Author:  Greg Smith

Title:  A Pogo’s Perspective

Publisher:  SID Harta Publishers

Reviewer: W. H. McDonald, Jr. – AAA Founder

Australian Vietnam Vet Lets us know - No One Is Spared Pain In War!

Australian author and Vietnam veteran Greg Smith, writes a painful and emotional accounting of his "tour of duty" in the war. His book "A Pogo's Perspective" captures why so many non-combatant troops in both the US and Australian forces have had huge battles with PTSD. Pogo (Personnel On Garrison Operations) is a term used to describe support troops—those are the people who make it possible for a combat warrior to fight. It is often been quoted that it takes from 7 to 10 support people to keep one fighting soldier in the field. Their importance to war cannot ever be understated. No country can win a war without them!

The pressures put on these “Pogos” is huge. There is that massive self-produced guilt of seeing others going out and getting killed or wounded and not being able to engage the enemy. I have been helping US veterans with PTSD over the last 3 decades—and I noticed that more support people were “emotionally wounded” than we realized then, or even now. They even feel guilty for feeling screw-up; as if they are not allowed to be as emotionally wounded as a “real combat veteran!” I have seen too much pain to know that these men and women can truly be damaged and hurt. It is real and it is as painful as any PTSD veteran can experience.

This book opens up the whole issue of the recognition of this particular PTSD issue. It also deals with lack of family and community support these veterans got when they got back home. It is a moving story of one veteran’s journey from Nam back to the real world. The issues in this book are real and so is the pain. It is hoped that the reader will gain some deeper understanding and compassion for those who were there and who continue to fight that war each day for the rest of their lives!

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