The Majestic Twelve: The True Story of the Most Feared Combat Escort Unit in Baghdad

by Jack W. Lynch II, Rick Lynch

As leader of the unit dubbed “The Majestic Twelve,” the author led his team on what some might call the most dangerous duty in the Iraq War—convoy escort. Lynch tells how he formed and commanded his all-volunteer unit, consisting of wildly varying personalities who nevertheless shared an unshakeable com mit - ment to each other and their missions. This action-packed narra tive, taking place between February and August 2004:  Describes how the Twelve performed 230 missions while never once losing a member of his team or escorts Provides a poignant look at brave soldiers who pay for gun sights and body armor out of their own pockets Offers a fascinating look at military life and camaraderie Reveals how the Twelve were even criticized among their own ranks for doing their jobs—i.e., following the Rules of Engagements and engaging the enemy when called for This gripping military narrative shows how Lynch and his team fought the war one to win.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Military Fiction

336 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 10, 2009

Reviews

[James · Rating 1 out of 5]

A disappointment. If the author had stuck to his subject this would have been a pretty good book, but as it progresses he keeps injecting more and more crap that sounds as if he's channeling Rush Limbaugh or Ann Coulter - characterizing patriotic Democrats or liberals as imaginary (ironic, considering that of the veterans in Congress, the overwhelming majority are Democrats and most of the returning vets from Iraq and Afghanistan who've chosen to go into politics have run as Democrats; that during the Vietnam era, both Al Gore and John Kerry volunteered and served in Vietnam while Bush and Cheney pulled strings to stay home in the States; and that during the eight years the Republicans recently had the White House, they tried every year to cut VA funding and benefits for military families so they could give millionaires and corporations bigger tax cuts), throwing in an ever-increasing number of gratuitous slams against Moslems in general, even managing to work in some sexism and homophobia, and advocating unrestrained torture and reprisal killings (in apparent ignorance of the history that shows those tactics have always backfired, beyond being immoral). Master Sergeant Lynch sounds as if he would have made a pretty good Nazi. Even from a strictly military perspective, this guy leaves a lot to be desired as a leader, egging his subordinates on to hold and express contempt for a lot of their officers. I am a retired Marine, and that ain't how it's done, and being hell on wheels in combat doesn't excuse building his own little cult of personality.

This one may appeal to the wannabes with lifetime subscriptions to Soldier of Fortune, but to this Marine, it leaves an ugly aftertaste. I wish I hadn't bought this book.

[Kartika · Rating 3 out of 5]

...ex-husband was a part of this team...thought it would be a bit of insight into what he did during one of his number of deployments...took issue with some of the author's descriptions of him, chuckled out loud at others as they were right on target, reminded myself that there are multiple sides to every individual...and that the people that do this sort of mission are a unique breed and we need them whether we agree with how they go about things or not...someone has to do the dirty work in war, we're much better off if it's those who embrace the duty rather than avoid it.

[Jim · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you want some spine-tingling action, go and buy another book. This was a disappointing read. The few actual shooting incidents the author and his team were involved in are glossed over and hardly touched on, probably because there was no return fire. One suspects that they were the most feared combat escort unit in Baghdad because of their propensity to fire on vehicles occupied by unarmed drivers whose only offence was inattention.

[Alex Murphy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’ve read a few real life soldier accounts on the Iraq War, so I was looking forward to this. However, while I respect the author for creating a unit from scratch to act as security for convoys in Iraq and the bravery most of the time of his team, the book has a lot to be desired. The author comes across as a bit…’bigoted’ maybe. I ain’t the most PC but some of the stuff he says about Muslims seemed harsh to say the least, and while in the heat of combat or under the stress of being in a warzone saying nasty, black humor stuff I get, but some of the stuff is the author’s voice after it. The views he has seem very much on the right, saying any one with questions of the war are traitors, that made me feel a bit awkward.
Its advertised as the most feared unit in Iraq, but only about two gun battles are mentioned, and his biggest is the first, and while I don’t want to second guess fully trained marines in a highly stressed, chaotic environment, surrounded by armed people that could attack at any time and the choice between attacking someone who might be a threat, seems a bit trigger happy, shooting at militias who aren’t attacking them. Much of the book is the author ranting at the pettiness of the officers toward his unit’s tactics, which I thought may have been a bit trigger happy. He talks about how his unit relished the idea of shooting people armed/unarmed, even actively talking about it toward their officers that seemed to be beyond joking in the context they talked about it. No one is allowed to second guess or question his rules of engagement, which like some officers he so derides say could make matters worse.
The book has its moments, the team dynamics, fighting to get the right/any equipment, how he was treated by staff at HQ, but with the rest doesn’t flow or gel well together. If your mad on these types of books, give it a go, otherwise give it a pass maybe.

[J.R. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Incredible true story of an escort unit in Iraq that was forced to use unarmored civilian vehicles, a lack of proper weapons and no clear support from their superiors. Well written, in your face about how petty some officers can be when they don't understand the mindset needed for today's battlefields. A salute to Master Sergeant Lynch for his work on this book. It's really an eye opener and makes one realize why some officers can get promoted when their actions are almost equal to that of the enemy.

MSGT Lynch puts it right out there for all to see that we have a majority of ring knockers that are pure ticket punchers with no real world experience.

Top Lynch, you and your team had to have some specially designed seats in your vehicles as I'm sure all your Majestic Twelve including the female members were packing a solid pair.

[Kevin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a lengthy and detailed answer to the question, "Just how pissed off can a Marine master sergeant get?" The answer is, "Very." If I've ever read such an angry book, I can't remember when.

[Anthony Wilhoite · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book overall, I greatly enjoyed reading about the quick yet detailed formation of one of the most essential assets in Iraq were formed. The evolution of their SOPs, and details of hurdles they jumped through were intriguing. However, it did feel at times that there was a lot of spite from the author. While completely understandable I felt as though more than a few pages were simply just used as a 'venting space'. Overall I do recommend this to someone specific to wanting to know about convoy security detail in Iraq

[Neil · Rating 3 out of 5]

Finished this last night. It was an okay read, I guess. Not quite what I expected. Based on the title I would have thought there would be more combat situations, per se. I think there was only two. It seemed like the book was more about the petty fights MSgt. Lynch faced back at the office as opposed to being on the road. It is written from Lynch's point-of-view in a first-person narrative.

The book is about Lynch arriving in Iraq and volunteering for convoy escort duty. He describes how he accepted volunteers for the team from various services [Army, Marines, Royal Marines, etc.] to put together an aggressive unit. He also discusses how hard it was to acquire the necessary equipment to be able to function safely and adequately as a team. I cannot even imagine the frustration he must have felt from the amount of opposition he received for what he was trying to accomplish from what he called 'palace commandos' [i.e. - the officers above him who tried to sabotage his efforts] - it boggled the brain that officers would refuse to make sure his team had the equipment necessary to perform their mission.

It sounds too weird to say 'despite only having a couple of combat sequences, . . . ' but the on-the-road sequences were interesting to read. The Army is not painted in the best light in terms of convoy escort - they were accused of abandoning their convoys at the first sign of trouble. The describing of vehicles that were speeding towards them and the fears of the vehicles being VBIED's was intense - I am not sure how I would have reacted had I been in the same or similar situation. Lynch's aggressive tactics helped ensure that his team survived with zero casualties.

I enjoyed reading about how the individuals became a team as they got to know each other. I also enjoyed reading about the camaraderie. It really was no different than other books I have read in that it was a group of individuals coming together to form one unit, but I sometimes think the parts about individuals becoming a team are the best part of a book [it obviously depends on the book]. I also liked reading how Lynch admitted making mistakes with various first impressions - nice to know he was human after all!

The ribbing and derogatory remarks [such as comparing the US Army to the Girl Scouts] did not really bother me; it would have to beyond frustrating to be a part of a mixed convoy twice where the Army escorts abandoned Lynch's team and the convoy itself because they did not want to engage the enemy. I can understand the anger and frustration directed at his superior officers because they went well beyond refusing to support him and his team - according to Lynch the officers above him were actively impeding his team's ability to safely function as a convoy escort. The anger and frustration he felt with politicians is not really any different that expressed by other soldiers, so I was not surprised by it. At the same time, though, it did seem like he spent a lot of time venting his spleen, as it were. I am not saying he did not make valid points, but often times his anger and frustration does come through loud and clear in the latter portion of the book. I do hope writing the book was cathartic for him and that he has been able to move on after having written it.

I thought his discussion about the Germans and Japanese in World War II, the North Koreans in the Korea, and the Viet Cong was interesting - he made the statement that the insurgents were not even worthy to load their weapons an interesting statement. Not sure why, but that discussion really stood out to me. Maybe it was the . . . disdain with which he held the insurgents.

His frustration with the news media is nothing new. The news focused on the negative and highlighted that which made it look like the US and her allies were losing the war when we were actually winning it. He takes it back to the conflict in the Philippines where he claimed the 'rebels' [can't remember the term he used] were trying to cause an upset in the Presidential election and get an anti-war president elected. That was an interesting theory on his part! But, at the same time, I have spoken with returning veterans and rarely did they ever paint a depressing picture like the news does. So I tend to agree with Lynch on his frustrations on the lack of support in the news media as well as the media's bias in what they report and what they ignore.

Overall, it was an enjoyable book. I do hope he was able to repair the damage done to his marriage after he returned home from Iraq. He reminded me of others who wrote about being addicted to the adrenaline rush of combat [or potential combat situations] and who longed to go back. At the same time, he also reminded me of soldiers who returned home but felt like they were leaving the job unfinished and wanted to return to finish the job as well as 'to be there' with their teammates and fellow soldiers. It was a side of the war in Iraq I had not known about or read about, but at the same time the title was a bit misleading. Overall a good book.

[Britt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting

This was a really good read. Honest, blunt, and unvarnished. It's about an aspect of the warning Iraq that I've not read about previously, and I found it compelling.

[Bob]

great first hand account of convoy security teaming Baghdad.

[Louis Lamoureux · Rating 1 out of 5]

Top may be Sierra Hotel on the battlefield, but the writing was distracting. Considering there were two authors and it was published by St.Martins Press, I expected less errors and better structure. Not to insult self-published authors, but this had a self-pubbed feel to it. I wanted to read this to find out what Iraq was like in 2004; I wanted the sights, sounds, and a little bit of the danger. That's in here and I wasn't disappointed, but it was buried under juvenile banter, insults (Democrats, other branches of the service, and Muslims were all targets), and hubris. If you want to read this, get it from the library, don't waste your money buying it.


The army was like the Girl Scouts: They both wore uniforms, both were venerated American institutions with long histories, and neither had much interest in close combat. The only difference between the two was that the Girl Scouts could get Thin Mints cheap and in bulk.

Thanks for your service Master Sergeant.

[2isaach]

This book gives the true stories of the combat soldiers fighting in Iraq. This book is great if you like action packed thrillers. It was based on the true story of Master Sergeant Jack W. Lynch, USMC. He wrote about the convoy unit that he lead in Iraq. He wrote about almost everything that has happened in Iraq when he was there.
This is my favorite nonfiction book that I have ever read. It is a must read!

[Allison]

My cousin is/was part of this unit. Second one from left center standing. I'm sure it's going to be an interesting read.

[Tim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good inside story of the REAL war in Iraq from the viewpoint of the commander of an armed escort group for convoys in Iraq.