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Irregular Army: How the US Military Recruited Neo-Nazis, Gang Members, and Criminals
In Irregular Army, investigative journalist Matt Kennard delivers a searing exposé of how the US military’s recruitment crisis during the War on Terror opened the ranks to some of the most dangerous elements in American society: white supremacists, neo-Nazis, gang members, and convicted criminals. This updated edition deepens the original’s urgent warning, connecting those recruitment policies directly to the rise of MAGA extremism, Trumpism, and the global resurgence of fascism.
Drawing on years of on-the-ground reporting and interviews with extremist veterans and military insiders, Kennard reveals how the Pentagon knowingly empowered violent ideologues in its desperation to staff the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Now back on American soil―and in some cases in positions of power―many of these veterans see their mission continuing through race-war fantasies, far-right organizing, and criminal enterprises.
Drawing on years of on-the-ground reporting and interviews with extremist veterans and military insiders, Kennard reveals how the Pentagon knowingly empowered violent ideologues in its desperation to staff the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Now back on American soil―and in some cases in positions of power―many of these veterans see their mission continuing through race-war fantasies, far-right organizing, and criminal enterprises.
328 pages, Paperback
First published September 17, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
December 30, 2012
Fantastic research/reporting, misleading subtitle and cover photo. Kennard examines the ways in which fighting two wars with a volunteer force requires the loosening of standards for recruitment. From an initial focus on neo-Nazis, gang members, and other extremists among enlisted men and women, the author moves on to mental illness, indifferent treatment of veterans, and the struggle of gays and lesbians to serve their country. Quite well-written for this sort of thing, I can recommend it to people of all political stripes for its equanimity and treatment of a subject that will make one very upset, in the finest muckraking tradition.
July 31, 2026
The New Model Army
Preliminary
This is a review of the expanded and revised edition of the book. The expansions consist of the Forward by Abby Martin, as well as the Preface by the author and the Afterword by John Kiriakou, each written in January 2026. The book itself is from 2012 with a Postscript by the author added in 2014. Yes, prior to the election of Trump but the events described show how the path to Trump was opened. In many respects, the book is more relevant now than when it was first written.
The material in the book primarily covers the military recruitment and retention problems created by the War on Terror, the Afghanistan War, and the Iraq War. In a sense, the book covers the specific historical events (2001 – 2012) and it is not a commentary on current events apart from the Forward, the Preface, and the Afterword but in it one can see the path to current events.
Note: I cannot help but observe that the original edition contains an endorsement from Noam Chomsky proudly displayed on the cover. In the 2026 edition, there is no mention of someone named Noam Chomsky, Noam who? – I’m just saying.
What has been Achieved?
Answer: Millions of lives lost and countries destroyed e.g., Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Iran, the damage of countless covert interventions, and the trillions of dollars spent to achieve a more unstable, dangerous and violent world. There is also the normalization and glorification of violence by police at home and the globalization of valorized aggression overseas. Domestically, we have also achieved the dismantling of the rule of law, democratic norms, standards of decency, and the Constitution itself. The transition to authoritarianism has been achieved and it has been made to seem natural and inevitable. Ironically, the achievement of the War on Terror has been to increase terrorism by encouraging Islamic radicalism and enhancing Christian fundamentalist aggression.
The Current Rot
The rot goes deep. There are no easy fixes or any fixes at all save for catastrophe and reset. A taste of Armageddon is needed before it can be avoided, if it can be avoided. There is no path back to sanity, no option to change course before it is too late. There is only the decent into barbarism ahead. With climate catastrophe looming, superpower confrontation coming, a country in social reverse, artificial intelligence in racing gear, natural intelligence in reverse gear, and the extremists in control, what could possibly go wrong?
Unchecked extremism + Christian fundamentalism + military training = events such as 01/06/21 and the authoritarian drift. The problem of extremism in the military is not new and has a long historical lineage. This is due to the nature of the military, its mission, its training, its indoctrination. It attracts people who are attracted to authority and violence. Be careful when saying “thank you for your service”, you might be thanking an extremist or a criminal rather than a brave solider from the fairytale narrative of humanitarian heroism. Christianity is the binding agent and common thread running through much of the extremism, bigotry, and violence in the U.S. military. The army of Christian crusaders sent to bring democracy and western values to the poor benighted masses of the Middle East was one composed of neo-Nazis from rural America and gangbangers from Chicago who broke bread and heads together in Baghdad. This is not a mistake; it is a crime.
Commentary on Current Events
The invincibly of American power was always an illusion but now even the illusion has burst with the criminal attack on Iran. The U.S. has turned toward military aggression because it can no longer control the world economy. The U.S. has become a military anachronism, a satire of itself, and is now in its reckless and decedent late imperial phase, it will continue to expend itself as it lashes out in outlandish desperation.
What is important to note about current events is that even the facade of the ‘rules-based order’ has become bad fiction, there are no rules or humanitarian standards. For example, genocide is a legitime tool of policy for Israel backed by the U.S. The U.S. and Israel have been exposed for who they really are. We can say one thing for Trump at least, he tore the mask off, he dropped the bureaucratic niceties, and he made the brute nature of American force explicit. A militarized foreign policy, contempt for a rules-based order, the disregard of international law, and the brazen use of brute force is nothing new for U.S. leadership and was in place before Trump came to power, but he has dropped all restraint in using them. But this book primarily addresses the bottom-up radicalization of the U.S. war machine beginning with the War on Terror, the extremism of U.S. leadership, notwithstanding.
The need to meet recruiting quotas worked to water down rules against extremists and criminals joining the military. With Pete Hegseth as SecDef, there is now an open invitation to neo-Nazis, white supremacists, racists, criminals, thugs, and gang members to join the new American military killing machine. The bigotry, misogyny, sexism, and racism in the U.S. Military is now a recruiting tool intended to attract and enlist soldiers from the reactionary MAGA base or anywhere else they can be found. Hegseth himself is a brazen example of this violent extremist cult dredged up from the bottom of the MAGA cesspool. There was time when Hegseth’s tattoos would have been grounds for barring his enlistment. The top leader of the American military comes from the bottom of the gutter. We now have a military with a large proportion of violent, extremist, and mentally unstable individuals rife with addicts, alcoholics, and gangbangers.
The Feedback Loop
The worst aspects of military recruiting and service started during the War on Terror, the Afghanistan War, and the Iraq War. Lower standards were needed to maintain force levels. This attracted the criminals, gang members, thugs, racists, and neo-Nazis who by virtue of their newly acquired military training became the core of the far-right extremist militia groups as well as empowered street gangs in the U.S. cities. In fairness, this has become an equal-opportunity extremist military force. Islamic fundamentalists and many street gangs including the notorious Gangster Disciples found their way into the U.S. military ranks as well as neo-Nazis and white supremacists. The recruits received training and experience in unconventional war with deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan which provided them with the ideal expertise for unconventional war on American streets. The U.S. is literally training its own domestic terrorists. The gangs often filtered back onto America streets with newly acquired tactical skills, stolen military weapons, and pirated military gear. Military tactics and weapons are now found on American streets and American gang graffiti has been found in Iraq and Afghanistan. American street gang wars and turf battles were brought to the Middle East and the wars in the Middle East were brought to American streets. The domestic response in the U.S. has been to militarize and heavily arm the police and ratchet up the violence by using warzone tactics in American streets, e.g., I.C.E. in Minneapolis. This is to say, imperial violence abroad leads to state violence at home. But recruitment quotas for never ending wars must be met and the journey from criminal to soldier continues. But as things turned out, right-wing extremism is the main threat, not street gang violence. The core of the January 6, 2021, Capitol rioters were right-wing Christian extremists utilizing their training and experience from Afghanistan and Iraq. Now these same terrorist extremists are being filtered into I.C.E. The menace of common street gangs, odious as they are, at least do not have the force of law to back up their violence, nor are they a direct threat to the existence of the Republic as in the 01/06/21 example. The street gangs, no excuse intended, are a law enforcement problem, not an existential threat. The type of people who stormed the Capitol are a far greater threat than gangs, Al-Qaeda, or any overseas terrorist or foreign military.
Coda: Fascism is Never Recognized
Fascism is never recognized in the country in which it arises because it is always cloaked in a national mythology. In Italy it was the Roman Empire, in Germany it was Nordic/Arian racial purity, and in America it is Christianity. This is why fascism is always a threat. Communism and expropriation are alien ideologies and more easily identified and avoided.
The U.S. is not the victim of a wider and unfortunate trend in anti-democratic global fascism, the U.S. empire and the criminal gang of collaborators that run it are the leaders in this new trend. The U.S. will not save the world from fascism; it is the source of the fascist trend in the world today; it is allied with repressive regimes and arms genocidal states. The American formula is contempt for intellectuals, hostility toward immigrants, and nostalgia for a mythical past. The U.S. is showing how to normalize and institutionalize religious zealotry, nationalist bigotry, and militarist fanaticism to create a cohesive fascist ideology for indoctrinating and empowering a fanatical fighting force for both domestic and overseas deployment. American fascism is rooted in the deep racism of the KKK in the America South, the home of the slave owing fascist C.S.A. who apparently won the Civil War of ideas after losing the military battle. The U.S. is a country whose origin story lies in war, settlor colonialism, enslavement, and genocide. There should be no surprise that a racist country that fights race-based wars fields a racist, extremist white supremist crusader army.
Preliminary
This is a review of the expanded and revised edition of the book. The expansions consist of the Forward by Abby Martin, as well as the Preface by the author and the Afterword by John Kiriakou, each written in January 2026. The book itself is from 2012 with a Postscript by the author added in 2014. Yes, prior to the election of Trump but the events described show how the path to Trump was opened. In many respects, the book is more relevant now than when it was first written.
The material in the book primarily covers the military recruitment and retention problems created by the War on Terror, the Afghanistan War, and the Iraq War. In a sense, the book covers the specific historical events (2001 – 2012) and it is not a commentary on current events apart from the Forward, the Preface, and the Afterword but in it one can see the path to current events.
Note: I cannot help but observe that the original edition contains an endorsement from Noam Chomsky proudly displayed on the cover. In the 2026 edition, there is no mention of someone named Noam Chomsky, Noam who? – I’m just saying.
What has been Achieved?
Answer: Millions of lives lost and countries destroyed e.g., Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Iran, the damage of countless covert interventions, and the trillions of dollars spent to achieve a more unstable, dangerous and violent world. There is also the normalization and glorification of violence by police at home and the globalization of valorized aggression overseas. Domestically, we have also achieved the dismantling of the rule of law, democratic norms, standards of decency, and the Constitution itself. The transition to authoritarianism has been achieved and it has been made to seem natural and inevitable. Ironically, the achievement of the War on Terror has been to increase terrorism by encouraging Islamic radicalism and enhancing Christian fundamentalist aggression.
The Current Rot
The rot goes deep. There are no easy fixes or any fixes at all save for catastrophe and reset. A taste of Armageddon is needed before it can be avoided, if it can be avoided. There is no path back to sanity, no option to change course before it is too late. There is only the decent into barbarism ahead. With climate catastrophe looming, superpower confrontation coming, a country in social reverse, artificial intelligence in racing gear, natural intelligence in reverse gear, and the extremists in control, what could possibly go wrong?
Unchecked extremism + Christian fundamentalism + military training = events such as 01/06/21 and the authoritarian drift. The problem of extremism in the military is not new and has a long historical lineage. This is due to the nature of the military, its mission, its training, its indoctrination. It attracts people who are attracted to authority and violence. Be careful when saying “thank you for your service”, you might be thanking an extremist or a criminal rather than a brave solider from the fairytale narrative of humanitarian heroism. Christianity is the binding agent and common thread running through much of the extremism, bigotry, and violence in the U.S. military. The army of Christian crusaders sent to bring democracy and western values to the poor benighted masses of the Middle East was one composed of neo-Nazis from rural America and gangbangers from Chicago who broke bread and heads together in Baghdad. This is not a mistake; it is a crime.
Commentary on Current Events
The invincibly of American power was always an illusion but now even the illusion has burst with the criminal attack on Iran. The U.S. has turned toward military aggression because it can no longer control the world economy. The U.S. has become a military anachronism, a satire of itself, and is now in its reckless and decedent late imperial phase, it will continue to expend itself as it lashes out in outlandish desperation.
What is important to note about current events is that even the facade of the ‘rules-based order’ has become bad fiction, there are no rules or humanitarian standards. For example, genocide is a legitime tool of policy for Israel backed by the U.S. The U.S. and Israel have been exposed for who they really are. We can say one thing for Trump at least, he tore the mask off, he dropped the bureaucratic niceties, and he made the brute nature of American force explicit. A militarized foreign policy, contempt for a rules-based order, the disregard of international law, and the brazen use of brute force is nothing new for U.S. leadership and was in place before Trump came to power, but he has dropped all restraint in using them. But this book primarily addresses the bottom-up radicalization of the U.S. war machine beginning with the War on Terror, the extremism of U.S. leadership, notwithstanding.
The need to meet recruiting quotas worked to water down rules against extremists and criminals joining the military. With Pete Hegseth as SecDef, there is now an open invitation to neo-Nazis, white supremacists, racists, criminals, thugs, and gang members to join the new American military killing machine. The bigotry, misogyny, sexism, and racism in the U.S. Military is now a recruiting tool intended to attract and enlist soldiers from the reactionary MAGA base or anywhere else they can be found. Hegseth himself is a brazen example of this violent extremist cult dredged up from the bottom of the MAGA cesspool. There was time when Hegseth’s tattoos would have been grounds for barring his enlistment. The top leader of the American military comes from the bottom of the gutter. We now have a military with a large proportion of violent, extremist, and mentally unstable individuals rife with addicts, alcoholics, and gangbangers.
The Feedback Loop
The worst aspects of military recruiting and service started during the War on Terror, the Afghanistan War, and the Iraq War. Lower standards were needed to maintain force levels. This attracted the criminals, gang members, thugs, racists, and neo-Nazis who by virtue of their newly acquired military training became the core of the far-right extremist militia groups as well as empowered street gangs in the U.S. cities. In fairness, this has become an equal-opportunity extremist military force. Islamic fundamentalists and many street gangs including the notorious Gangster Disciples found their way into the U.S. military ranks as well as neo-Nazis and white supremacists. The recruits received training and experience in unconventional war with deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan which provided them with the ideal expertise for unconventional war on American streets. The U.S. is literally training its own domestic terrorists. The gangs often filtered back onto America streets with newly acquired tactical skills, stolen military weapons, and pirated military gear. Military tactics and weapons are now found on American streets and American gang graffiti has been found in Iraq and Afghanistan. American street gang wars and turf battles were brought to the Middle East and the wars in the Middle East were brought to American streets. The domestic response in the U.S. has been to militarize and heavily arm the police and ratchet up the violence by using warzone tactics in American streets, e.g., I.C.E. in Minneapolis. This is to say, imperial violence abroad leads to state violence at home. But recruitment quotas for never ending wars must be met and the journey from criminal to soldier continues. But as things turned out, right-wing extremism is the main threat, not street gang violence. The core of the January 6, 2021, Capitol rioters were right-wing Christian extremists utilizing their training and experience from Afghanistan and Iraq. Now these same terrorist extremists are being filtered into I.C.E. The menace of common street gangs, odious as they are, at least do not have the force of law to back up their violence, nor are they a direct threat to the existence of the Republic as in the 01/06/21 example. The street gangs, no excuse intended, are a law enforcement problem, not an existential threat. The type of people who stormed the Capitol are a far greater threat than gangs, Al-Qaeda, or any overseas terrorist or foreign military.
Coda: Fascism is Never Recognized
Fascism is never recognized in the country in which it arises because it is always cloaked in a national mythology. In Italy it was the Roman Empire, in Germany it was Nordic/Arian racial purity, and in America it is Christianity. This is why fascism is always a threat. Communism and expropriation are alien ideologies and more easily identified and avoided.
The U.S. is not the victim of a wider and unfortunate trend in anti-democratic global fascism, the U.S. empire and the criminal gang of collaborators that run it are the leaders in this new trend. The U.S. will not save the world from fascism; it is the source of the fascist trend in the world today; it is allied with repressive regimes and arms genocidal states. The American formula is contempt for intellectuals, hostility toward immigrants, and nostalgia for a mythical past. The U.S. is showing how to normalize and institutionalize religious zealotry, nationalist bigotry, and militarist fanaticism to create a cohesive fascist ideology for indoctrinating and empowering a fanatical fighting force for both domestic and overseas deployment. American fascism is rooted in the deep racism of the KKK in the America South, the home of the slave owing fascist C.S.A. who apparently won the Civil War of ideas after losing the military battle. The U.S. is a country whose origin story lies in war, settlor colonialism, enslavement, and genocide. There should be no surprise that a racist country that fights race-based wars fields a racist, extremist white supremist crusader army.
June 19, 2017
"Important" is the word that comes to mind here. Post-9/11, the US military was so desperate for recruits, they relaxed their standards to an alarming degree--letting in avowed racists, violent gangsters, and others who would have been blocked from service in years past.
But this book isn't just about criminals in the armed forces, it's also about the general problems faced by current and former soldiers, including the poor mental and physical health of today's servicepeople, the grim prospects for ex-soldiers, and predatory recruiting practices, especially among minority students.
But this book isn't just about criminals in the armed forces, it's also about the general problems faced by current and former soldiers, including the poor mental and physical health of today's servicepeople, the grim prospects for ex-soldiers, and predatory recruiting practices, especially among minority students.
September 5, 2018
This is an odd, mixed bag of a book. On the one hand, Kennard's reporting on how the US military allows actively organized white supremacists in their ranks is really stellar. However, the rest of the book is about how an "Irregular Army" was put together in the mid 00s by lowering recruitment standards across the board, which Kennard only manages to flip into a convincing criticism of US imperial projects about half of the time. The other standout chapters discuss how the War on Terror feeds into mental health and substance abuse problems because of the psychological impact of conflict and how the military is allowed to prey on minors in high schools to meet recruitment goals. But the chapters about felons, people who are obese, and gang members feature a lot of pearl clutching about the declining efficacy of the military that is weird coming from an ostensibly left-wing book critiquing US imperialism.
February 28, 2017
The author discusses efforts and motives of down-sizing the US military and privatizing many of its functions to include the use of mercenaries. Also addressed is the recruitment efforts of segments of the population not actively recruited in normal times. It is a thought provoking read.
September 28, 2012
Crazy story...makes you really not wanna be a part of the US military. Stories of predatory recruiting, veteran benefits not filled, lower standards...nothing to be proud of as an American or more especially as a soldier. When war requires more soldiers, they'll find a way to fill 'em: upping the age limit to 42, lowering IQ, no high school diploma needed, bias towards recruiting the poor and minorities. A must read for anyone considering the military!
February 2, 2013
Informative
August 6, 2026
4.4/5
A good yet infuriating read.
Growing up is realising that 9 times out of 10, the US are the bad guys.
Cuts through the US military propaganda in Hollywood, TV, books, video games, history books, etc. and shows that it's just that, regular old propaganda that they say is bad when enemies of the US do it, but is fine when they do it.
Pretty much confirms what anyone with even a cursory knowledge of U.S foreign policy knows and that is that the US goes around the world, murders, rapes, deal drugs, commits and supports genocide, topples democratically elected governments in pursuit of their "economic rights", and just generally be one of the most destructive things that has ever stained the face of the earth.
The irony of the US "sending their best" when so few people actually want to join the US army that they consistently have the lower standards to allow people like neo-nazis, gang members, felons, the obese and severely mentally ill people to join up, and also target those that are at the bottom of the unclimbable ladder in the US, and other countries, that are convinced with false promises.
That being said, its incredibly sad that there were people that signed up thinking they were doing good and defending their country, yet the majority of conflicts they're forced into are for the benefit of a tiny class of elite that view them as cannon fodder and a number that pops up on the screen when casualties are listed. The grip that the US military then has on them and how they control their lives and the threat of ruining it for them if they don't follow orders is really, really sad. A whole system aimed at exploiting those that have issues that can be exploited for the benefit of making money.
A good yet infuriating read.
Growing up is realising that 9 times out of 10, the US are the bad guys.
Cuts through the US military propaganda in Hollywood, TV, books, video games, history books, etc. and shows that it's just that, regular old propaganda that they say is bad when enemies of the US do it, but is fine when they do it.
Pretty much confirms what anyone with even a cursory knowledge of U.S foreign policy knows and that is that the US goes around the world, murders, rapes, deal drugs, commits and supports genocide, topples democratically elected governments in pursuit of their "economic rights", and just generally be one of the most destructive things that has ever stained the face of the earth.
The irony of the US "sending their best" when so few people actually want to join the US army that they consistently have the lower standards to allow people like neo-nazis, gang members, felons, the obese and severely mentally ill people to join up, and also target those that are at the bottom of the unclimbable ladder in the US, and other countries, that are convinced with false promises.
That being said, its incredibly sad that there were people that signed up thinking they were doing good and defending their country, yet the majority of conflicts they're forced into are for the benefit of a tiny class of elite that view them as cannon fodder and a number that pops up on the screen when casualties are listed. The grip that the US military then has on them and how they control their lives and the threat of ruining it for them if they don't follow orders is really, really sad. A whole system aimed at exploiting those that have issues that can be exploited for the benefit of making money.
September 4, 2024
Very troubling if the problem is as widespread as Kennard writes. Recent periods of high military recruitment needs (ie. The War on Terror) tend to see standards loosen and some dangerous recruits that make it through come back with military training and strengthened ideologies
February 29, 2016
This was a fascinating, disturbing read. Journalist Matt Kennard traces a number of huge problems with the U.S. military to the lowering of enlistment standards by Donald Rumsfeld during the administration of George W. Bush. In order to keep enlistment up during the invasion of Iraq and the war on terror, the Bush administration began allowing neo-nazis and gang members to join, something that had been illegal, at least on paper, before. Commanders and units turned a blind eye to them, despite neo-nazis, KKK members, and gang members carrying out war crimes against Iraqi and middle eastern civilians. This also led to the increasing spike of assaults and rapes against women in the military as well as creating a national security crisis - rightwing extremists and gang members receiving military training to bring back to the streets of the United States, where they can train their companions in tactics and operations. He also documents the decline of physical fitness standards, as well as the illegal recruitment of underage high schoolers and the manipulation of desperate immigrants through the offer of a green card in exchange for military service. A harrowing account of some disturbing trends in our military.
Read
August 3, 2015This book is an important round-up of the degradation of intake policy in the U.S. Armed forces.
The policy critique is sharp. There is some incoherence in certain decisions, such as holding up white supremacists, drug cartels, and "gangs" as equivalent toxicities. I am not down with the fat-shaming that comes in along with the pointed critique of fast food corporations' capture of the overseas military market. And all this progressivism has to be flipped over in the discussion of DADT.
Still, a relevant and often shocking read, tending to the spaces left open in the voluminousness of Medsgar's The Burglary and Erikson's Malazan imperial military fantasy.
The policy critique is sharp. There is some incoherence in certain decisions, such as holding up white supremacists, drug cartels, and "gangs" as equivalent toxicities. I am not down with the fat-shaming that comes in along with the pointed critique of fast food corporations' capture of the overseas military market. And all this progressivism has to be flipped over in the discussion of DADT.
Still, a relevant and often shocking read, tending to the spaces left open in the voluminousness of Medsgar's The Burglary and Erikson's Malazan imperial military fantasy.
July 3, 2016
Excellent piece of research on how the relaxation of standards for accepting individuals into the American army, in order to meet the recruitment goals needed to facilitate the war on terror, has significantly impacted the quality of the army.
Before reading, I was under the impression that the book was going to uncover some nefarious conspiracy. Instead, it shows how negligence, carelessness, stubbornness and ignorance were the drivers for these changes for the worse.
Before reading, I was under the impression that the book was going to uncover some nefarious conspiracy. Instead, it shows how negligence, carelessness, stubbornness and ignorance were the drivers for these changes for the worse.
July 14, 2013
This a poorly written and researched book on an interesting topic. The author is not familiar with military jargon and, as a result, there are many errors that could easily have been rectified. In many ways, the book reads like a senior thesis. A good way to describe the writing would be "uncomfortable."
August 2, 2017
I think my main issue with this book is that it doesn't seem sure about what it wants to be.
Kennard's description - to say nothing of the cover and title! - present a book about the growth of extremism and organized crime in the ranks of the American military. The first chapter of the book discusses exactly that, and does so in alarming detail. The lion's share of Irregular Army discusses a series of other major, growing problems faced by the military: substance abuse, mental illness, declining physical, mental and educational standards, DADT and the ethical quandaries of noncitizen soldiers. The transition can be a little jarring if you opened this book - like I did - expecting a more in-depth look at one of those topics in particular.
Kennard's argument is that these all stem from the same source: a deliberate, substantial weakening of recruitment standards primarily intended to keep up with manpower requirements demanded by the War in Afghanistan and the Iraq War. With that thought in mind, they tie together. In the end, it's consistent. However, three quarters of the book still isn't what you would expect from the title and cover description. If I was able to suggest one thing to Kennard prior to this book getting published, it would be pretty simple: change those, not the text!
For the most part, Kennard presents his arguments reasonably well. While this book is very much a polemic, it's not just opinion; it's a rare page that doesn't have a source or two footnoted or named in-text. His overall writing style is focused on personal stories representative of the larger problems which make the situations he's describing more accessible (sometimes heartbreakingly - or infuriatingly - so). The overall weight of the book is somewhat spoiled, however, by its epilogue, which starts off with a pet peeve of mine in the form of a lengthy allegory to the military decline of the Roman Empire. Such comparisons are a common temptation to writers working in recent history or current events, but are almost never done well. This book's attempt is no exception, stumbling about and falling over alongside countless other attempts by other authors.
So it's a flawed book, sure. It doesn't describe itself accurately, and perhaps has the feel of multiple projects which got lashed together in the end. (This might be why it doesn't.) That said, while the presentation isn't what it should have been, this plate definitely has some meat worth digesting on the challenges the US military is facing and will continue to face in coming years.
Kennard's description - to say nothing of the cover and title! - present a book about the growth of extremism and organized crime in the ranks of the American military. The first chapter of the book discusses exactly that, and does so in alarming detail. The lion's share of Irregular Army discusses a series of other major, growing problems faced by the military: substance abuse, mental illness, declining physical, mental and educational standards, DADT and the ethical quandaries of noncitizen soldiers. The transition can be a little jarring if you opened this book - like I did - expecting a more in-depth look at one of those topics in particular.
Kennard's argument is that these all stem from the same source: a deliberate, substantial weakening of recruitment standards primarily intended to keep up with manpower requirements demanded by the War in Afghanistan and the Iraq War. With that thought in mind, they tie together. In the end, it's consistent. However, three quarters of the book still isn't what you would expect from the title and cover description. If I was able to suggest one thing to Kennard prior to this book getting published, it would be pretty simple: change those, not the text!
For the most part, Kennard presents his arguments reasonably well. While this book is very much a polemic, it's not just opinion; it's a rare page that doesn't have a source or two footnoted or named in-text. His overall writing style is focused on personal stories representative of the larger problems which make the situations he's describing more accessible (sometimes heartbreakingly - or infuriatingly - so). The overall weight of the book is somewhat spoiled, however, by its epilogue, which starts off with a pet peeve of mine in the form of a lengthy allegory to the military decline of the Roman Empire. Such comparisons are a common temptation to writers working in recent history or current events, but are almost never done well. This book's attempt is no exception, stumbling about and falling over alongside countless other attempts by other authors.
So it's a flawed book, sure. It doesn't describe itself accurately, and perhaps has the feel of multiple projects which got lashed together in the end. (This might be why it doesn't.) That said, while the presentation isn't what it should have been, this plate definitely has some meat worth digesting on the challenges the US military is facing and will continue to face in coming years.
December 28, 2017
Content Note - this book deadnames and misgenders Chelsea Manning (though I'm fairly certain she was not yet out when it was published, so I don't really blame the author), and its use of language about fat people was awful.
It took me so long to get around to reading this book, I thought it would feel more out of date than it was (I believe it was published during Obama's first term), but the first chapter, in particular, dealing with neonazis in the military, seemed pretty ...er... current (though, I would say I'm more worried about neonazis and white supremacists in politics and police right now).
The chapter on Outsiders and the Epilogue were particularly interesting to me.
That said, while I found this book to be pretty informative (more about the US military than I ever thought I'd read), its struggle to maintain "neutrality" in the face of some of the worst (recent) crimes of the US military was a little disconcerting to me, and I found some of his points in the first chapter (Neonazis/gangs) a bit repetitive. The chapter titled Young, plumb, dumb and ready to serve seemed particularly unfocused to me, like it was trying to do too many things at once. Personally, I would have preferred the chapters to be further broken down, with a more concise thesis in each one.
It took me so long to get around to reading this book, I thought it would feel more out of date than it was (I believe it was published during Obama's first term), but the first chapter, in particular, dealing with neonazis in the military, seemed pretty ...er... current (though, I would say I'm more worried about neonazis and white supremacists in politics and police right now).
The chapter on Outsiders and the Epilogue were particularly interesting to me.
That said, while I found this book to be pretty informative (more about the US military than I ever thought I'd read), its struggle to maintain "neutrality" in the face of some of the worst (recent) crimes of the US military was a little disconcerting to me, and I found some of his points in the first chapter (Neonazis/gangs) a bit repetitive. The chapter titled Young, plumb, dumb and ready to serve seemed particularly unfocused to me, like it was trying to do too many things at once. Personally, I would have preferred the chapters to be further broken down, with a more concise thesis in each one.
January 17, 2025
The book is an easy read and extremely interesting. The only reason I give it 3 stars is because at times it can get redundant and reading “the war on terror” so many times will low key drive you insane. Other than that it gives some great insight into the deterioration of the military through early 2000s and the consequences of that.
December 4, 2019
A cracking good read which goes a long way to explaining how the commission of war crimes was so prevalent in Iraq. People who seemed keen to perpetrate them were deliberately recruited.
November 29, 2024
Hiring a bunch of ragtag people to kill. Who would have thought that?
June 17, 2025
Honestly, this was such an amazing read. I’ve had some great nonfiction reads this year and this one really hit it out of the park. Cannot recommend this one enough.
June 11, 2026
excellent exploration of a problem I knew existed, but didn't know just how much
June 25, 2026
there’s so much to learn from this but my god is it mind numbingly boring
November 12, 2016
Deceiving subtitle. This is quite a deep dive into the recruitment standards of the Army since the beginning of the war on terror. With a large mix of anecdotal and research based evidence, Kennard presents a critique of Rumsfeld's vision for the army (which was later picked up by Obama) and how it fails across many spectrums.
Though the writing at times seems unfocused, and more about the storytelling than anything else, Kennard spends time each chapter trying to bring it back to his central arguments. Though I would like to see a larger, and deeper look into the "barbarization" of the US army, this serves as a strong warning about how much has changed within the military as it turns a blind eye to extremists, reduces it help of the wounded and mentally scarred, and uses intimidation tactics on the nation's youth and poor all in the name of having a larger army.
Though the writing at times seems unfocused, and more about the storytelling than anything else, Kennard spends time each chapter trying to bring it back to his central arguments. Though I would like to see a larger, and deeper look into the "barbarization" of the US army, this serves as a strong warning about how much has changed within the military as it turns a blind eye to extremists, reduces it help of the wounded and mentally scarred, and uses intimidation tactics on the nation's youth and poor all in the name of having a larger army.
April 6, 2017
(Note: I despise the cover not for being inflammatory or uncreative. I despise it because of how little it focuses on the wide range of problems produced by the US Military and it’s creation of the so-called War On Terror. A swastika is always striking imagery, but I think it hurt the book’s presented message in the long run.)
In life, there are many dark threads. One day, you’ll hear about the dark thread concerning a massacre of civilians in the Middle East. The next day, a friend tells you about gang members robbing a bank with above mysterious competency. A few days later, you read an article detailing the exploits of neo-nazis in Florida with military training. Disparate at first, these dark threads appear to be fray ends that once made up the mixed cloth tapestry called life.
In reality, these dark threads are still part of a different, menacing, blackened cloth, easily capable and strong enough to create a noose. Most people don’t like to acknowledge this noose exists. Some claim the noose only hangs enemies of the state with justifiable casualties of innocents. A few brave souls acknowledge the nooses existence and seek it’s dissolution. No matter where people stand on the noose problem, one question is divided among all: Whose hands crafted the noose in the first place?
The answer to that question: The US military. Read this book and be amazed at how often and hard hundreds of people can drop the ball. I'm serious, it would be impressive if it didn't end up as a literal meatgrinder.
In life, there are many dark threads. One day, you’ll hear about the dark thread concerning a massacre of civilians in the Middle East. The next day, a friend tells you about gang members robbing a bank with above mysterious competency. A few days later, you read an article detailing the exploits of neo-nazis in Florida with military training. Disparate at first, these dark threads appear to be fray ends that once made up the mixed cloth tapestry called life.
In reality, these dark threads are still part of a different, menacing, blackened cloth, easily capable and strong enough to create a noose. Most people don’t like to acknowledge this noose exists. Some claim the noose only hangs enemies of the state with justifiable casualties of innocents. A few brave souls acknowledge the nooses existence and seek it’s dissolution. No matter where people stand on the noose problem, one question is divided among all: Whose hands crafted the noose in the first place?
The answer to that question: The US military. Read this book and be amazed at how often and hard hundreds of people can drop the ball. I'm serious, it would be impressive if it didn't end up as a literal meatgrinder.
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