Tip of the Spear: U.S. Marine Light Armor in the Gulf War

By G.J. Michaels

Book Overview

Selected for the Marine Commandant's Reading List when first published in hardcover, this book offers a vivid, firsthand account of Operation Desert Storm during the Gulf War. A U.S. Marine sergeant in Alpha Company of the 1st Light Armored Vehicle Battalion (LAV), Michaels provides a revealing look at what it was like to endure and prevail in ground combat at the platoon and company level. Readers are given an opportunity to look inside the battalion as it battles a savage environment and a host of tactical snafus while pushing forward at the tip of the spear to help liberate Kuwait City from the Iraqis. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1591144981
• ISBN13: 9781591144984
• Release Date: January 2008
• Publisher: Naval Institute Press
• Length: 252 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.9" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Armored Car in Gulf War - Marine style

The Marines have Light Armored Vehicles (LAV) with 25mm automatic cannon. 8x8 wheel drive, it's a big armored car that carries 3 crew and 6 "dismounts" stuffed in the back. Very interesting reading for anyone who wants to know more about life in an Armor Unit, Marines, Gulf 1. Armored cars (13 tons) are better than, say a Hummer, but lack the protection of a Bradley (33 tons), and of course, an M-1 tank (70 tons). So you...

Good Book

Been to combat or not. Unless you belong to an LAI unit, I'd say this book is very insightful. This gives you a great inside perspective of the inner workings of LAI units. One that I for one did not previously have. I enjoyed reading this book and getting to understand another piece of the big puzzle. It almost seems that not a whole lot in the Marine Corps has changed since the Kuwait liberation. In 2003 my Jarheads and...

An interesting perspective on Marine operations

I was a M1A1 tank platoon leader with the Army over in Desert Storm, but I picked up a copy of this book to see how the Marines did things over there. This book was a very good book and I was surprised at some of the similarities the Marines had with the Army. The author did a great job, in my opinion, in showing how a company size element operated during wartime. My only complaint is I wish he had included more diagrams depicting...

Outstanding Version of Events

I was in the author's unit as well. He depicts the events so realistically it brought back many memories once thought forgotten. I enjoyed the book and think it should be a 'must read' for all those interested in the Gulf War as well as any who served 'over there' specifically in 1st LAI Bn. Check my member page for information in seeing my seb site, lots of LAI Bn photo's.

Outstanding memoir of a Marine NCO on the modern battlefield

It is seldom that students of war get a coherent, literate account of the life of a non-commissioned officer in a combat zone. This is just such an account, and, as such, it is required reading for anyone who is interested in small-unit leadership. As the 2nd Platoon Commander in the author's company during the Gulf War, I can testify to the overall accuracy of his account. I have only minor criticisms. First, the author...