Keep Your Head Down: One commando's brutally honest account of fighting in Afghanistan

by Nathan Mullins

A brutally honest, poignant but at times hilarious account of fighting in Afghanistan with the 2 Commando Company, of the Australian Army Reserve.

Nathan Mullins deployed to Afghanistan as a Special Forces Commando. Spearheading Australia's Special Operations troops, he and other Australians like him sought the Taliban in the valleys and hills of Uruzgan through Afghanistan's harsh winter while at the same time attempting to bring a human face to the villagers caught in the middle of the fighting. They lived with the daily threat of roadside bombs, ambush and firefights, where survival meant learning to read the signs to determine friend from foe. And they did what they could to relieve the awful effects of war on the men, women and children of the civilian population caught in the crossfire.

But these were not your regular soldiers. Sure, they had trained for years for the role but these were citizen soldiers, reservists who had put aside their usual jobs as salesmen, farmers, scientists, lawyers and students to fight Australia's 'war on terror'.

Keep Your Head Down is a brutally honest, first-hand account that takes you into the centre of the action and asks some tough questions. What is Australia doing in Afghanistan? What would winning that war look like? What makes a man leave his family to go to war when he doesn't have to? Can there be such a thing as a just war?

Nathan Mullins isn't a typical Special Forces soldier. In his day job he is the International Program Manager for Australian Aid International, a humanitarian organisation that responds to disasters and emergencies around the globe.

Genres: Nonfiction, War, Military Fiction

370 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 28, 2011

Reviews

[Terri · Rating 4 out of 5]

For me, this book was more a 3 1/2 star book. It deserves more than 3 stars, but skimmed under 4 star.
The author is a bit of a larrikin. A jolly individual who, to be brutally honest, includes probably a bit too much of his personality in this book. It is full of his banter and side note comments. Sometimes they detract from the quality of the yarn and at other times they add to it. There were times where I actually laughed out loud, so I have to give him marks for that.
Despite the extreme candour and sometimes juvenile rhetoric, I learned a lot from this book about Australia's Special Forces role in the war on terror in Afghanistan.
I often wondered if our SF guys role was purely kill or capture missions, but their role is much more lateral than that. It was nice to read about these guys worming kids and attempting to improve water quality, hygiene and liveability in remote Pashtun villages.
Nathan Mullins seems quite likeable. I liked him. Granted, sometimes his attempts at being funny are irritating, but when this book works, it really does work.

[Okimura1170 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Keep Your Head Down is a personal story of an Australian Army Special Forces Reservist rotation to the Afghan War. It's not suppose to be an all encompassing history (for this read Chris Masters' “No Front Line” but is Nathan’s recollection of his four months in Afghanistan. The bulk of the book covers some of his missions outside the wire into one of the poorest country in the world, and where weapons are openly carried as a way of life.
The book is special because Nathan’s unit is unique in being probably one of few if not the only Reserve Special Forces unit globally. Nathan himself was a humanitarian worker, and ex police before that. The wider experience comes through in his writing and observations of his and his company’s work in Afghanistan.
This book is a welcome counterpoint to the alleged criminal actions revealed this week in the Brereton report on Afghanistan, and shows that the vast majority of ADF participants served with honour and made a difference where they could.
Put "Keep Your Head Down" on your bookshelf with the civilian written Making Soapies in Kabul by Trudi Tierney, The Dust of Uruzgan by Fred Smith (DFAT diplomat).
5 Stars

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic read, highly recommend.

[Rob · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written well enough and offers a couple of provocative insights but not much happens

[Keith McArdle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Over a certain period of time when both the Australian SAS and regular Commando regiment were tasked with missions elsewhere in the world, it was left up to 2 Commando, a reserve Commando unit, to deploy to Afghanistan to take up the reigns for the Australian Special Forces contingent. They did a sterling job. In this brutally honest account, Mullins gives a clear, direct and well formed dialogue about day to day life in Afghanistan with his Commando unit. He covers everything from winning hearts and minds, by running medical clinics for local villages and holding shuras (meetings) with village elders, to the grit of heavy combat against battle hardened Taliban fighters. Mullins also asks and answers some very important questions about the Australian involvement in Afghanistan. So if you want to know more about what our troops are doing there, and why they're doing it, switch off the evening news and pick up this book. You won't regret it.

[Paula · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really good, down-to-earth description of a tour of Afghanistan, by a Special Forces reservist. Was a nice, short read that offered a bit more insight into the situation there than we usually get on the news. Amusing and honest and well worth the read.

[Simon Griffiths]

Lucky Nathan was there to help out, not sure what we would have done without him.