This book isnt bad, but its not great either. The first third of the book is the author telling you how great his team is and how they built it up from nothing. Though lacking in modesty of any kind the story plods along at a slow but steady pace.

When the book ( finally ) gets to the combat sections, those are more intersting but still a little preachy. Overall it would recommend other books written by soldiers returning from combat over this one. LONE SURVIVOR is excellent.

Despite some minor writing flaws (which actually round out the Roughneck theme) this is a great book! I was surprised by the few negative reviews. I think many reviewers miss the point. Decisive combat not is not about luck, it's about having the courage to do a quick risk/reward evaluation and put your training to use. The Army is full of officers like Major X, who hamper our capabilities by being anally safe. I commend MSG Antenori for having the courage to train hard, stand up to Major X, and write about. If you're looking for a perfectly constructed novel try The Grapes of Wrath. If you want a book about America's best soldiers kicking [...] in spite of politically correct and tactically unsound officers, you have got to read Roughneck Nine-One.

This is one of the top books that I have read written by someone in the Special Forces Community. The first hand accounts of the battle are true to operators that were there and also to the reader by not leaving out the messy stuff. The book was a fast read as it is never dry and always gives you a reason to keep reading. I would highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to get insight into the capabilities of an A-Team or just wanting a good read.

This book goes into great detail and great honesty of the actions of a Special Forces A-Team in Iraq. Although the main author, Antenori, gets a little arrogant at times while speaking of how "great" the Special Forces are, I was able to get past it and enjoy the rest of the book.

Roughneck Nine-One: The Extraordinary Story of a Special Forces A-team at War

Army Magazine, July 2006 by Spencer, Jimmie W

Noncommissioned officers have a great deal of credibility both within the Army and with the American people. They tend to answer questions straight from the heart with little or no regard for political correctness. What you get is the unfiltered truth. If you hear it from an Army sergeant, you can pretty much "take it to the bank."

SFC Frank Antenori, U.S. Army retired, in his book Roughneck Nine-One, tells the story of a Special Forces Ateam (Green Beret) at war in a noholds-barred fashion that you would expect from a senior noncommissioned officer.

Written in a style that can only be described as soap opera-ish, he and his co-author, Hans Halberstadt, tell an extraordinary story of Special Forces A-tea m soldiers before, during and after combat. At a crossroad near the village of Debecka, Iraq, outnumbered and facing T-55 tanks, they were simultaneously locked in mortal combat, dealing with the news media and coping with the killing and wounding of dozens of supporting Kurdish Peshmerga fighters, when a U.S. Navy F-14 fighter mistakenly dropped a 500-pound bomb on the wrong target.

Antenori says of the supporting Kurds, "They reminded me of our Minutemen of 1776; they wore a mixed bag of uniforms: some were in camouflage, others in solid green, and others wore civilian clothes. Besides their rifies and ammunition, they had none of the 'battle rattle' Americans requireno CamelBaks, no kneepads, no gloves, no body armor protection. Some wore sandals instead of boots. They had left their homes early that morning after breakfast with their families. They had probably kissed their wives good-bye, picked up weapons, and gone off to spend the day at war, not sure they would come home at night. They are true militia, the kind that Special Forces Soldiers have trained and led for well over fifty years."

The reader is also given a rare glimpse into the inner workings of a Special Forces A-team, how it plans, trains, equips and deploys for combat, and the emotional roller coaster of ups and downs that it lives with day to day.

The book is in fact two stories in one; one of Special Forces soldiers in combat, at their best, and the other of constant bitching about almost everything. The combination results in a realistic story about real soldiers.

I would highly recommend this book to military historians and anyone interested in reading a good story, a true story that is easy to read and hard to put down.

SFC Antenori can add one more honor to an already impressive list of accomplishments, that of raconteur.

CSM Jimmie W. Spencer
U.S. Army Special Forces (Retired)

The author is a disgruntled E-7 who served with a Green Beret unit during the outbreak of the iraq War. Most of the book is boring and filled with military jargon and terms especialy related to special forces units. The climactic battle, near Kirkuk, at the opening hours of the war is interesting, but not really groundbreaking in terms of new combat methods. The soldiers' actions were very commendable, but not Medal of Honor material. The author is somewhat arrogant and soon retired with barely twenty years' service.

I'm surprised at how the negative reviews below have been received, with so many people labeling the reviews as not being helpful. I personally could not agree more with the two poor reviews. Let's start with the writing. As far back as middle school, any paper I wrote that contained an over-abundant usage of words, phrases, or literary devices was returned to me so those usages could be exchanged for more varied writing choices. Antenori's editor did him a great disservice when he allowed Antenori to ride the use of foreshadowing right into the ground. I have never, EVER, read a book that used "little did we know", "we would soon find out", "in a few seconds", etc. in the excessive manner that this book did. It seemed like every other paragraph ended this way, and it becomes pretty tedious. Something is going to happen in this book that justifies all your training. We get it, Frank.
In case you think that is an unfair reason to pan the book, how about the fact that almost NOTHING of any consequence actually happens in the book until page 150. Did I mention it's only 241 pages? And for all intents and purposes, the events at the intersection are over by page 226; the rest of the pages are just wrap-up. I'm not going to lie, I read these books for the excitement and the camraderie and the insight into these brave people that put their lives on the line for us. I don't read these books to sift through 150 pages of a group of men getting shuffled around, doing relatively mundane training exercises, and generally grousing about their lot.
Finally, if I haven't made a strong enough argument yet, I'll say it: these guys were really lucky. As was said below, and even by the author, if the Iraqis had brought their offensive A-game, ODA-391 would have been in a world of hurt. It's interesting how at the end of the book, under a sub-title marked "luck", Antenori chooses not to comment on this part of the operation. Without a DOUBT these are brave, brave men, and the work of the medics was impressive, but it must be said that this was not a mission that succeeded on guts alone, but instead relied massively on pure luck. But I guess sometimes such is life. I'm so happy for those men that this was the case, but it doesn't make for the most interesting reading. In summary, I'd skip this book. There are many great military non-fiction books out there, but this isn't one. It's light on action and packed with what is clearly fluff to flesh out the telling of a decent (very) short story.

I thought this was a good read. I am certainly glad SFC Antenori is on our side. This book is ultimately about his leadership during one engagement that ODA 391 found itself in. The action is great and again, I really did enjoy the book, but I was ready for it to "get going" a little before it did. I'm a serious fan of the genre so it didn't stop me from reading on. A bit shorter and I think the action would have really made it jump.

A terrific read of how special forcess soldier are trained and then what they can do to create success when turned loose. Exciting, enjoyable, and educational.

A compelling first hand account of the impressive skills and qualities of these well-trained soldiers.

Having been out of the Army longer than Sgt. Antenori has been alive I read this book to see how today's army compares with when I was in. All in all, I was reminded of the old French expression that 'the more it changes the more it stays the same.'

Many movies and the like imply that a Special Forces A-Team is a small group of guys that get sent out to do some special fighting. In truth, the A-Team is a small group of guys that are charged with setting up and directing a force recruited from the indigenous people. And in this book that is exactly what they did, they recruited a fighting force from the Kurds. Then then took this force into a battle against an Iraqi army unit.

The Iraqis had tanks and armored personnel carriers and far more men. Our guys had air support, although it was pretty minimal. We won, you have to live to be able to write the books.

Were mistakes made - absolutely. Did some of the systems and procedures fail - absolutely. And were the reporters who were along with the unit help - you gotta be kidding.

There are a log of arguments about the war. But thank god that we still have men like these around.

Napoleon once stated that he preferred generals who were lucky over those who were good. Sgt. Antenori's account of the battle that occurred in Debecka Iraq showed two and a-half A-Teams were able to defeat a superior Iraqi force comprised of 4 T-55 tanks and 12 MTLB APCs, with infantry in support; with both skill and a little bit of luck too. Had some suggested that a light infantry outfit would be able to defeat an armored column, they would have been ridiculed. Sgt. Antenori's account shows how these SF soldiers were both good and lucky during this engagement. The good part is displayed by their training and steadfast dedication to getting the jobs done dispite the obstcles caused by the enemy and REMFs; the lucky part is the foresite to include Javlin missiles in their TO&E.

This is a fine book for those who are interested in how motorized special recon teams train and operate.

Having been out of the Army longer than Sgt. Antenori has been alive I read this book to see how today's army compares with when I was in. All in all, I was reminded of the old French expression that 'the more it changes the more it stays the same.'

Many movies and the like imply that a Special Forces A-Team is a small group of guys that get sent out to do some special fighting. In truth, the A-Team is a small group of guys that are charged with setting up and directing a force recruited from the indigenous people. And in this book that is exactly what they did, they recruited a fighting force from the Kurds. Then then took this force into a battle against an Iraqi army unit.

The Iraqis had tanks and armored personnel carriers and far more men. Our guys had air support, although it was pretty minimal. We won, you have to live to be able to write the books.

Were mistakes made - absolutely. Did some of the systems and procedures fail - absolutely. And were the reporters who were along with the unit help - you gotta be kidding.

There are a log of arguments about the war. But thank god that we still have men like these around.

I spent six years in SF before being forced to get out after breaking my neck on a jump. It left a bad taste in my mouth, and to this day, I wish I were still in. I could have read this book and tore it apart and critiqued every move and decision the teams made, but I didn't. Mainly because I wasn't there and I wasn't going to stoop to the level of Monday morning quarterbacking something I wasn't part of. So I read the book and evaluated it for the content of the story. What I found was an intriguing book, with a great story and what clearly were great acts of valor by the men of the three ODAs.

They may have made mistakes and if the Gods hadn't been looking down on them they may not have survived, but the dynamics of the story and the descriptions of combat were simply riveting. I think the book did a great job of capturing team life and the personalities of Special Forces soldiers to a tee.

We in the military, whether we admit it or not, all have big egos and tend to critique everything, particularly things done by our fellow service members. However, if you set your ego aside, what you'll read is not only enjoyable, but gratifying to know our guys are out there doing great things, no matter how small or inconsequential others may portray them.

I spent six years in SF before being forced to get out after breaking my neck on a jump. It left a bad taste in my mouth, and to this day, I wish I were still in. I could have read this book and tore it apart and critiqued every move and decision the teams made, but I didn't. Mainly because I wasn't there and I wasn't going to stoop to the level of Monday morning quarterbacking something I wasn't part of. So I read the book and evaluated it for the content of the story. What I found was an intriguing book, with a great story and what clearly were great acts of valor by the men of the three ODAs.

They may have made mistakes and if the Gods hadn't been looking down on them they may not have survived, but the dynamics of the story and the descriptions of combat were simply riveting. I think the book did a great job of capturing team life and the personalities of Special Forces soldiers to a tee.

We in the military, whether we admit it or not, all have big egos and tend to critique everything, particularly things done by our fellow service members. However, if you set your ego aside, what you'll read is not only enjoyable, but gratifying to know our guys are out there doing great things, no matter how small or inconsequential others may portray them.

A very linear story and not very captivating. This book is definitely being returned. By ODA 391's own admission, if it had not been for the Javelin and some incredibly poorly aimed direct fire and artillery fire from the enemy Roughneck would've been toast.
There is nothing really insightful, we learn basically nothing about each character and their individuality other than Major X being completely incompetent in the battlefield.
The only saving grace of the book and of the lives saved was the excellent work borne by the SF Medics.
Look elsewhere to find something interesting, captivating and insightful 'cause you armchair warriors won't find it here.

Roughneck Nine-One is Frank Antonori's account of ODA 391's operations in the early phase of Operation Iraqi Freedom. SFC Antonori paints his team as a group of professional black sheep bucking the system all the way to the cold hills of Kurdistan in Iraq. By his account, his ODA fought the good fight and inflicted the damage claimed however luck and good technology (the Javelin anti-tank missle) best explained the results of the engagement at Debecka, Iraq. By his own admission Antenori's team was surprised by the enemy. The author then commits the error of suggesting his team took on a mechanized enemy Task Force. A Task Force is a technical term for a combined arms battalion size element (roughly 500-700 personnel). What Antenori describes as his enemy was a company size element known as a "Team", a size designation far smaller in size than a Task Force. Furthermore, his description of the friendly fire incident suggests that the fault may well of rested in the way the target was described to the pilot rather than in pilot error. At no time in the description does Antenori ever suggest that his team provided an azimuth from their own position to that of the enemy. At best, the Roughnecks were lucky more than skilled.

Frank Antenori does the men of ODAs 391 and 392 a great service by telling their story as only he could. Frank has always been known as a "Hold nothing back" story teller and he stays true to form in this book. The reader really gets to know the men of ODA 391 and gets a good feel of the ground truth that a lot of other writers don't and can't convey. This is an excellent book for military buffs and fellow soldiers alike. Most "rubber meets the raod" G.I.'s will appreciate the gritty first person story telling that is lost in books written by Generals who serve far from the action surrounded by a patronizing staff.

This book gives a lot of insight into how a special forces team may operate, before and during missions. The writer did a good job of keeping you wondering what would happen next, especially when you include that fact that this story really happened, just several years ago.
Thumbs up!

This book is a rare look into the SF community.You get to see the real hero's and the outstanding leadership of Mr. Frank Antenori.His team stood strong and showed great courage in the battle even when others wanted to run.Reading this book made me so proud to be a American,to know there are still great men Like Frank and his team out there fighting to make this a better place....I HIGHLY recommend this book ..it is a EXCELLENT read.

This is one of the best books I have read about Operation Iraqi Freedom (I have bought most of them out there). It is a book which you can never put down and the details of the operation make you feel as if you are there. All of the true aspects of war are displayed in a way that someone with no military experience could understand and those with experience are very interested. The conflicts of leadership, the media, and the enemy are all very well written. I highly recommend this book.

Fantastic book!!! I loved it! For someone like me with no military background, it was a wonderful glimpse into Special Forces, the weapons and equipment they use, and recent war activities. It was also a very riveting book with plenty of action and excitement; I hated to put it down. I'm recommending it to everyone.

I just finished the book and was very satisfied with it. I was not looking for a "super hero saves the world" type situation going into it, if I were I would shop in the fiction department. What I found was a very factual and "put you in the boots" style of writing on what it is like to operate on a team, both in the fight as well as in training, as well as in the unavoidable "hurry up and wait" environments. I think before anyone comments on the size of a battle, as someone did earlier, you should try to imagine being with a relatively small group of guys and having incoming fire from an unknown size(but certainly much larger) enemy force not very far away. Great Book!

The book was well written and exemplifies the U.S Army Special Forces. The background on how the unit was formed as well as the team members contributes to the unfolding of the story and it's outcome. It wasn't sugar coated or PC and it's refreshing to see an NCO who is willing to speak up when things are screwed and calls it likes it is.

Roughneck 91 presents a realistic perspective on the training, frustrations, skills, and heroics of a Special Forces Operational Detachment as they prepare for, and deploy into combat in Iraq. The candor of its presentation includes the good, the bad, and the ugly of training, battlefield perceptions and decisions. It is destined to irritate some and will certainly intrigue others. It elicits a range of reactions both negative and positive, but above all, it is a very engrossing story. As events unfold personalities of excessive caution are pitted against personalities of excessive aggression and how these polar opposites reconcile (or fail to reconcile) their battlefield decisions is the heart of the book. While this is an age old military dilemma, to see it played out in Iraq by our country's most elite forces, is an eye opener. It is tempting to second guess the thinking and actions of every major character but I wasn't there, and I won't do that. I winced, and struggled with many of the events but thoroughly enjoyed the book. Antenori and Halberstadt have put together a fascinating read!

Rarely do I come across a book that I read within just one or two sittings. With the exception of a trip to Starbucks for my triple espresso so I could stay up late and finish the story, Roughneck Nine-One never hit the coffee table. As a reader with no military experience, I found this book a special treat for a few great reasons. Unlike most military books, the story was written so even a layman can understand. Hans Halberstadt and Frank Antenori carefully describe the political complexities of a Special Forces unit and how a combat SF team (Roughneck Nine-One) has to cleverly sneak around military red tape to gain the necessary personnel, equipment, and character that it will take for them to survive a horrific firefight on a major crossroad in Debecka, Iraq. I thought Roughneck Nine-One was a great read and didn't understand the few negative reviews it got.

This is one of the better books on the war that I've come across and the only one that REALLY takes the reader inside a special forces team.
The battle at Debecka Pass is already famous and if you want to read about a bunch of brave guys that were outmanned and outgunned but fought until the bitter end, then this is the book for you. Amazing, amazing stuff--and very well written.

This book is co-authored by Hans Halberstadt who has a history of publishing poorly researched information in his books. The question is how much of the book has been "written" by Frank Antenori.

Is Halberstandt a "ghost writer?"

These kinds of books tend to have hidden agendas designed to support "other" agendas.

I would like to have seen better documentation on Halberstandt's part--or Antenori writing his own book and then stand behind what he wrote....

As somebody who has been a US Army Special Forces "strap-hanger" since 1962, I can tell you this little community is full of strong opinions, explosive politics, enduring friendships and equally enduring resentments. Frank Antenori's story is about one little A-team and one deployment, but it manages to cover those gloabal issues, too, in the great tradition of the Green Berets. This book was only released on Tuesday (30 May 2006) but within hours two very hostile reviews from mystery reviewers were posted attacking ROUGHNECK NINE ONE. Nearly all the book is a cheerful success story about the guys on Frank's team, but some of the book describes leadership failures by a very few individuals. One of these individuals, a commander, was considered a coward by his subordinates and Frank tells what happened as he saw it. Even before the book came out, Frank took a lot of fire from this officer and others about the story -- not that it wasn't true, but that it was a story that should stay private and within "the community." Frank asked for an offical review of the manuscript from USASOC; he got it and a completely clean bill of health -- not one security change requested, not one correction to the facts of the story. This is a story about one small band of heroes from three A-teams, about one really remarkable battle, about one awful "friendly fire" incident, about one team sergeant, and about US Army Green Berets on the modern battlefield. The story is told by Antenori but written by Hans Halberstadt (certainly MY favorite non-fiction military writer!), a guy who has been explaining how the special operations forces (SEALs, Green Berets, Rangers, Recon Marines, and the rest) do their business for the past twenty years. ROUGHNECK NINE ONE is a war story that is full of lessons-learned, valor, discipline, brotherhood, and what to do when confronted by a television reporter in the middle of a fight. It would make a good movie, and it really is a good book.

I just finished reading the book and have to say, I found it to be one of the better books on the Iraq war I have read so far. While it seems Sgt. Antenori is not a professional author, his story does come across as one from a ground soldier's perspective. It's not laced with flowery descriptions similar to those you would find in a book written by a reporter like a Mark Bowden or a Sean Naylor. Nor does it contain political correctness like you would find in a book written by a senior military officer.

Sgt. Antenori was an enlisted man and his perspective of the events that led up to the Battle of Debecka clearly shows that. The description of the battle includes both a positive and negative evaluation of his team's battlefield performance. He even criticized mistakes that he made relative to the "warning shot" as well as a few other "miscalculations" when trying to predict what his commanders wanted him to do.

Anyone that has spent a day in the military understands the concept of internal unit rivalry. For the men in Special Forces, internal rivalry must be amplified hundreds of times over, simply because of all the type-A personalities, extensive amounts of experience and huge egos they bring to the table. I could easily see why there were the turf battles and disagreements Antenori describes, but it was also refreshing to see the professionalism they displayed by putting those differences aside when it came time for them to fight the enemy.

The description of the battle plan being drawn out on the hood of their Humvee's, with both the 10th Special Forces and 3rd Special Forces teams putting their differences and disagreements aside to accomplish the mission, was an excellent example.

I recommend this book to both those in the military and military enthusiasts. It contains gritty descriptions of combat and a dynamic group of characters that make this story stand out from any one I have read so far. My hat's off to Roughneck Nine-One and the men of the other two A-Teams, Nine-Two and Four-Four for a job well done. Also a special thank you goes out to the two Military Intelligence soldiers that volunteered to join those teams, going well above what was expected for their military occupational specialty (MOS). Good job.

Steve Turley
U.S. Army Retired

i picked this up--along with a number of other books on the current war--and couldn't be more disappointed. it was about nothing more than antenori trying to make a buck off his one, little battle, all the while patting himself on the back for simply doing his job. and the writing is poorly done, too, just like the other guy said. i know, antenori, that a military pension is going to pay pennies a month (a shame, that, but that is W's fault for bankrupting the system), but get a ghost writer, for god's sake!

There are lots of books out there on the US Army Special Forces and the war on terrorism, but nobody gets you into the action like Frank Antenori, former team sergeant of ODA-391 - ROUGHNECK NINE-ONE. Frank gives you a rare unvarnished look into how a group of diverse individuals comes together and is molded into America's most elite fighting force. He describes how his team meticulously prepared for war, but got caught up in petty SF group politics and turf battles before they fired their first shot. He gives it to you straight - the good, the bad, and the ugly. When ROUGHNECK NINE-ONE finally entered the frey against a vastly superior Iraqi force they gave an accounting of themselves that did themselves and our country proud. In the words of Barry Sadler, "These are men, America's best!" This is an ABSOLUTE MUST READ for anyone remotely interested in America's elite forces and the war on terrorism. Check out his site at frankantenori.com.

This book is poorly written. The author could have chosen a better ghostwriter for his work or at least the editing. It is choppy and incoherent (i.e. he said... then she said...) writing style. I am not saying what these Special Forces did was not courageous. They did take on a numerically stronger force of Iraqis, but the ODA teams had the superior technology, Intel, not to mention air support. For all of you who participated in Debecka Pass I say, "Kudos" for coming under fire, keeping your cool and putting your expensive training to use.

When it comes to the background sections of the book (explaining careers, training, etc.) the author is a self-styled black sheep, or cowboy with a cause who fronts his Superiors and the Brass. This author's years in the service institutionalized him to such a degree that despite being passed over for promotion, he still went in to do a government's dirty work believing it to be a noble cause.

I would suggest picking up a used copy of the book if you really want to read it; plenty will be floating around soon. Unfortunately, they will probably turn it into a movie full of sensational fireworks.

This is not your typical Special Forces story. The story is not a covert operation of any kind. The SF groups engage the enemy on an open battlefield. Sgt. Frank Antenori states this in the beginning of the book. He shares this story because it is a great accomplishment by a greatly outnumbered unit.

The intro into the book explains the great need our country has for Special Forces. I enjoyed this because he gives reasons why the U.S should have more elite soldiers to carry out missions.

The first part of the book explains the make-up of his team. He gives the details of each member as if they were family. This makes the team come to life in my opinion. He explains how each member came to be on his team and how they will help the make-up of the team.

The next part of the book goes extensively into the details of the their training. Sgt. Anteroni explains the preparations a SF team makes before they launch a mission. This is an excellent overview of the time that the unit puts in before they are ever deployed. They will train for months before they ever get a mission, and this is what the Roughnecks did. It is funny because Sgt. Anetroni and his team are gung-ho and ready to do some killing, yet they have to ait for a long time before they get a mission.

The last part explains the battle that has made Roughneck Nine-One a legend in the Special Forces comunity. I will not ruin the details of the story because it is so unbelievable they were able to accomplish their objective. I will say that they were outnumbered Five to One including tanks against them. The battle is definately worth the wait because it feels as if the reader is trained well enough to be there. The author makes the reader feel as if they were there fighting the battle with them. There are also some funny dialogues that go on during the mission.

This is an excellent book that goes right along with all the courage and bravery that one has heard about the U.S SPecial Forces. The author's tone is never egotistical as one would expect. Their is a certain arrogance that the author displays, but who would not be arrogant if you were one of the most elite soldiers in our country. To say the least I believe it comes with the territory. This book is a fast read, and the reader will be glad that they spent the time to read it.