Robert Semrau's book "The Taliban Don't Wave"

[daftandbarmy]

FWIW, I checked with some folks in the UK and he did actually serve in the Parachute Regiment as an OR.

Walt hunt: negative.  ;D

 

[Journeyman]

Welcome to the 4,000 year old world of war stories.

Enjoy the MilPoints  :nod: 

 

[dogger1936]

Got my copy in the mail today. Look forward to the read.

 

[jollyjacktar]

Reading it now.  I'll make comment on what I liked/disliked about it after I'm done.

 

[jollyjacktar]

I finished the book and found it to be an interesting read.  The book covers from his first arrival to the day CFNIS arrived to take him away.  Some of the dialogue is a bit much, but then again he's not an author by trade or training.  He manages to tell his story and although he does not cover those fateful 10 minutes I was OK with that as the reader.

At the end, I still have the opinion he was stabbed in the back and thrown under the PC bus by the system.  An opinion I held at the time of his trial and will always do I suspect.  :2c: 

 

[Timmy!]

Can I borrow it?

 

[jollyjacktar]

Can I borrow it?

Sure can.  I borrowed it from the public library.

 

[observor 69]

Sure can.  I borrowed it from the public library.

And that is where I got mine also.

Regards making any comment on the book, I will let "Maj.-Gen. Lewis MacKenzie"  speak for my view point on Capt. Semrau's experience  and actions in Afghanistan.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gy59Wj_ObV8

 

[Dissident]

Just finished Chapter 5. The first paragraph hit me right in the feel. The chapter as a whole made me want to scream/kick baby seals/strangle some people.

 

[FJAG]

Just finished the book and am somewhat torn as to my thoughts.

The one thing that I do appreciate is a view from the inside of how an OMLT interfaced with its Afghan allies and the Canadian Battle Gp elements. I haven't seen that from too many books anywhere else and in that respect this is a good and educational read.

On the other hand I find the author's style and information delivered somewhat lacking.

The whole book is permeated with sophomoric rhetoric and a simplified view of individuals and events. The author and his immediate intimates are generally portrayed as men of vision, bravado and pragmatism while numerous others are often described as pompous, dogmatic, incompetent or cowardly. The narrative is entirely too facile and I was left with a feeling that I was missing part of the full story.

I was particularly disappointed with his treatment of the incident for which he was court martialed. It's dismissed in a few paragraphs which in themselves were an overly simplified sparse summary of a tiny part of the evidence at trial. As to his own views all he states is that the "truth of the moment will always be between me and the insurgent". Since the case against him is complete and he is no longer in legal jeopardy it seems a cop out not to share his motivations and thoughts with others particularly after all the support he has received from the troops.

If you are looking for more information about the OMLT program beyond the author's own personal experiences then you will need to look elsewhere as there is very little here.

I have recently read a number of books, both by soldiers and officers, that bring wonderful insight into their and their comrades personal experiences in combat. In my opinion, this one not so much.

 

[daftandbarmy]

Just finished the book and am somewhat torn as to my thoughts.

The one thing that I do appreciate is a view from the inside of how an OMLT interfaced with its Afghan allies and the Canadian Battle Gp elements. I haven't seen that from too many books anywhere else and in that respect this is a good and educational read.

On the other hand I find the author's style and information delivered somewhat lacking.

The whole book is permeated with sophomoric rhetoric and a simplified view of individuals and events. The author and his immediate intimates are generally portrayed as men of vision, bravado and pragmatism while numerous others are often described as pompous, dogmatic, incompetent or cowardly. The narrative is entirely too facile and I was left with a feeling that I was missing part of the full story.

I was particularly disappointed with his treatment of the incident for which he was court martialed. It's dismissed in a few paragraphs which in themselves were an overly simplified sparse summary of a tiny part of the evidence at trial. As to his own views all he states is that the "truth of the moment will always be between me and the insurgent". Since the case against him is complete and he is no longer in legal jeopardy it seems a cop out not to share his motivations and thoughts with others particularly after all the support he has received from the troops.

If you are looking for more information about the OMLT program beyond the author's own personal experiences then you will need to look elsewhere as there is very little here.

I have recently read a number of books, both by soldiers and officers, that bring wonderful insight into their and their comrades personal experiences in combat. In my opinion, this one not so much.

You just don't 'get' the Infantry, do you?  ;D

 

[FJAG]

You just don't 'get' the Infantry, do you?  ;D

At the risk of  :deadhorse: I actually do get them.

After four years in the regular artillery followed by four years in the infantry on the reserve side I've spent a considerable time with both infantry officers and soldiers in both professional and social situations and still count several infanteers amongst my friends.

What I'll freely admit is that I've never been to Afghanistan or to war and therefore I have a definite lack of personal experience in that area.

And that's exactly my point. Semrau is known to the general public, who also haven't been to war, and therefore he had a great opportunity to tell them the story of young Canadian soldiers working in difficult conditions in Afghanistan. While he does that in part, a lot of the message that he could have told is lost in the way he tells his story. I expected more from a 35 year old Captain than glib jokes, sarcasm, thinly veiled contempt and pseudonyms, and references to Klingons, Starship Troopers and other movies, TV shows and music, etc.

Quite frankly I received a better, more mature understanding about the life of young infantry soldiers from Cpl Flavelle's book The Patrol which covered some of the same time frame and locales as Semrau's book. Flavelle saw very little action in those short seven days but throughout the book you could empathise with him and his comrades every step of the way.

When Flavelle was done with his story I felt as if I'd been on that patrol with B Company.

With Semrau's book I felt like an outsider watching a train wreck.

While Semrau spent his time trying to tell the reader what a great soldier he is, Flavelle poured his heart out telling about the life of a barely tolerated outsider within an established brotherhood. Flavelle did this in a way without overtly denigrating the other members of the company although anyone with a whit of experience could read between the lines. Kind of an anti-hero thing. That was good storytelling.

In the end that's why I guess I'm down on Semrau's book. It was a good opportunity wasted.

Anyway - that's my  :2c:

Cheers

 

[Journeyman]

Even knowing the outcome I like to think I'd act in the same way, with the same compassion, towards a fatally-suffering adversary. 

I've never met him, but I empathize with Rob Semrau.  I read it as a sincere book written by a traumatized Infantry officer -- without the benefit of a ghost-writing "co-author."  I can relate to some bits; others, less so. 

But then, I wasn't expecting Stuart McLean's Vinyl Cafe.

 

[daftandbarmy]

OK, I finally read it.

I thought it was quite good from the 'there I was on the front line' point of view. I don't think he tried to write it with any other expectations in mind. I also liked that he didn't get into a big sob story about his 'incident' and try to rewrite history in his favour. Well done.

I liked the way he portrayed battle as exciting. It is, so we should embrace that fact and go along with his crazy approach and style. He's facing death on a regular basis so why not enjoy it? I recognize his 'Parachute Regiment DNA' in that regard, and support it fully of course.

I also liked how he extended a grudging respect to his enemy and portrayed some of our own forces as more dangerous than the bad guys. This is the sad truth during any armed conflict and is rarely mentioned by frontline writers, perhaps out of a misguided sense of duty or loyalty. The 'enemy within' should be exposed as well.

My only criticism was that he seemed just a little bit too 'chuffed' with himself. He certainly has second thoughts about a few things but doesn't dwell on them, which is OK by me within the context of his story.

I'd still like to see something of the quality of an 'All's Quiet on the Western Front', 'Ghosts Have Warm Hands', 'With the Old Breed', 'Dispatches' or 'Excursion to Hell' emerge from Canada's contribution to this particular conflict. There may be one out there already but I am, as yet, unaware of it.

 

[George Wallace]

I'd still like to see something of the quality of an 'All's Quiet on the Western Front', 'Ghosts Have Warm Hands', 'With the Old Breed', 'Dispatches' or 'Excursion to Hell' emerge from Canada's contribution to this particular conflict. There may be one out there already but I am, as yet, unaware of it.

On that note, I am curious as to how Paul Gross' film "Hyena Road" will turn out.


Now back to Robert Semrau's book critiques.

 

[jollyjacktar]

On that note, I am curious as to how Paul Gross' film "Hyena Road" will turn out.

Oh Jesus, better I hope than the love story...

 

[bick]

I bought and read Semrau's book mainly to support him. I found the story interesting, believable and familiar. Written by a soldier, not a professional writer.

I still support him and encourage others to buy it.