Chop that Sh*t Up!: Leadership and Life Lessons Learned While in the Military

by Csm Daniel L Pinion

First place winner in the category Military Nonfiction in the 2023 Firebird Book Awards. Chop that Sh*t Up! is a collection of stories by a military veteran with deployments ranging from Bosnia-Herzegovina to tours in Iraq. Follow along his twenty-eight-year career from private to command sergeant major, and learn how a young, gullible private became a battle-hardened soldier to an emotionally broken leader on his journey back to civilian life. Whether you served, are thinking about serving, or know or care about someone who has served, this book will make you laugh, cry, or both. A true warrior and backbone of the Army, CSM (R) Pinion shares the highs and lows of his life serving our country in this soul-sharing book about him and his men.

182 pages, Hardcover

Published November 11, 2023

Reviews

[Alyssa]

This book! 🥹🤌🏻 My husband served with CSM Pinon (ret) at Fort Benning in 3rd ID and has always praised him and said he's the reason for a lot of things during his time in the ARMY. Him learning good leadership skills for one. So when he finished the book, I finally got the courage to read it as I knew it was gonna be a semi hard read. Hard for me because I knew it was going to make me cry and emotional. And I did. His stories about deployment and his soldiers were gut wrenching to me and I felt like I heard them before, only it was my husband who told me. As he had similar experiences on his deployments as well as the light-hearted stories also mentioned.

This book is a great depiction of military life and all that entails. Moving around the country to different bases, ARMY humor, lessons in leadership, unbreakable bonds formed, realities of war, sacrifices, losses, and the aftermath.

As a side note I hope Sgt Quick is awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor as he is so rightfully deserving of!

[Shraddha]

It's well-written and engaging. I liked the author's style of writing. Well-narrated, breezy anecdotes make it an interesting read. The stories are hilarious, heartwarming, poignant, and inspiring. The author has a witty sense of humour that is reflected in the writing and how he describes certain situations in the book. Thoroughly enjoyed reading the book. After some googling, I learned that the author is also a stand-up comic apart from being a military veteran. No wonder the book was this interesting. He should write more such books! And why are there such few reviews? Weird!

[Paul Zanardo]

My younger brother, Tony Zanardo, served under CSM Daniel L. Pinion, USA (RET) & gifted this book to me for Christmas. WOW! It's such an amazing read. I laughed & cried reading about the incredible stories of career Army life, leadership, & the hardships of combat. Anyone in the armed forces & civilian sector will greatly benefit from Chop That Sh*t Up! Bringing awareness to PTSD & mental health is a noble cause that must be addressed and addressed respectfully. It's easy to understand what made Pinion a respected and effective leader. His men love him dearly, and so does my brother. Thank you for your service, and thank you for this must-read book! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Sarah Gancarz]

This book was a great read. Some very entertaining and enlightening stories about a military career.

[Sadie tollberg]

Read it in one day! Great collection of all the emotions in a rollercoaster fashion that you cannot put down.