SIX YEARS IN THE MIDDLE EAST

I have never set foot in any Middle East country, but the author made me feel like I have spent a part of my life in the Arab countries. Tenacity takes the reader through his journey and work in the Middle East. The reader is first taken to Iraq when the book starts. It is one thing to hear about stories from the middle East when narrated by a civilian. It is however interesting and intriguing when the narrator is a military contractor. Tenacity gives details of his mission in Iraq, Baghdad, Qatar and other areas in the Middle East that one wants to keep reading.

Prior to reading this book, I had very little knowledge of how Ops are done, how teams are selected and how the war in the Arab world affected the people before I read the book. Before leaving for Iraq, the author said that he was excited at the prospect of experiencing an adventure in a foreign land. Though I was not physically present, that’s the exact feeling I had while starting to read the book.

If you are wondering what entails the life of a department of defense contractor with American military abroad, then “Six Years In The Middle East” is what you need to read. Tenacity’s life was like an adventure. Every experience he and his team had in Kuwait, Afghanistan, Qatar, Oman, and Iraq was exciting and different. I especially loved how they worked together. Being taken to work in a foreign land can be challenging, especially if you are not experienced. I found life in Iraq to be most interesting. 

I loved Tenacity’s use of pictures when telling his story. Pictures convey a lot of messages; sometimes more than words. By including images in his text, tenacity enabled the reader to visualize some things on the ground. I appreciate that he added pictures of anything he could get; be it his shoes, random locations, working gear, outfit, colleagues, name it. Tenacity really wanted the reader to understand every bit of his journey.

“Six Years In The Middle East” is a great book. The text and pictures complement each other and the story flows well. I loved reading about the problems Tenacity faced while in the Middle East. This is because more often than not, the team would find a solution and solve the problem. Reading about his journey made me realize how important critical thinking is. There is power in teamwork. Like the common saying goes; two heads are better than one. 

Tenacity’s story is amazing. I liked his bravery and way of dealing with things. I was amused by the traveling even though he sometimes traveled under unpleasant circumstances. There are a lot of life lessons one can learn from him. I think it’s fun being a military contractor. You get to see the world from a different perspective. Traveling through the countries was another exciting thing I loved about him I rate this book with 5/5 stars.