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War & Coffee: Confessions of an American Blackhawk Pilot in Afghanistan
In this thrillingly candid military memoir, a helicopter pilot chronicles his time to Afghanistan both in combat and on base.
In 2009, Joshua Havill was deployed to Afghanistan as a helicopter pilot with the "Screaming Eagles" of the 101st Airborne Division. In War & Coffee, he shares a comically irreverent, brutally honest perspective on what it means to join a decades-long war half way through. In between the occasional mortar round and rocket-propelled grenades, Havill takes a direct look at the tactical and ideological substance of a conflict laced with as much debauchery as tragedy.
After nine years of US Navy Submarine Service and a civilian interlude, Havill reentered the military in 2002 to pursue aviation. His career culminated with 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.
In 2009, Joshua Havill was deployed to Afghanistan as a helicopter pilot with the "Screaming Eagles" of the 101st Airborne Division. In War & Coffee, he shares a comically irreverent, brutally honest perspective on what it means to join a decades-long war half way through. In between the occasional mortar round and rocket-propelled grenades, Havill takes a direct look at the tactical and ideological substance of a conflict laced with as much debauchery as tragedy.
After nine years of US Navy Submarine Service and a civilian interlude, Havill reentered the military in 2002 to pursue aviation. His career culminated with 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.
224 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 28, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
October 8, 2023
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.
March 20, 2024
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!
June 24, 2025
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.
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.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews