Parker, CO, December 7, 2018—There are few of us who have experienced what Special Operations team members have felt during a perilous and secretive mission. David Burnett has and he’s chronicled it in his powerful memoir, Making a Night Stalker.
Burnett opens up the highly secretive world of the Special Operations Aviation Regiment (SOAR), the most accomplished and secretive special ops aviation unit on the globe. The importance of teamwork and heroism are driven home to readers in taut prose that brings to life what it is like to be at the knife’s edge, knowing a moment of inattention can bring catastrophe to you and your closest comrades.
His journey starts in a conventional Army unit where he feels unfulfilled. The lack of responsibility drives him to pursue the goal of becoming an MH-47G Chinook helicopter crew chief in the world’s most secretive unit. Despite obstacles and endless training, he’s finally able to set foot on the aircraft. Achieving FMQ (Fully Mission Qualified) crew chief takes additional years of training and deployments, but after achieving the sought after role, he is honorably discharged from the military. Burnett also explores his PTSD, which drove him to alcohol. The beast was finally tamed through taking up writing, he said.
For those whose only experience of war has been through media headlines, Burnett’s book presents a vivid picture of the vaunted Special Operations Aviation unit and the toll it takes on its members.
Author David Burnett was born and raised in Parker, Colorado. After a few semesters of college, he enlisted in the Army in 2008. He was stationed with 563rd ASB as a 15U (Chinook helicopter repairer). After realizing his job in the regular Army was not as fulfilling as he had hoped, he applied for 160th SOAR. He went through countless years of training and deployed with the unit five times before deciding he wasn’t going to reenlist. He put pen to paper after receiving an honorable discharge from the unit and began writing his story.
More information on David Burnett can be found at www.makinganightstalker.com.
