Beaming Rae

No Easy Day: The Firsthand Account of the Mission That Killed Osama Bin Laden by Mark Owen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I read this book in one sitting. Couldn't put it down. It is a first person narrative that includes the narrator's personal history, how he had wanted to become a Navy Seal ever since he was a boy growing up in Alaska, and how after he joined the navy he worked his way up through the ranks, the rigorous training required to reach the high rank of group leader for SEAL Team Six. How he did not, could NOT, fail! How all these young military men had a can do attitude, all bond to each other, and commit to the purpose that lay before them in an extraordinary way. Including the personal background made the story more cohesive and entertaining.

I felt a personal interest since I have had the pleasure of meeting the man called Phill in Mark Owen's book. (The names are changed to protect the innocent). He is the one who told me to read it, and when I read it to try to pick out which SEAL in the book is him. It was so easy. He is Phil in the book. Phil got wounded in the reconnaissance mission trying to rescue Bergdahl in 2009, which ended his military career. He is the assault dog handler. His dog was killed the day he was wounded. I loved that he called his assault dog a "hair missile." He joined Leap Frogs, the Navy's parachute demonstration team. AND, he was the teams biggest prankster. That one I wouldn't have guessed. Guess he was on his best behavior when I met him at a friends house. I think about the coincidence of reading this book after the recent current event of Bowe Bergdahl gaining his freedom in exchange for the five Taliban prisoners release from Guantanamo Bay. I would love to get Mark Owen's and Phil's take on that.

I found it ironic that this author was criticized for telling this story. All security leaks came from Washington D.C., potentially endangering the members of the Navy SEALs' involved in this maneuver that took Osama Bin Laden out. Not from this author. What came from this author is a clearly written first hand account, an inside look, at the mission that killed the number one public enemy of the world. Thank you Mark Owen.

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