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According to the book description of
SNAFU, it “takes readers on a tour in Vietnam through the eyes of a young military police
office, or MP Daily life at war is exposed in its subtlety and its brutality. MPs discover that corruption within the U.S.
military could be as dangerous as any other enemy—and just as necessary to engage and fight. Mills’ candid recounting
of dealing with soldiers under fire, while facing vindictive officers fearful of exposure, provides a compelling look behind
the lines.
Jeff Edwards, the author of Torpedo said of SNAFU it
“is an old military acronym, short for Situation Normal - All Fouled Up. (Some would substitute a less polite word for
the letter 'F.') Army veteran Vic Mills manages to bring out the true meaning of the word in this extraordinary novel of the
Vietnam War. Loosely based on actual events, SNAFU is a comedy of errors.
Almost immediately after arriving at Basic Training, Vic is mistaken for an undercover
Army investigator. Worried that their new `recruit' has been sent to gather evidence of incompetence and wrongdoing, Vic's
Drill Sergeants can't decide whether to kick his butt, or kiss it. By itself, a mistake of that magnitude could easily become
the stuff of legend, but it's only one in a monumental series of screw-ups. Vic encounters busses to the middle of nowhere,
pilots who fall asleep at the controls of their planes, and Vietnamese house cleaners who elevate cleanliness to the point
of physical hazard.
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The absurdity of Vic's experiences,
peppered liberally by his keen sense of irony, conjure up memories of Yossarian in Joseph Heller's classic `Catch 22.' But,
unlike Yossarian, Vic is not content to protect his own skin while railing against the insanity of war. Vic is a Soldier,
and he wants desperately to be a good one. Amid drugs, incompetence, and personal excess, he looks past it all to discover
a love of the people he has been sent to protect. Moreover, he is not alone. There are others like him - other Soldiers who
forge a code of skill and professional integrity that transcends their surroundings.”
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