Title: American Cobra Pilot: A Marine Remembers a Dog and Pony Show
Author: Capt. J.L. “Bigsby” Groom
Publisher: XlibrisUS
ISBN-13: 978-1-5144-5940-9
Pages: 277
Genre: Memoir, Military, Personal Memoirs
Reviewed by: Jason Lolus
Pacific Book Review Star
Awarded to Books of Excellent Merit
American Cobra Pilot: A Marine Remembers a Dog and Pony Show by Capt. J.L. “Bigsby” Groom is a superbly written satire on military life. Somewhat in the Heller or Vonnegut sardonic style, this book is a sometimes hilarious (or absurd) DE-romanticizing of the military experience. Why do we still have troops stationed all over the world? To spread democracy? Provide support for allies in the region? According to Groom, the answer to these questions is a blunt “not really.” Rather, the military presence is to ensure that you and I can keep buying electronic gadgets that distract us from the absurd truth of it all – of the less than romantic global military-industrial complex.
Capt. Groom chronicles his early life but spends most of the book on his stations in Hawaii and Okinawa. Groom is a pilot who flies so little that he claims to essentially make $50,000 an hour doing his actual job. Maybe hyperbolic, but he notes that the primary modus operandi is CYA (cover your ass). There are numerous programs designed to keep the military progressive and there are a variety of committees that deal with sexual equality, assault, and so on. For instance, there is the “Marine Net Violence Prevention Program Awareness Course.” The lengthy title shows Groom’s take on this cover-your-ass complex of programs and committees, well-intentioned though they may be.
One of my favorite parts of the book is what I call the “Battle of the Commisery” (commissary). Groom tries to get through the commisery before the crowds hit at 11:00. When he arrives late, what happens can only be described as a suburban D-day assault by social leeches. Again, satire rules this analysis and Groom will sometimes break the fourth wall and let you know when something he is about to say is not really exaggerated.
It all leads up to a climax of a battle that is not really a battle. Or, maybe it is an exercise but not really that kind of military exercise. Faced with the realization that it is all more of a “dog and pony” show than a glorious and honorable fight for freedom, he and his fellow troops come to terms with what they are really fighting for: keeping our Eastern allies safe enough to devote their time to making electronic crap that will pacify everyone back in the U.S.A. Groom fights his way through this reality, personal heartbreak, and what the military deems to be his unhealthy relationship with things that go BOOM!
I definitely recommend this book. It is a excellent book with some guest appearances by Caroline Kennedy and two “inspirational” speeches from John Kerry and good ol’ Chucky Hagel.
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