From Personal Struggle, to Battle Conflict, to a Changed Life
“Hired Guns in Iraq” is a revealing revelation of the aftermath of the war. Brogan Kessler, an ex-military family man, found himself failing in a dream of building his own business in South Africa. Desperate, he realized that he could no longer justify the sacrifice and hardship he was putting on his family. An old friend from military days, Peter, convinced Brogan to take a job with a security contractor working to rebuild Iraq. The job offered a high salary that gave Brogan the opportunity to pick up his dream and get out of debt in no time.
Shaun Schutte graphically articulates the carnage of war in Baghdad, Iraq. He describes how ignorance of local language and culture, and difficulty differentiating between combatants and non-combatants, often leads to offensive behavior by multinational forces, security contractors and mercenaries. The tragic deaths of innocents force insurgents to attack coalition forces to avenge the deaths of their relatives. Through incidents of irrational decisions and careless actions, Brogan and his team learn the critical need for teamwork as a key survival tactic in a country where religious fanatics and avenging relatives wage a holy war against infidels and infidels. occupational forces.
Brogan miraculously escaped from a vehicle that exploded only to be taken hostage by insurgents. As a result of these circumstances, he learns to hear the voice of God through life-and-death struggles as he is targeted by insurgents who seek his destruction.
Schutte incorporates the essence of his personal faith throughout the story as he recounts the message of God’s love for sinful man, His redemptive plan of love and grace in sending His Son, Jesus Christ, to atone for those sins.
Schutte’s writing is riveting, suspenseful to a surprisingly climactic finale. Stunning word pictures left me with an indelible insight into the foibles of man. Schutte powerfully describes the repercussions of war, fear, courage and anger. He understands, from personal experience, the drive for survival in the life and death struggles of an environment where opposing ideologies place little value on an individual’s life. “Hired Guns in Iraq” exposes the cost and sacrifice of rebuilding a country destroyed by bloodshed and war. The book is timely and relevant.
Pleasant Word, a division of Winepress Publishing Group, 978-1414111360
As reviewed for Midwest Book Review