Cowboys Over Iraq

Leadership from the Saddle

By: Jimmy Blackmon, General David H. Petraeus US Army - Ret. - foreword

Narrated by: Shawn Compton

Cowboys Over Iraq tells the amazing story of leadership, innovation, initiative, and a brotherhood that was forged in the crucible of combat during the invasion of Iraq.

"What does it take to fly and fight with America's Air Cavalry? That's the story of Cowboys Over Iraq. You'll meet bold personalities right out of a Hollywood movie. You'll be right there as Jimmy Blackmon and his fellow Cavalry troopers track down and tangle with determined foes. You'll experience the highs of triumph and the lows of bitter loss. Most importantly, you'll see how and why Jimmy Blackmon learned hard-won leadership and battle lessons in the deadly skies of Iraq. Strap in. Hang on. Get ready to go hunting with the Air Cav." (Daniel P. Bolger, lieutenant general, US Army, Ret.)

"A great [book] by an exceptional combat aviator, leader, and writer! Jimmy Blackmon captures brilliantly the enthralling story of the air cavalry unit that was the eyes and ears of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) during the fight to Baghdad and throughout the first year in Iraq." (General David Petraeus, US Army, Ret.)

©2020 Jimmy Blackmon (P)2020 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

An Excellent Read

This book I thought was amazing through and through. From the war stories to the subtle and not so subtle leadership lessons that you can take away from this book. This book is a great listen, and Thanks to all who have served and sacrificed

a look into the battle experiences of Kiowa pilots

As a combat veteran of Iraq 2004-2005 and a crew chief in 1/25 aviation I was able to relive some experiences of my tour through this book. with the Kiowa now retired the light armed scout is no longer on the battlefield. the aircraft being designed to replace it is a mosh mash of technology and somewhere between a Kiowa and a Blackhawk and in my opinion will not be able to complete either role it was designed for. this book is a look into the last of the light air scouts a discipline that started at the end of Korea and now has died in Iraq. while the Blackhawk is iconic and the apache is powerful the Kiowa served as the eyes and ears of the war in Iraq. to the author I salute you and thank you for this book and I hope many more people read this and enter into the story of a little acknowledged part of army aviation

goog story

good listen, overiously a real pilot story, told by a someone who really cares about doing the right thing.

New perspective

I found this audiobook to be very interesting and informative about the importance of light rotor wing aircraft in the second Iraq war. Definitely recommend it!

This is as real as it gets.

This book was a heartbreaker for me. The author shares his story of his time in Iraq and in some ways it ties in with my own. He talks about Mike Blaise. I knew Mike from school as a kid. We both went into the Army, and both ended up in Army aviation working with the Kiowa helicopters. Mike became a pilot, and I became a crew chief. My unit came to Kuwait on our way into Iraq as his unit was leaving. My aircraft did a missing man flyover for Mike’s memorial, as I attended his service in Kuwait. It was a horrible introduction to the war for me. Mike was a great guy.

The book did a great job in telling what life was like there. As a crew chief I can attest life in Iraq was much like this. The emotions expressed here, the lessons learned, the friendship, even the strange feeling of hating to leave were all spot on. I don’t think he missed a thing. Excellent book that truly tells the story of a Cav unit as it was.