Talking About 'War' With Sebastian JungerMay 26, 2010
Military.com|by Andrew Lubin
Kosovo – Bosnia – Liberia – Sierre Leone - Kashmir…years before Sebastian Junger wrote "A Perfect Storm," he was reporting on human rights violations, war crimes, and the kidnapping of civilians as a terror tool. Junger's no stranger to Afghanistan; prior to 9/11 he profiled the Northern Alliance leader Ahmed Shah Massoud as they fought against the Taliban for a National Geographic special, so his new best-seller "War" is written from a depth of knowledge and experience that few writers possess.
"War" is the story of 2nd Platoon, Battle Company, 173rd Airborne Brigade fighting at FOB Restrepo. Located in the Korengal Valley's isolated RC East, the 15-20 2nd Platoon soldiers fought in almost 500 firefights in their 15 month deployment – some 20% of all Afghan combat in that time period. Through five embeds, Junger followed this single platoon with the goal of conveying ‘combat' to the civilian audience.
Already # 3 on the New York Times bestseller list, Junger brings the reader directly into the fight at Restrepo. Isolated in a valley so remote that the locals speak a different language (Korengali) than the rest of Afghanistan; the reader is thrown into the firefights, ambushes, and boredom that make up a deployment. It's in the blend of firefights and boredom where Junger excels; his descriptions of AK rounds snapping past his head to the primitive living conditions and funny, yet sophomoric humor, are amongst the most realistic portrayal of soldiers in combat published to date.
Being this close to the fight brings some disturbing observations about war, and comradeship. 2nd Platoon has fallen into the practice of giving each member a ‘beat-down', where the platoon pummels each member. "It's a form of initiation rite," Junger explained to Military.com in an exclusive interview, "It's a way of bonding, as well as reinforcing the concept that the group, in this case 2nd Platoon, takes precedence over the individual." An anthropologist by training, Junger further explained "it isn't about abuse, similar to ‘Lord of the Flies,' it's about demonstrating group inclusion; knowing that everyone is committed to the unit." He continued "you've got a small group of young men, heavily armed, in 4-5 TIC's (troops-in-combat) daily…no email, little comm with family…their world consists solely of their fellow soldiers. Is it a normal ritual? Probably not – but look at where and how they're spending 15 months."
~snip~
Just last month, as "War" was being shipped to the bookstores, ISAF closed all the Army posts in the Korengal, with a statement that engagement in the Korengal no longer fit into its strategic vision.
Junger wondered to Militry.com that it would be interesting to see what the surviving soldiers of 2nd Platoon thought of the decision that their 15 months and some 500 firefights had been deemed unnecessary. 
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