The Nimrods is an important new book for two reasons. First, it is an accurate true-life story, told by an A-26 navigator/co-pilot who flew 182 combat missions in the Vietnam War, about a magnificent band of A-26 pilots and navigator/co-pilots who flew--from 1966 to 1969--countless high-intensity nighttime dive-bombing missions in "The Secret War in Laos" (Steel Tiger, Barrel Roll and along the Ho Chi Minh Trail). To illustrate the intensity of the dive-bombing missions in the Vietnam War, the writer describes, in detail, more than twenty separate unforgettable missions-and more importantly-the personalities and psychological reactions of all of the unforgettable characters who were a part of the 609th Special Operations Squadron. Second, the book is highly relevant to the current Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the Global War on Terror, because it addresses the lessons learned in the Vietnam War (and World War II and the Korean War) and advocates that Americans and their allies apply those lessons learned to terrorism and renewed threats of nuclear war from tyrants and terrorists around the world. This is a book whose time has come. The views of our military veterans and their families who have endured the life-threatening and life-changing experiences of combat are made known to the American public and our allies. Recommendations from The Iraq Study Group Report, and President Bush's new Iraq strategy, are reviewed and analyzed. The book articulates a new way forward and a new vision that can be embraced by the entire world, and contrasts the vision of America and its allies with the vision of Osama bin Laden and the radical Islamic terrorists who threaten the security of the entire world.

By the time of the Vietnam War, the U.S. military had transitioned to jet aircraft. Yet leaders soon learned prop-driven planes could still play a role in counterinsurgency warfare. World War II-era Douglas B-26 light bombers proved effective in close air support and interdiction, beginning with Operation Farm Gate in 1961. Forty B-26s were remanufactured as improved A-26 attack aircraft, which destroyed hundreds of North Vietnamese supply vehicles on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in 1966-1969. The personal recollections of 37 pilots, navigators, maintenance and armament personnel, and family members, tell the harrowing story of B-26 and A-26 Air Commando Wing combat operations in Vietnam and Laos.

The Nimrods is an important new book for two reasons. First, it is an accurate true-life story, told by an A-26 navigator/co-pilot who flew 182 combat missions in the Vietnam War, about a magnificent band of A-26 pilots and navigator/co-pilots who flew--from 1966 to 1969--countless high-intensity nighttime dive-bombing missions in "The Secret War in Laos" (Steel Tiger, Barrel Roll and along the Ho Chi Minh Trail). To illustrate the intensity of the dive-bombing missions in the Vietnam War, the writer describes, in detail, more than twenty separate unforgettable missions-and more importantly-the personalities and psychological reactions of all of the unforgettable characters who were a part of the 609th Special Operations Squadron. Second, the book is highly relevant to the current Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the Global War on Terror, because it addresses the lessons learned in the Vietnam War (and World War II and the Korean War) and advocates that Americans and their allies apply those lessons learned to terrorism and renewed threats of nuclear war from tyrants and terrorists around the world. This is a book whose time has come. The views of our military veterans and their families who have endured the life-threatening and life-changing experiences of combat are made known to the American public and our allies. Recommendations from The Iraq Study Group Report, and President Bush's new Iraq strategy, are reviewed and analyzed. The book articulates a new way forward and a new vision that can be embraced by the entire world, and contrasts the vision of America and its allies with the vision of Osama bin Laden and the radical Islamic terrorists who threaten the security of the entire world.