One Bullet Away: The Making of a Marine Officer by Nathaniel Fick

  (out of 5 stars)

US Marine Corps officer Nathaniel Fick's memoir describes his experiences in Marine Corps OCS, the War in Afghanistan, and the Iraq War. As a Lieutenant, Fick was a lower-grade officer who saw a great deal of front line action, especially while commanding a platoon in Bravo Company, First Force Recon as part of the tip of the spear during the invasion of Iraq in 2003. His memoir is very well written and provides a key insight into the positives and negatives of fighting wars within the Marine Corps command chain.

Fick decided to join the Marines in order to test himself, and enlists in OCS prior to his senior year at Columbia. After completing his training, he finished school before officially joining the Corps and heading off for training which included a variety of tough tests, including SERE training.

Fick was shipping off for his first international deployment when September 11 took place, and while at sea, his unit got orders to prepare for the invasion of Afghanistan. He took part in a few missions in that theater before being offered a chance to join the elite Recon Marines.

As part of First Force Recon, Fick led his platoon across the berms and into Iraq during the invasion, and was often involved in heavy firefights. Fick, an intelligent and tactically-aware commander, often chaffed under the rigid Marine Corps command structure and openly challenged his CO a couple of times when the orders were clearly wrongheaded. His attitude was not necessarily acceptable to his commanders, and once or twice nearly caused him to be punished, but his men knew they had a strong leader looking out for them and ensuring their ability to accomplish the mission was never compromised.

Fick's insights into the early days of the way, and especially the ways in which the strategies played out, open a unique view of the seeds planted which later turned into a full-blown insurgency. An easy read from start-to-finish, One Bullet Away is a solid addition to the shelves of any military reader, along with Generation Kill, journalist Evan Wright's book (and HBO miniseries) which saw Wright embedded in Fick's platoon. Four stars.