Before dismissing One Bullet Away as a book about the military whose only relevance at Marquette is for ROTC members, read the rest of this review. The story is more than a mere chronicle of the transformation of former Marine from a typical college student to a veteran of both the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Nathaniel Fick’s One Bullet Away emerges as both the preeminent literary work by a veteran and a wonderful exploration into the qualities required for effective leadership – an integral part of everyone’s “Marquette Experience.”
Fick rose to the rank of captain after graduating from Dartmouth in 1999. During his junior year, he decided to join the United States Marine Corps. He passed the rigorous test known as Officer Candidates School the summer before his senior year. On his graduation day from Dartmouth, he was commissioned a second lieutenant.
Fick’s relationship with his non-commissioned officers illustrates the difficulty of leadership as a junior-level officer in the Marine Corps. On the day of his college graduation, he immediately out-ranked all enlisted Marines – some who had been in the Corps for longer than Fick had been alive. Yet, his rank alone did not necessarily garner the respect of his men. He would eventually have to prove himself competent. Fick’s relationship with his staff sergeant was one in which the staff sergeant would “back [him] up in front of the Marines” and “disagree behind closed doors.” Fick grows by learning from the men of his platoon, and his effectiveness as a leader emerges and then flourishes in battle.
One incident in the book is particularly indicative of the degree to which leadership is put into practice by Marine officers. At one point, supply lines were spread too thin, and there was not enough food for all the Marines. As a result, the officers gave the available food to the lowest-ranking Marines. This philosophy shows that Marine officers must not indulge in order to keep morale high. As for application in the real world, Fick cites a “former Marine officer who went on to be a Fortune 500 CEO. When asked for his guiding principle, the CEO replied, “Officers eat last.”
Fick’s purpose in writing does not seem political. During the occupation which followed the invasion, Fick and his platoon were placed in Baghdad. Fick criticized the plan for post-war Iraq by implying that it was short-sighted. During the initial liberation phase, Fick relays the overwhelming support the Marines received from many Iraqis. On one of the numerous occasions, the Marines encountered a large group of surrendering Iraqis.
Fick writes, “Many men sobbed when they realized we were feeding them instead of shooting them. A young boy, dressed in military trousers and a T-shirt from the Janesville, Wisconsin, YMCA, laughed and smiled, shouting, ‘I make love George Bush.’”
It was not always such a bright picture in Iraq. At one point, Fick’s platoon was slowed down by a girl who had been hurt in the Coalition’s initial bombing of Baghdad. As accomplishing their mission’s objective became increasingly difficult, Fick was forced to allow only basic medicinal procedures in order to move on and accomplish the mission’s objective. As he eventually concluded, leadership in war often consists of choosing not “between good and bad, but rather between bad and worse.”
One Bullet Away is recommended as an excellent chronicle of a Marine officer’s transformation as well as its literary merit. Fick’s moral dilemmas and snap decisions in the face of the enemy are applicable to any civilian who aspires to be a leader and develop good decision-making skills.
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