“Slow, Smooth, Straight, Steady, Squeeze”

I finished Shooter on the 11th. I have no idea where this book came from, or how it ended up in my house. But That One saw it and asked to borrow it, and I told him he could have it after I read it, so it moved from “somewhere” in the TBR pile to top position.

This is an interesting book. It opens with some personal life stuff of Gunnery SGT Jack Coughlin and it ends with more personal stuff. A little getcha in the gut for the girlies. And in between all that, we get to see how a marine sniper really works, and also some awesome battle descriptions. Plenty of war for the boys.

I learned quite a few things about men and warriors from this book, because even a war story is a personal story. Soldiers generally aren’t emotionless automatons, they just learn to put that all on hold and get the job done. It’s a trait I greatly admire in men, that ability to shift emotion aside for a bit and deal only with the logic of a situation. I try it sometimes, but I generally come back to the decision my emotions have already made. I’ve noticed that this is not so for men. They will stick with that logical decision, even if it tears them up inside. And usually, you won’t know it even bothered them until later. Such insight is one of the side benefits to having a boy bff. And a….a….umm, other friend.

Those 5 S’s up above are the sniper mantra. One of the things That One says to me is “slow is fast”. We were having a series of discussions on life and complications and overwhelmed-ness. The man is wise, but I couldn’t quite figure out how he got that. I mean, I understood the explanation, but I still didn’t quite “get it” in my gut. Now I do. You prep, you plan, you get the information you need, and then you very methodically set about doing what needs to be done. The same principles that assure accuracy in a sniper also assure accuracy in dealing with life’s more daunting issues. Like dirty houses. And needy children. And stalkers. Make up your mind what you are going to do and then “Slow, Smooth, Straight, Steady, Squeeze”. A well placed round is a well placed round. Some are bullets that kill those who need killing, and some are actions that improve a life or lives. The principle is the same. But you can’t necessarily expect me to remember all that when I am emotional. I’m still a girl after all.

I recommend this book to anyone who wants a realistic account of what really happened in Iraq, instead of that left-wing media crap we were all fed. On the other hand, if the idea that people actually bleed as they die bothers you…read it anyway, because you need to understand the realities of life.