Description

War and Coffee is a first-person account of being deployed to Afghanistan as a helicopter pilot with the “Screaming Eagles” of the 101st Airborne Division in 2009. Observed halfway through a decades-long war, this irreverent perspective is both comical and brutally honest. In between the occasional mortar round and rocket-propelled grenades, Joshua Havill takes a direct look at the tactical and ideological substance of a conflict laced with as much debauchery as tragedy. With a Cold War perspective gathered from nine years of US Navy Submarine Service, followed by several years as a civilian, Havill re-entered the military in 2002 to pursue his enthusiasm for aviation. This chequered military career culminated with the subject of this work, a year of flying UH-60 Blackhawks out of Bagram Air Base and living in a plywood B-hut. Set during the most pivotal year of Operation Enduring Freedom, this is a captivating illustration of life in a warzone.