THE CHANGING OF THE GUARD: The British Army Since 9/11.

• Author: Couchman, Bryan

THE CHANGING OF THE GUARD: The British Army Since 9/11

Author: Simon Akam

Published by: Scribe, London, 2021, 688pp, A$60.

As the historian William Dalrymple observed, 'It is a very bad idea to invade Afghanistan; but as many authors have discovered, it is often a very good idea to write about it.' Amongst the plethora of books written about the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, this controversial tome has attracted considerable attention this year and in the process raised the profile of its author, British journalist Simon Akam. Like a few of its predecessors, this book's publication was delayed due to legal concerns; it only saw the light of day due to the tenacity of the author and a fortuitous change in publisher. Akam endeavours to track the British Army's performance since 2001, partly in a bid to determine what it learnt (and reportedly did not learn) from its experiences in the post-9/11 wars.

Written in the literary non-fiction tradition, it is bookended by two pieces of first-person narrative. The first records the impact of an extraordinary history teacher, who provided the inspiration for Akam to briefly experience British Army life as a subaltern through its university gap year scheme. The book turns full circle when Akam revisits his old school mentor a decade later to reflect on how institutions like the army have grappled with wide ranging change over the intervening period. An ambitious book, it aims to give an account of contemporary Britain through the lens of its army.

Written in a colourful, compelling and at times irreverent style, part of this book's value derives from it providing the perspective of a younger generation of informed outsider conversant with the culture of the service described. Akam begins by recording some of the last moments of the post-Cold War British Army, describing a British tank regiment just prior to the invasion of Iraq in 2003. He captures the challenges of keeping 'the military blade sharp in peacetime'. Akam depicts the perils of a warfighting organisation in danger of ossifying and becoming indolent after a long period of peace. When it was suddenly thrust into a new, less familiar conflict environment, he suggests the army's culture, doctrine and inadequate resources struggled to adapt in a period of rapid change. Moreover, Akam claims that the army has been reluctant to be open and intellectually honest about its past performance in Iraq and Afghanistan, instead indulging in myth-making.

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