John R Scales

In Service of the Nation John R Scales

Set in the near future, the story introduces a newly minted US Army Special Forces soldier as he deploys overseas with his A Detachment to train with Vietnamese special operations forces. At first, he is the brunt of a few jokes but as the team settles into their mission the routine becomes comfortable. However, routine turns deadly after a chance encounter with organized crime figures smuggling a stolen nuclear weapon out of China for sale to terrorists. The action bounces between a Chinese SEAL turned criminal, an American asset in Beijing's Foreign Ministry, a general in the Pentagon, and all the members of the detachment as they struggle with violence, chaos, and the specter of nuclear destruction. The author is a retired Special Forces officer with 32 years of military experience, including service in Afghanistan and Vietnam.