1. Just what is a buffie?
A: As Jack Fox, "the Gray Fox" tells Rick Ranger, who has just returned to the Western Pacific after six-years at home in the States, "They're ceramic. They're beautiful. They're ugly. They're Big Ugly Friggin' Elephants."
2. What is The Buffie Brigade about?
A: It's really two stories, one serious and one written tongue in cheek. On the serious side, it's a depiction of the unreal world a person enters when transplanted overseas from home, spouse, children, car, and all the other accouterments we think of as part of a normal life. On the other side, it's a tale designed to evoke laughter about how seriously a group of high-ranking Marines on an amphibious staff afloat treat an issue like a bunch of silly ceramic elephants -- buffies.
In a sense, The Buffie Brigade is real, even to the point that the buffie on the front cover is a photo of one of the two green buffies I brought home after the evolutions described in the book.
3. Is the book about real people?
A: Any resemblance of a character in the book to a real person would be strictly coincidental. So it's not about real people. I prefer my statement in the preface that says "The story constitutes a like-true account of actions taken by members of a Marine landing force and a Navy amphibious task force in the Western Pacific during 1972 and 1973. Only the names have been changed, to protect the guilty." I think that fits the humor intended by the story.
4. Who are the characters?
A: Lieutenant Colonel Jack Fox is known as "the Gray Fox" because he gets deathly seasick the moment he steps aboard a ship. In addition, when he's in water and tries to swim he sinks. On top of all of that, he has a terrible record of crashing when he is a passenger in a helicopter -- either because of enemy fire or because of pure, plain luck. So when he is aboard ship or onboard a helicopter, he turns elephant-gray, even to his mustache. Yet Jack, a highly decorated veteran of three wars, has volunteered for this assignment because it's "the only game in town."
Lieutenant Colonel Rick Ranger was expecting to serve a boring 12-month tour on peacetime Okinawa until he accepted a seagoing assignment he knew little about in order to escape Okinawa. He escaped, only to discover that he was going with the Gray Fox to the "only game in town" -- the winding-down phase of the Vietnam War.
5. Where can people get a copy of The Buffie Brigade?
A: They can call Infinity Publishing toll-free at 1-877-289-2665 and order a copy for $10.95 plus shipping. Or they can go either to www.amazon.com or www.buybooksontheweb.com and key "Buffie Brigade" into the search box.
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6. Why did you write The Buffie Brigade?
A: Because I participated in a somewhat similar evolution in the Western Pacific during the same time frame. As I looked back on the experience, I realized that readers would smile, giggle, and sometimes belly-laugh at my rendition. I had to write it for them -- and for the ones who had seen similar shenanigans.
7. Why should a person who is not a Marine buy The Buffie Brigade?
A: If they want to enjoy humor about the military, this is a must buy. And the book is not just about the Marine characters. It includes a great deal about the Navy staff that was embarked, and how they reacted to unreality. And, as readers will discover, the Marines simply couldn't recover their buffies without forming a joint Navy-Marine Task Force. In addition, the book contains a special section on terms and acronyms.
8. What other books have you written?
A: The Buffie Brigade is my fifth book. The one immediately previous is The Bridges of Vietnam: From the Journals of a Marine Intelligence Officer, published by the University of North Texas Press. It's a memoir of my extensive travels throughout the Republic of Vietnam during my first trip to the Vietnam War, backed by intensively and extensively researched documentation of the history I observed and experienced.
9. What are you writing now?
A: I'm in my seventh year of writing the news articles for Armed Forces News. In addition, I write a weekly column called "Crosshairs - Military Matters in Review," posted at www.milmat.net. That's www.milmat.net, all in lower case.
10. Once again, where can you buy a copy of The Buffie Brigade?
A: Call Infinity Publishing toll free at 1-877-289-2665, or go either to amazon.com or www.buybooksontheweb.com and key "Buffie Brigade" into the search box.
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