Back to Somalia

Back to Somalia

This new action adventure has sprung out of the dangerous world of military pilots who have flown hundreds of missions in Iraq. Many of them are civilians now flying for one of the new "Civilian Contractors" who are given many of the controversial missions the Army wants to avoid. The author, Glenn A. Bell, describes his book as being for all those adrenalin junkies who seek action written in a manner that pulls the reader into the cockpit while under fire.

Ethan Breaux, call sign Cajun, has been flying charters out of Bristol, England for two years. His life as a civilian pilot has been going very well after many years of flying Special Operations missions in Army helicopters in Iraq. Cajun is sought out by the CIA to coordinate then execute a super clandestine military style operation into Mogadishu, Somalia to retrieve a North Korean nuclear weapon hijacked by pirates at the behest of Hezbollah Islamic terrorist.

He reluctantly agrees to take on this dangerous mission only after learning that Savannah, the love of his life, is being held on the outskirts of Ethiopia. Taking Savannah was a big mistake for the Somali soldiers because had they not kidnapped her during their unprovoked raid, he would likely not have become involved in a civilian contractor relationship with the United States.

Cajun brings together all his Special Operations buddies from the old days in Iraq. The U.S. Government provides everything needed in the way of military helicopters because the United States cannot set foot back in Somalia after the failed Battle of Mogadishu of 1993. The mission must be carried out covertly.

Back to Somalia brings to the reader realism for action much in the same way as all that was written about the incident in Somalia when one of our Blackhawk helicopters was shot down. However, in this book, the author Glenn Bell describes what it is like to actually take part in mission planning. The realism in the execution of multiple military skirmishes involving air to ground firefights could only have been written by someone who has flown these aircraft and actually pulled the trigger on the weapon systems which bring conflicts to swift resolutions.

Glenn describes in great detail what it is like to be at the flight controls of these massive military helicopters. He provides a blow by blow description of what it is like be in the Captains seat of a Boeing 737 jet transport executing an instrument approach into a small airfield in Awasa, Ethiopia at midnight. Once you have read the story you feel as though you could plan a mission and fly a Cobra Attack helicopter on a mission firing rockets on the way into an enemy target. You feel like you could fly a Chinook loaded to 50,000 pounds filled with Special Operations Army Rangers at night using night vision goggles.

The entire story is compelling with a most unexpected high drama climax.