The mascot of a long-range Vietnam Recon outfit--gripping and sad account of proud, elite, doomed soldiers. ( )

Set during the Viet Nam War this novel describes the adventures of a squad of Army Rangers and their mascot Tiger. These Rangers do LRRP (Long range reconnaissance patrols) missions which means more or less they are dropped behind enemy lines (sometimes way way behind) to do things like track troop movements. It's not hard to imagine how dangerous these missions are but the members of this squad are an extraordinarily arrogant lot (at least back at their base) which helps to give this book some extra punch. In any case the author was a Ranger in a LRRP squad and his description of their missions is very well done. As hard as it may be to imagine going into a jungle on a 2 week mission--practically eating nothing (defacating is only one of the ways to let your enemy know you're out there--and so is a no no) and living off of amphetamines to stay awake as much as possible. Miller renders this very well as he does also the final annihilation of the team which sticks around too long to enjoy a bombing raid they've called in on a large North Vietnamese unit are run down themselves and butchered. Despite their arrogance these soldiers are very likeable and real. They believe in themselves and what they are doing. It is very well written and to my mind the best novel I've read about the Viet Nam war. ( )