Lions of Marjah: Combat As I Saw It

by Ryan Rogers

"Lions of Marjah" is a book that I started while fighting the Taliban in the Helmand River Valley Province of Afghanistan. Living, eating and sleeping amongst the enemy. The book begins with an introduction to my history in the corps and drops the reader in when I re-enlisted and moved to 3rd Battalion 6th Marines where I was assigned to Kilo Company 2nd platoon as a infantry Squad Leader. It talks about the challenges that a new squad leader faces when entering a new platoon and the challenges faced by the new guys he means to lead. Next the book introduces the deployment to Afghanistan and the mission that our unit was tasked with. We would be going into Marjah and liberating the people there from the totalitarian grips of the Taliban. We would invade the city of Marjah by helicopter with one other company from 1st Battalion 6th Marines, while the rest of the Companies from both Battalions surrounded and squeezed the enemy in toward us. We would be tasked with seizing and holding Marine Expeditionary Brigade (MEB) objective (OBJ) number 2, which was a land bridge road intersection where a suspected Master Bomb Maker lived and operated. We were to clear and hold the area and await follow on instructions. With stiff resistance and next to constant fighting this took 3 days longer than it was supposed to. The book moves from firefight to firefight through the first 4 weeks of fighting and then breaks down the deployment in sections (chapters) and covers the experiences therein. The sections range from contact patrols to the emotions and experiences of killing another human being to losing one of my own guys. The book has a variety of after-actions and lessons learned from the different engagements throughout the time in Marjah, to share experiences and provide real situations to think about for the warfighters that protect the nation. This book drives at the heart of the infantry community and will really put the war fighting experience in perspective for those who have never been.

192 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 20, 2021

About the author

I received my bachelor's degree in psychology from Baylor University and was also in a philosophy-based honors program. I am currently a graduate student in counseling working on becoming a therapist. I write on the intersection of philosophy, psychology, mental health, politics, and culture. I hope to bring insight on complex topics in ways that are more easily digestible to most readers.

Reviews

[Herschel Hepler · Rating 5 out of 5]

An honest look at the complexity of war, seen through the eyes of a Marine navigating leadership responsibilities in the thick of battle. Rogers’ candor is refreshing, and reveals how soldiers problem-solve when things don’t go as planned. Mud in an unexpected location? Make it work. Airstrike misses the smoke? Stay focused (despite the emotional toll).
The brotherhood built between soldiers is powerful to behold, even on the page, and Lions of Marjah sells that truth with conviction. From the clever banter to the grief of friends lost, you can’t help but wish you had more friends with this kind of bond.
I also appreciated the respect for Afghanistan’s culture (while showing Talibs a bit of America’s culture), where Rogers notes the skills of a local gunner attached to their unit, the value of good guidance from a local translator, and the hospitality of a young local girl giving soldiers fresh bread. This is an an important distinction, reminding us that we were not at war with Afghanistan; we were at war with a terrorist organization that was (is) poisoning an otherwise hospitable country—a country that, through no fault of its own, is caught between India/Pakistan tensions and Pakistan’s obsession with “strategic depth”. Let’s hope peace and human rights return to the region asap.

[Maddie Gannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was fanominal. It gives a lot of detail but not to much that's its overwhelming. Ryan shares his thoughts, experience and journal entries in a way that is easy to read and easy to understand.
One thing I wished during reading this was a key page for all the acronyms in the book. He explains each one quite a few times but near the end there is so many I started to get mixed up. I wish there was also photos and maps of what he was explaining but I understand that may not be legal to include. I looked up YouTube videos to get visuals and it made so much sense.

This book is heart breaking in ways but also eye opening and heart touching in others. I had a family member there during this deployment (different platoon then Ryan but they crossed paths a few times) and it was nice to finally read something to understand what he went through over there.

I would read 10000 books if written by Ryan Roger's again. This was beautifully written!!

[Lynn G. Poppe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Worth reading

A book that was worth reading. Ryan Rogers wrote about his experience. He wrote what it was like and also explained things where the person would know what him and his troops were doing. Seller Fi!

[timothy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book

Reminded me of my time with 1/6 in Marjah and brought me back in time. Thank you for writing this book.

[Kab D · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great book, I loved getting an Enlisted perspective of what war is like from this hard charging, highly motivated, devil dog.
I highly recommend this book. He’s got a good podcast as well for those who want to hear more about the Marines who fought in Afghanistan.