Following the 2011 Taliban siege on Kabul’s Intercontinental Hotel, Jamie was identified as Serviceman J and awarded the New Zealand Gallantry Star.
Recently having reviewed Nothing Significant to Report by Dario Nustrini, I was fascinated to learn about the life of an elite SAS soldier. Less than a week after the siege, Jamie’s unit was sent on their next high stakes assignment, highlighting both the mental and physical fitness required.
“There’s a real misconception that SAS soldiers are solely designed to kill people. The reality is we are designed to save people. We don’t train thousands of hours, day and night for any other reason,” he says.
After 18 years in the New Zealand Special Air Service (NZSAS), ex-commander Jamie Pennell shares his story in Serviceman J. Having survived the famously tough selection course and excelled during its brutal training, Jamie was sent on four deployments to Afghanistan. He was tasked with training the Afghan Government’s Crisis Response Unit and assisting them in multiple operations, including capturing high-value targets and stopping terror attacks.
In the early days of the under-resourced NZSAS Jamie shares how they traded New Zealand beer with other bases for Humvees. They also mounted weapons on old bed frames found at the dump!
From patrols across deserts run by warlords to hostile fire, Serviceman J is a gripping memoir! As an outrider on a Kawasaki 250, he rode ahead of his unit, helping avoid their detection by scouting the terrain and the enemy! There’s danger at every turn as Jamie dodges landmines and avoids being ambushed.
Jamie provides an unflinching look into the life of a high-performing soldier operating at the very edge of human limits. If you’re considering a career in the military, this is essential reading! “I had a high tolerance for stress, and high expectations of myself. And people had high expectations of me. This is a normal part of being in a special forces unit.”
Adjusting to everyday life back home in Auckland was challenging. With his special forces mindset, he found himself more at ease on the battlefield than in his backyard. For example, when mowing the lawns, he would plot how to take out an intruder. Meanwhile, in public, he was always scanning for threats.
Slowly, Jamie recalibrated his life to prioritise his family and completed a master’s degree in International Security. After leaving the Defence Force, Jamie also worked with high performance athletes and is now the Head of Mangatawhiri Campus, Dilworth School, delivering their outdoors programme and skills for life.
Reviewer: Andrea Molloy
HarperCollins