Product Description

"In the heat of battle, they have one mission-and they accomplish it one bullet at a time."

In Operation Iraqi Freedom, there is a special breed of marine for whom the prey is the enemy-and every day is hunting season. This marine is a HOG-a Hunter of Gunman.

These are the gripping, gut-wrenching true stories of those marines in Iraq whose sole purpose on the battlefield is to take out the enemy-one combatant at a time. Every time a HOG puts his eye to the glass, it means death for whoever is unlucky enough to end up in his crosshairs. No warning shots. No disabling wounds. No regrets. That's what a HOG does.

Here, former Scout/Sniper Team Leader Milo S. Afong reveals what it takes to be a Hunter of Gunmen. He describes the intensive training that turns expert infantrymen into one-shot life-takers, building Marine Scout/Sniper teams and how they operate in the field-and under fire-and how HOGs get the job done under any conditions.

From sniping from a rooftop in Baghdad, to unknowingly being surrounded in a palm grove in the city of Hit, these stories will transport you right into the heat of the desert war, where one squeeze of the trigger can make all the difference."

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #20704 in Books
• Published on: 2007-12-04
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 272 pages

About the Author
Milo S. Afong enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1999. While serving with the Second Battalion, Fourth Marines Scout/Sniper platoon, he graduated first in his class from the 1st Marine Division's Scout/Sniper School. After his discharge in 2003, he volunteered for a tour of duty in Iraq as a Scout/Sniper Team Leader with the First Battalion, Twenty-third Marines. He is the recipient of the Purple Heart, the Combat Action Ribbon, and the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal with the Combat Distinguishing Device.

Customer Reviews

realistic and visceral
I'm halfway thru this book and feel compelled to write a review.This is
the best book i,ve read on Iraq and i've read a lot.The combat descriptions are visceral brutal and graphic.I would recommend this book to anybody who wants a grunts eye view of the horrific urban warfare in Iraq.Highly recommended.

Each tale uniquely different
For the first thing, in order to qualify as a Hunter of Gunmen(HOG),there are very rigid requirements.Only a select few make it to the level of the Marine snipers whose stories are told in this book. Even with the heavy doses of "overtraining" these snipers receive,situations arise that necessitate improvisation and just plain"Guts".I thought this would be a "how they do it" book,but each story was dramatically different,from"friendly fire"casualties to all out urban street fighting where "fistfighting" skills would be better than marksmanship.Could you imagine being in the sights of a "friendly" HOG?The main motivation of the HOG mentioned throughout the book is to protect American troops and if there are notches on any gunbarrels,it's more to signify another young American who has a better chance of making it home.I was also a little taken aback to find some of these snipers are forced to impro due to a lack of immediate support.
Too often the media presents the image of a hightech war with only sophisticated electronics and "called in" airstrikes.Little do people realize that the age old sniping game is just as critical,if not more.These soldiers are really putting their lives on the line for us.I was hoping there would be a tale in the book about a woman sniper but there wasn't.These teams are truly "colorblind",with Latinos,Thai's,blacks,(you name it).None want to die for their country though they accept the risks unquestioningly.They are very good however at "making some other poor sucker die for his Country".

Addictive
I enjoyed the book because i learn what the marines and soldiers have gone through and what they sacrafice. I have family who have gone to iraq and this book gave me a glimpse of what they have gone through. alos show how motivated and anxious the marines are to put their training to the ultimate test, by hunting.