Keepers to the Gateway to Hell

by Simon Chambers

After twenty-two years of military service Simon Chambers wasn't ready to retire into civilian life. He had served in four wars and the thought of driving trucks for the rest of his days was not an appealing prospect. Simon needed to find somewhere he could use the skills he had gained from being in the Para's. Iraq seemed like the right answer, but he was soon to learn that he had got more than he bargained for.

Simon explains the problems of initially getting the job, the cap badge rivalry and the backstabbing between the companies. The book highlights the negligence and ineptitude of some and the sheer bravery and heroics of others. He tells of the dangers and pitfalls within the theatre of Operation. This should serve as an eye opener for others contemplating going into this line of work. In Iraq gunfights, sandstorms, dangerous driving, IED's, friendly fire and suicide bombers are just another day.

485 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 18, 2011

Reviews

[John Nevola · Rating 4 out of 5]

Keepers is a Keeper

Anyone interested in the down-to-earth and accurate details of the challenges of rebuilding a war-torn nation ripped apart by a brutal terrorist insurrection would love "Keepers".

It is both interesting and compelling as the author describes the life of the typical Contractor in Iraq in all its details. One might ask why contractors would be required in a country occupied by hundreds of thousands of coalition troops. This book explains the reasons and the subtle relationships between the Personal Security Details and the regular military.

PSDs are assigned to protect "principles" whose daily routine includes inspections, meetings, approvals or investigations of the many and varied sites being rebuilt in Iraq. These principles range from civilian engineers, officials, high-ranking military brass and members of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. These security details were charged with getting the principles safely to and from their daily assignments. Usually deployed in 6 man - 3 vehicle teams, the dirty and thankless job of protecting the principles from road side bombs and terrorist ambushes were left to civilian contractors employed by a number of international security firms.

Mercenaries have a negative connotation but while these guardians were very well paid, they had little job security for one of the most dangerous jobs in Iraq. Most were former military personnel and while money was important, most of them believed in the mission. They were well trained and developed very specialized procedures, tactics and techniques to avoid or deal with danger. Their training and professionalism made them better suited for this mission than regular military soldiers.

The reader also gets to see the seedy side of Iraq and the twisted behavior of some Iraqi citizens as they switch loyalty between warring factions and their liberators.

The only negative in this book (Kindle version) was the editing. A few errors are understandable in any book but there were hundreds in this text. Fractured sentences, misspelled or missing words, tortured grammar and funky capitalization were just some of the maddening and distracting errors. However, it's still worth buying and reading if one can get past this shortcoming.

[Alex Sinclair · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an amazing true story. It reads like a fiction novel. I highly recommend this book. It gives a unique insight into the war in Iraq that you do not see in the media. I cannot say enough nice things about this book. I am excited to see what Simon does next.

[Michael Flanagan · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting enough read about working in private security in Iraq. The authors style is entertaining and had me feeling the frustration that comes along with the job.

[Eryk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good first hand insight into contractor's daily life in Iraq.