Razor 03: A Night Stalker’s Wars

by Alan C. Mack

“A truly extraordinary book by a phenomenal pilot and warrior. Alan Mack was in the thick of every sensitive, harrowing, high-stakes operation in the decade following 9/11. His account of combat from the cockpit of the world’s most exceptional special ops aviation unit and of the toll it took on him and his family is forthright, riveting, raw, compelling, and inspirational. Readers will not be able to put Razor 3 down.” -General David H. Petraeus, US Army (Ret.), former Commander of the Surge in Iraq, US Central Command, and Coalition Forces in Afghanistan, and former Director of the CIAFinalist, 2022 Army Historical Foundation Distinguished Writing Awards

The attacks of September 11, 2001, prompted the creation of a robust and deadly special operations force -- Task Force Dagger. Alan C. Mack, Callsign Razor 03, led a team of MH-47E helicopters and armed MH-60s. Their two-fold mission – Personnel Recovery (PR) and Unconventional Warfare (UW) involved flying in terrain and weather previously not thought possible. If that wasn’t enough, they pushed the flight envelope of their specially modified Chinooks to the limit and beyond.
Mack shares his behind-the-scenes perspective of the Horse Soldier’s infill into Afghanistan. He discusses the hunt for Osama Bin Laden at Tora Bora and describes his shootdown during Operation Anaconda. Years later, he chased Bowe Bergdahl, rescued hostages in Iraq, and the U.S. Navy Seal ‘Lone Survivor’ from the Kunar Valley.

Mack’s near-death experiences and frequent deployments not only affected him, but pushed his wife toward prescription opioids. Her developing addiction led to friction as he kept her secret and continued to deploy.

He lived by his unit’s motto, Night Stalkers Don’t Quit! He wouldn’t quit on his unit – he couldn’t quit on his family. His story of success, tragedy, and ultimate happiness is as old as warfare itself.

Genres: History, Military Fiction, Nonfiction, War, Military History, Audiobook, Biography

437 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 31, 2022

Reviews

[Alan Mack]

I just read it again. I think you'll like it.

[Anthony Dechandt · Rating 5 out of 5]

unique read!

so cool to read about a pilot from the 160th! how they got there, n there role in the last 20 years of war! i had no idea how cool chinooks were, i always thought of them as flying school buses, not stealthy powerful beasts they are! great book!

[Anthony · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good stories from GWOT. Mack took part in a lot of infamous battles. The family situation adds a different element from the typical war story books.

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing story told by a great individual, really enjoyable read!

[Ben Wright · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredible insight into the night stalkers and the chinook’s capabilities with a tragic ending. On one hand a surprising and exciting look into operation anaconda and operation red wings. But nearly brought to tears about the troubles at home. An incredibly resilient person and a great read.

[Dusty Juhl · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book tells a very interesting and compelling story, but it needed a few more rounds of editing to catch all the mistakes. Like most books about the military, there's an extensive glossary of acronyms included, but it covers less than half of the ones used. It lacks an index or any maps, but it wasn't terribly hard to follow the events as described by the author. Even after multiple deployments to both Iraq and Afghanistan and losing his wife to addiction, he lives out the motto: Night Stalkers Don't Quit.

[Pbloom · Rating 4 out of 5]

In terms of learning about the reality of a career in 160 SOAR this book is 5 stars. In terms of the author's honest portrayal of his personal challenges, this book is 5 stars.

The only reason I rated 4 stars is because it could have been better edited and contained a fair anmopunt of extraneuous detail that didn't add to the narrative.

All that being said, I'm glad I read the book and would highly recommend it to anyone itnersted i n this fascinating and truly heroic branch of military aviation.

[Katie Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you Alan for your service. I fascinating read on a topic that I had limited knowledge on.

[Sue]

Interesting with sad ending - and then happy

[Samantha S · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cool war stories, but homie is NOT a family man.

[Eric · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have some problems with this book.

First off, I listened to the audiobook and it was significantly sub-par. The author read the book and it sounded like somebody reading a wikipedia page. No passion or energy whatsoever. Which is interesting, because he mentions in the forward that he received guidance to add some flavor to his stories. They came across as too mater of fact.

My next problem is the level of technical information. The author is an excellent pilot. I have no idea what he is talking about most of the time. Pushing this and pulling that and altitude this and that. WAAYY too bogged down in technical jargon.

And then there is the story inside of the story. His personal life is an absolute disaster. I found myself thinking, "Guys like this should never get married."

He blames his wife for her problems and only takes responsibility as her enabler.

DUDE! YOU WEREN'T THERE FOR HER!! She said that she wanted him to go back on a deployment, but she was just saying what he wanted to hear.

And then, at the end of the book, his wife kills herself. But, don't worry, he found happiness with another woman. (His ex-wife can't ruin his life any more.)

I don't like to give harsh reviews, but if the author wanted me to see his viewpoint in this book, he failed miserably.

Read this book if you want to read about a man that laid his wife on the alter of his military career.

[Lukasz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Świetna książka. Njpierw przesluchalem wywiad z autorem na podcascie Shawn Ryan show. Bardzo mnie zainteresował i skłonił do przesłuchania tego audiobooka. Autor był pilotek helikoptera Chinook i po atak na World Trade Center, jeszcze na jesień 2001 roku brał udział w pierwszej akcji armii Amerykańskiej w północnym Afganistanie gdzie desantował grupę marines które walczyły z Talibanem i wspierały Siły Koalicji Północnej. W książce autor opisuje wiele akcji gdzie desantował i ratował rannych marines. Książka opisuje również trudne życie rodzinne żołnierza który na wiele miesięcy opuszcza dom i bierze udział w misjach wojskowych. Autor służył wiele lat w wojsku a następnie przeszedł na emeryturę i stał się pilotem hilikopterów cywilnych. Bardzo ciekawa książka.

[Robert McAusland · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alan Mack is everything you'd think you'd get from a helicopter pilot...detail oriented, a little crazy, super serious and meticulous. This book gets into the details and doesn't pull any punches. You get what Alan Mack is putting down, no fluff. I listened to the audiobook and I did chuckle when he would use another voice for an alternate character which showed a humous side. Tons of exciting stories and Alan was definitely in a number of stressful and heartbreaking ones. He always took to the skies and was willing to save those in trouble. During his time he won numerous awards including THREE Bronze Stars! Another excellent book on Afghanistan.

[Garth Mailman · Rating 1 out of 5]

Razor 03

Razor 03: A Night Stalker’s Wars
Alan C. Mack (Read by the author)

The American Arms industry supplies both sides of most conflicts and if the politicos they support cannot find wars for them to fight they invent them witness WOMDs and the war on terror. Most war stories are an effort on the part of the tellers to exorcise their demons. They have to believe in the rightness of their cause else their lives and sacrifices lack meaning--the curse of Vietnam Veterans. The author of this tome is a true believer and demonstrates why most employ ghost writers to tell their tales. This effort was so tediously self-promoting it lost me within ten minutes.

[Dani · Rating 5 out of 5]

interesting read

This book is way out of my wheelhouse. The author is the father in law of a work friend. I thought I would support the new author. I had it for a few months the before deciding to give its try. The book is about his experience in the army, mostly post 9/11, flying helicopters. There are work issues and family life issues (my mind was always… how old are the kids..) that are sometimes forgotten without real life stories. Action! Lots of action! I found it to be interesting..

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Never read a book about the 160th SOAR thus this book was a great find. While I've often made fun of warrant officers in my career, I'd never mess with the pilots of the 160th. These folks are true warriors and masters of their craft. The author's descriptions of life in the Army during the 90's, 2000's, etc, have similarities to my own... and some experiences were too close. If one wants to better understand the SOF world and how they maneuver so quickly around an area of operations, this book will help provide clues.

[Ross Cockburn · Rating 5 out of 5]

informative and encouraging

As a former member of the Air Force and the Army, I was generally aware of things Al covered, but his insights helped fill-in the blanks in my understanding of them. I have always admired the Night Stalkers because I knew of their role in our Special Operations efforts. Now I have an even stronger appreciation of their skills, professionalism, and commitment - Night Stalkers Never Quit!

[Will Payne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic read! Read this book first, then read "Alone at Dawn" and both were terrific. Al Mack does a great job of using his experience in the 160th SOAR to kinda tie in a history of the regiment and then talk about all the crazy things they did in Afghanistan after the war started. He spares no punches when we talks about his personal issues involving his wife too so it was good to really get a good rounded picture of his whole story in the Army.

Highly recommend!

[Nicholas Tedrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this book because this was the unit my father flew Chinooks in. Hugely biased review because this was a major part of my adolescence, and many of the men mentioned in this book were friends of my father’s. Still an interesting read for anyone interested in learning about special forces aviation and the unit behind some of the more famous missions of the Iraq/Afghanistan war (missions that would later go on to get movie adaptations).

[Alan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A tale of unsung heroes

I have listened to many stories about the 160th SOAR on military podcasts and have also read Mike Durrant’s wonderful book so was looking forward to this. It spans the career of a long serving and central character in SOAR’s history, including detail of the history, training and missions. Alan Mack has led an incredible life which is well told here!

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

The authors’ participation in several well known missions fills in the blanks I had always wondered about. While most of the book focuses on CWO5 Mack’s military experience, he lays bare the personal problems his career choice complicated.
My favorite chapter is his experience in the V22 simulator and the Air Force instructor.

[Chet Slonina · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book and his personal and professional story in the Armed Forces, brothers in arms and personal life. It spans 35 plus years of service and innumerable flights and missions he undertook and survived. This is a true hero with you sitting in the backseat and experiencing each flight with the author. Pretty good book for a first time author and a veteran to be proud of.

[Mike Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Flying History Lesson

Very enjoyable read. Great to learn about the first special ops engagements in Afghanistan and Iraq.
As a retired pilot and special ops buff, I highly recommend.

[Mark Bolle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read! I liked the technical aspects of his flying missions and how he described flying that platform in combat and adverse conditions. Also, a very sad story about addiction and the tragedy it causes. I highly recommend this.

[Olivia Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

ɪ ᴀꜱᴋᴇᴅ ᴛʜɪꜱ ᴛᴇᴀᴍ ᴛᴏ ᴜɴʟᴏᴄᴋ 2 ꜰɪʟᴇꜱ ᴀɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇʏ ᴅɪᴅ ɪᴛ ɪɴ 24 ʜᴏᴜʀꜱ. ᴛʜᴇ ᴏɴʟʏ ɪꜱꜱᴜᴇ ɪ ꜰᴀᴄᴇᴅ ᴡᴀꜱ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴛʜᴇʏ ᴅɪᴅ ɴᴏᴛ ᴀᴄᴄᴇᴘᴛ ᴄʜᴇᴄᴋ ᴘᴀʏᴍᴇɴᴛ. ʏᴏᴜ ᴄᴀɴ ꜱᴇɴᴅ ᴊʙᴇᴇ ꜱᴘʏ ᴛᴇᴀᴍ ᴀ ᴅᴍ ᴏɴ ᴇᴍᴀɪʟ ᴄᴏɴʟᴇʏᴊʙᴇᴇꜱᴘʏ606@ɢᴍᴀɪʟ.ᴄᴏᴍ

[Alex Hoskinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found it very interesting to learn about the reality of military helicopter pilots.

[Laura]

Read for work. Good for what it is.

[Jon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating book from a helicopter perspective. Deeply personal and candid. Couldn't put it down.

[Drew Browning · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well written and crazy real life stories told!! Makes you feel like you’re in the cockpit of the MH-47.

[Donald Goldman-Robles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great biography, it was interesting taking a peak behind the veil of the night stalkers.