Mission: Sniper: The uncensored story of four snipers in Afghanistan

by Wali

The story of four snipers in the heat of combat in Afghanistan, fighting the Taliban insurgency. They were in the mountains, in the desert, in the villages. Follow them in this untold, uncensored story. Wali was also a volunteer fighter against the Islamic State. The war name “Wali” was given by the Afghans.

532 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 28, 2022

Reviews

[Stephan Neff · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have thoroughly enjoyed this book for a multitude of reasons. I loved how Wali naturally walked through the many decisions needed before a sniper finally pulls the trigger. These decisions start from the initial upbringing of the human concerned to the training received and the standard operating procedures in place at a time (aka politics). More importantly, Wali goes into the real devil-and-angel-on-the-shoulders-discussions in real life. Thie book is written with humility, transparency and honesty, and I am not surprised that the author has chosen a nom-de-plum. I, for one, am indeed grateful to get an insight into the real-life decision-making of a man in the middle of the fog of war. I do not envy anyone who has to make decisions on the spot, with limited information, under time pressure and with the constant threat of being called either a murderer (if innocent life is taken) or a failure (if a fellow soldier is killed). Thank you for sharing these precious insights that should be considered by politicians and all those who dare to judge from the safety of their living room.

[Wharton Sinkler · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the story of a Canadian sniper's deployment in Afghanistan. Most of my reading has been in Vietnam vets' memoirs, so this account not only reveals some Canadian's prejudice against those -- like this author -- from Quebec, but also the availability of 50 more years of wartime technology. While some things are translatable, like hootches versus villages, the perhaps inevitable comparisons to video games were not expected. I had some trouble realizing that the tools of war have become the toys of men in uniform: They love the variety of their weapons. Whereas Americans would simply burn an entire enemy village in Vietnam, this man and his friends often thought of the Geneva Convention and the ethics of killing men in situations of ambiguity. There were challenges of a new vocabulary, such as "leager" which I couldn't find in the first online dictionary, and different idiomatic uses of prepositions. I remain surprised at the author's ability to open-heartedly connect with Afghans. He seems to me a mix of impulsiveness and precision -- he is very in touch with the boy he was. He doesn't have the American quickness to question authority. His story held my interest.

[a.t.m. · Rating 5 out of 5]

must read book on the war in Afghanistan as told by a sniper

Great book by the author. He brings the reader into the action and the difficult task of determining who lives and who dies. He has immortalized his service, his comrades, and his unit forever. Peace to him and all those fighting for our freedom.