War & Coffee: Confessions of an American Blackhawk Pilot in Afghanistan

by Joshua Havill

War and Coffee is a first-person account of being deployed to Afghanistan as a helicopter pilot with the “Screaming Eagles” of the 101st Airborne Division in 2009. Observed halfway through a decades-long war, this irreverent perspective is both comical and brutally honest. In between the occasional mortar round and rocket-propelled grenades, Joshua Havill takes a direct look at the tactical and ideological substance of a conflict laced with as much debauchery as tragedy. With a Cold War perspective gleaned from nine years of US Navy Submarine Service, along with a civilian interlude, Havill re-entered the military in 2002 to pursue his enthusiasm for aviation. This checkered military career culminated with the subject of this work, a year of flying UH-60 Blackhawks out of Bagram Air Base. Time away from the cockpit was spent living in a plywood B-hut and making frequent visits to “The Lighthouse”, the base’s sparse yet beloved self-serve coffee shop. Set during the most pivotal year of Operation Enduring Freedom, this is a captivating illustration of life in a warzone.

240 pages, Hardcover

Published August 28, 2023

Reviews

[Joseph Puskar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Havill is a multi-talented author who captures the essence of what it was like to be in the middle of America's longest war from the cockpit of a Blackhawk helicopter in the famed 101st Airborne's "Screaming Eagles" in Afghanistan. Feel the excitement in the air, the gravel crunch under your boots on the FOB and the irony, tragedy and humor of a long war chased down with a good ration of strong, hot coffee! If you were there this book brings it all back in vivid technicolor. If you weren't there you'll get an accurate feel for what it was like.

[Joe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Came across this book while looking for another book on the publisher's website. Modern military history usually isn't my thing, but this looked interesting and the snippets I saw online piqued my interest - I couldn't put it down. I loved the fact that this is written by a "normal" guy that saw things for what they were, both the good and the bad. Havill doesn't preach, embellish his war stories, and try to convince the reader about anything, he just tells it as he experienced it. This book was a pleasure to read, just wish it was longer!

[Grant Hogarth · Rating 5 out of 5]

A breezy read through a year "in country"

A quick and easy read that --as the subtitle says-- covers the experience of a Blackhawk pilot in Afghanistan. Nicely written, but a bit light. Nothing especially notable other than how mostly boring the experience was. But then again, competency usually results in a lack of drama.