First published 2016
Marine riflemen deploy to Haiti in September 1994 as part of Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force, entering territory that exists between war and peace. They confront massive crowds of civilians, some friendly, others violent and angry. The local police and military forces vanish after a deadly firefight that kills several Haitian officers. At Guantanamo Bay and in Panama, thin lines of Marines stand between order and chaos as Cuban and Haitian migrants grow increasingly desperate. Squad and platoon leaders make split-second decisions that determine success or failure in situations where the rules of engagement blur. These Marines carry copies of The Small Wars Manual, written decades earlier by veterans of similar Caribbean operations. They discover that humanitarian missions can match combat intensity, requiring the same initiative, discipline, and flexibility that Marines have always needed, whether facing enemy soldiers or desperate refugees.
Genres: military-fiction, adventure, action, military-history
Vibes: fast-paced, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, split-second-decisions
Setting: Haiti, Guantanamo Bay, Panama
Period: 1994
156 pages · Paperback · CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
Content warnings: violence