War & Coffee : Confessions of an American Blackhawk Pilot in Afghanistan

A first-person historical account of being deployed to Afghanistan in 2009 as a midlevel, bourbon-drinking helicopter pilot

Retired US Army officer and helicopter pilot Joshua Havill recounts his deployment to Afghanistan, special operations missions, experience flying a Blackhawk in combat, and life within the walls of a US military base with humility, candor, and humor. 

War and Coffee is a first-person account of being deployed to Afghanistan as a helicopter pilot with the “Screaming Eagles” of the 101st Airborne Division in 2009. Observed halfway through a decades-long war, this irreverent perspective is both comical and brutally honest.In between the occasional mortar round and rocket-propelled grenades, Joshua Havill takes a direct look at the tactical and ideological substance of a conflict laced with as much debauchery as tragedy.

With a Cold War perspective gleaned from nine years of US Navy Submarine Service, along with a civilian interlude, Havill re-entered the military in 2002 to pursue his enthusiasm for aviation. This checkered military career culminated with the subject of this work, a year of flying UH-60 Blackhawks out of Bagram Air Base. Time away from the cockpit was spent living in a plywood B-hut and making frequent visits to “The Lighthouse”, the base’s sparse yet beloved self-serve coffee shop. 

Set during the most pivotal year of Operation Enduring Freedom, this is a captivating illustration of life in a warzone.