global Network of Brothers-In-Arms

No book epitomizes the nature of today's globalized world more than Ian McPhedran's "Soldiers Without Borders," a book that covers the post-Australia SAS (Special Air Service) lives of multiple former soldiers.

The alumni of the SAS are situated around the world, comprising a tightly-knitted network of individuals and families with the shared values of trust, high-level competency, and "mateship." From corporate boardrooms to the latest hot-zones to the Australian political scene, Mr. McPhedran profiles from chapter to chapter the full spectrum of journies upon which so many retired SAS individuals have found themselves over the years.

One of the surprises was how many individuals have roles within the United Arab Emirates armed forces as instructors and even officers. It is also interesting to read about how the special forces from the US and Britain are perceived by the Australian special forces during their service time together abroad in Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere.

I only have a couple issues with the book:

1. Mr. McPhedran recycles some of the lazy arguments and half-truths about the Bush Administration's lead up to the invasion of Iraq. There is plenty to criticize the Bush Administration for, but these snarky comments add zero value to the book and at times take away from the books solid tone and main purpose.
2. Because Mr. McPhedran uses a lot of first names and fake names to protect identities, it is sometimes difficult to keep track of who he is writing about when. The fact that a few of the chapters are a bit disjointed, with little help in linking back and forth the various characters, is slightly annoying.

Overall, I recommend this book highly, especially for those who enjoy reading about life journies and / or are interested in military-market linkages.

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