An investigation into a string of unsolved murders at America's premier special operations base, and what the crimes reveal about drug trafficking and impunity among elite soldiers.
Harp, a former Army reservist and now a lawyer turned journalist, can be tendentious, but he is correct in his central claim that there has been a 'meltdown in special ops.'
Bursting with colorful if choleric characters ... Harp walks his readers through the relevant hierarchies ... Harp’s book refuses to abide by the worshipful clichés or even the occasional 'bad apple' explanations. To the contrary, Harp paints a picture of Fort Bragg...that...shows it to be not only pernicious or criminal but downright fratricidal ... It’s Harp’s portrait of his chosen landscape that hits the hardest.
Engrossing ... Seth Harp argues persuasively that Bragg serves as a perfect living memorial for the forever wars ... Harp expertly braids the brutal, extralegal history of the war with a series of painstakingly reported portraits of the men who moved through these conflicts ... While Harp succeeds in illuminating the contours of his eponymous Fort Bragg Cartel, a few vital details prove elusive.
