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Quinton J. Darby steps down from command of a medical brigade in Saudi Arabia, one of many deployments. He connects with people he had met in Vietnam back in the day. Darby had not entered the army by choice. He had been "a long-haired hippie totally against the war in Vietnam." Military service had not even been an option. He had been raised to go to college, and that was that. But the draft when his time came "had become a lottery, ostensibly to make it fair. Prior to the lottery system, young men with parents of wealth and prominence could get out of the draft and therefore not be placed in harm's way. The lottery was said to end that: Make it fair for all. My lottery number was thirty-three and, upon losing my deferment, I was called up to serve."
Darby feels sick to his stomach, meeting working-class recruits happy to be in charge and pleased to be providing for families. "Could it have been any worse?" he asks himself. "Little did I know at the time—yes, it could. And it got worse."
Action-packed and written for those familiar with military lingo, acronyms, language, and abbreviations, this book's fast-paced dialogue takes readers through phone calls, liftoffs, helicopter flights, medic operations, night emergencies, dynamic rollovers, nocturnal descents, flip switching, and countdowns. Transfers of controls are accomplished, and patients are rescued in record time. The author has penned a frankly written, straight-from-the-hip story of a young man who refuses to sign up for extra service to get an assignment with a bit more privilege and an experience guaranteed to be a bit more elite. Those who enjoy stories of military life might find this one to their liking.