One Million Steps
A Marine Platoon at War
Bing West
- Battalion
- 3/5
- suffered
- the
- highest
- number
- of
- casualties
- in
- the
- war
- in
- Afghanistan.
- This
- is
- the
- story
- of
- one
- platoon
- in
- that
- distinguished
- battalion.Aware
- of
- U.S.
- plans
- to
- withdraw
- from
- the
- country,
- knowing
- their
- efforts
- were
- only
- a
- footprint
- in
- the
- sand,
- the
- fifty
- Marines
- of
- 3rd
- Platoon
- fought
- in
- Sangin,
- the
- most
- dangerous
- district
- in
- all
- of
- Afghanistan.
- So
- heavy
- were
- the
- casualties
- that
- the
- Secretary
- of
- Defense
- offered
- to
- pull
- the
- Marines
- out.
- Instead,
- they
- pushed
- forward.
- Each
- Marine
- in
- 3rd
- Platoon
- patrolled
- two
- and
- a
- half
- miles
- a
- day
- for
- six
- months—a
- total
- of
- one
- million
- steps—in
- search
- of
- a
- ghostlike
- enemy
- that
- struck
- without
- warning.
- Why
- did
- the
- Marines
- attack
- and
- attack,
- day
- after
- day?Every
- day
- brought
- a
- new
- skirmish.
- Each
- footfall
- might
- trigger
- an
- IED.
- Half
- the
- Marines
- in
- 3rd
- Platoon
- didn’t
- make
- it
- intact
- to
- the
- end
- of
- the
- tour.
- One
- Million
- Steps
- is
- the
- story
- of
- the
- fifty
- brave
- men
- who
- faced
- these
- grim
- odds
- and
- refused
- to
- back
- down.
- Based
- on
- Bing
- West’s
- embeds
- with
- 3rd
- Platoon,
- as
- well
- as
- on
- their
- handwritten
- log,
- this
- is
- a
- gripping
- grunt’s-eye
- view
- of
- life
- on
- the
- front
- lines
- of
- America’s
- longest
- war.
- Writing
- with
- a
- combat
- veteran’s
- compassion
- for
- the
- fallen,
- West
- also
- offers
- a
- damning
- critique
- of
- the
- higher-ups
- who
- expected
- our
- warriors
- to
- act
- as
- nation-builders—and
- whose
- failed
- strategy
- put
- American
- lives
- at
- unnecessary
- risk.Each
- time
- a
- leader
- was
- struck
- down,
- another
- rose
- up
- to
- take
- his
- place.
- How
- does
- one
- man
- instill
- courage
- in
- another?
- What
- welded
- these
- men
- together
- as
- firmly
- as
- steel
- plates?This
- remarkable
- book
- is
- the
- story
- of
- warriors
- caught
- between
- a
- maddening,
- unrealistic
- strategy
- and
- their
- unswerving
- commitment
- to
- the
- fight.
- Fearsome,
- inspiring,
- and
- poignant
- in
- its
- telling,
- One
- Million
- Steps
- is
- sure
- to
- become
- a
- classic,
- a
- unique
- and
- enduring
- testament
- to
- the
- American
- warrior
- spirit.Praise
- for
- One
- Million
- Steps“West
- shows
- the
- reality
- of
- modern
- warfare
- in
- a
- way
- that
- is
- utterly
- gripping.”—Max
- Boot,
- author
- of
- Invisible
- Armies“A
- gripping,
- boot-level
- account
- of
- Marines
- in
- Afghanistan
- during
- the
- bloody
- struggle
- with
- Taliban
- fighters.”—Los
- Angeles
- Times“One
- Million
- Steps
- transcends
- combat
- narrative:
- It
- is
- an
- epic
- of
- contemporary
- small-unit
- combat.”—Eliot
- A.
- Cohen,
- author
- of
- Supreme
- Command“A
- blistering
- assault
- on
- America’s
- senior
- military
- leadership.”—The
- Wall
- Street
- Journal“A
- heart-pounding
- portrayal
- .
- .
- .
- a
- compelling
- account
- of
- what
- these
- men
- endured.”***—The
- Washington
- Post***“Stunning,
- sobering,
- and
- brilliantly
- written.”—Newt
- Gingrich“One
- of
- the
- most
- intrepid
- military
- journalists,
- Bing
- West,
- delivers
- a
- heart-wrenching
- account
- of
- one
- platoon’s
- fight.”—Bill
- Bennett,
- host
- of
- Morning
- in
- America“Bing
- West
- has
- reconfirmed
- his
- standing
- as
- one
- of
- the
- most
- intrepid
- and
- insightful
- observers
- of
- America’s
- wars.
- .
- .
- .
- One
- Million
- Steps
- reveals
- the
- essence
- of
- small-unit
- combat,
- the
- very
- soul
- of
- war.”—The
- Weekly
- Standard“A
- searing
- read,
- but
- it
- is
- one
- that
- all
- Americans
- should
- undertake.
- We
- send
- our
- sons
- into
- battle,
- and
- few
- know
- what
- our
- warriors
- experience.”***—The
- Washington Times***
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