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Beyond the Outpost: An Army Cavalry Officer’s War Diary on the Frontlines of Afghanistan, 2003 – 2007
224 pages, Hardcover
Published November 15, 2025
31 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 9, 2026
I generally stay away from contemporary American war stories. It might be my own experiences in Iraq, that I'd rather not relive or maybe it's because many war stories are focused purely on the exciting parts. There is a lot more to it. I met Ross Berkoff through Jake Tapper (yes, I am name-dropping, I am not sorry), and we immediately hit it off. He offered the book, and I readily accepted because I felt like he could really tell the story without the Hollywood sheen. Thank God, I was right to put my trust in him.
Beyond the Outpost is a collection of Berkoff's diaries over two deployments to Afghanistan. It's all in there. The monotony of training to deploy. The crashing of personalities against each other even though everyone has the same mission. The soul-crushing boredom of waiting for something to happen... and then sudden flashes of violence and tragedy. Then you go right back to the boredom but with a new scar, either literal, figurative, or both.
What is so engaging about the book is the simplicity. For former warfighters, it will all feel familiar to a shocking degree. For everyone else, these diary entries give you a true view into what it is like to deploy into a war zone. All of it is understated but profound. You'll learn that soldiers are just as likely to get killed by accidents as they are by enemy combatants. Footnotes telling you a character would later commit suicide remind us the danger doesn't end on the home front.
So, if you want the whole story, pick this one up. Out.
(This book was provided as a review copy by the author.)
Beyond the Outpost is a collection of Berkoff's diaries over two deployments to Afghanistan. It's all in there. The monotony of training to deploy. The crashing of personalities against each other even though everyone has the same mission. The soul-crushing boredom of waiting for something to happen... and then sudden flashes of violence and tragedy. Then you go right back to the boredom but with a new scar, either literal, figurative, or both.
What is so engaging about the book is the simplicity. For former warfighters, it will all feel familiar to a shocking degree. For everyone else, these diary entries give you a true view into what it is like to deploy into a war zone. All of it is understated but profound. You'll learn that soldiers are just as likely to get killed by accidents as they are by enemy combatants. Footnotes telling you a character would later commit suicide remind us the danger doesn't end on the home front.
So, if you want the whole story, pick this one up. Out.
(This book was provided as a review copy by the author.)
January 9, 2026
Powerful insight into the life of a soldier in wartime. The tedium, frustration, patriotism,fear, excitement, anger, cynicism, sadness… Everything at once.
I was familiar with the later story of COP Keating from Jake Tapper’s book The Outpost. This is a prequel of sorts, as told by one who was part of building it from scratch.I would suggest reading both to understand the complete context and story of the later tragedy that occurred.
I was familiar with the later story of COP Keating from Jake Tapper’s book The Outpost. This is a prequel of sorts, as told by one who was part of building it from scratch.I would suggest reading both to understand the complete context and story of the later tragedy that occurred.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews