Published Air & Space Power Journal- Winter 1997

"Good to Go": The Rescue of Capt Scott O'Grady, USAF, from Bosnia by Mary Pat Kelly. Naval Institute Press, 118 Maryland Avenue, Annapolis, Maryland 21402-5035, 1996, 337 pages, $27.95.

In early June of 1995, the nation held its breath waiting to discover the fate of Air Force captain Scott O'Grady. The Bosnian Serb surface-to-air missile (SAM) that destroyed Captain O'Grady's F-16 began a series of events culminating in O'Grady's successful rescue by members of the United States Marine Corps. This story is brought to life in Good to Go. A blow-by-blow account by the actual soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines involved in the rescue moves the reader from the relative "peace" of the Deny Flight operation, through the realization that we had lost an F-16 and its pilot, to an intense rescue of Captain O'Grady and a hair-raising flight back to freedom through the SAM- and antiaircraft-artillery-filled Bosnian countryside.

All of the accounts in the book are taken from interviews conducted with the primary players, including Adm Leighton Smith, who was commander in chief of US Naval Forces Europe and Allied Forces Southern Europe, as well as Marine Corps corporals who were on the helicopters that rescued Captain O'Grady. Their personal stories and accounts of these events bring the seriousness of the situation quickly into focus. On every page, one finds the total dedication, commitment, and determination to bring O'Grady out of Bosnia alive.

Organizing the events chronologically, Mary Pat Kelly allows the reader an unobstructed view not only of the players but also of what information they had and didn't have when they made their decisions. Crisis planning is never easy, especially with the ever-present fog of war. By comparing times and locations, we gain better understanding into this kind of stress-filled situation in which so few of us participate yet need to be prepared to handle. Good to Go is a well-written account of an important lesson in cooperation and teamwork. Mary Pat Kelly has given us a valuable tool that we should use again and again--and not just read once and place on the bookshelf.

Capt Chris Golden, USAF
Yakima, Washington

Disclaimer

The conclusions and opinions expressed in this document are those of the author cultivated in the freedom of expression, academic environment of Air University. They do not reflect the official position of the U.S. Government, Department of Defense, the United States Air Force or the Air University.