Forged in Fire
An Australian Commando's story of Life and Death on the Frontline
Scott Ryder
Crows Nest, NSW: Allen & Unwin, 2024
Paperback 432pp RRP $36.99
Reviewer: Adrian Catt, October 2024
This exciting, detailed work is a most comprehensive history of the service life of Author Scott Ryder, commencing with his enlistment in the Australian Army, and his subsequent appointments and movements through the platoons and companies of 3rd Battalion Royal Australian Regiment (3RAR) as a paratrooper, and then as a commando with 2 Commando Regiment.
In fine detail, Ryder recounts his hard-fought days of challenges and struggle as he pushed his mind and body to extremes to qualify for, and hold, coveted positions within 3RAR (as paratrooper deployed to Timor), before pushing himself even harder to win a spot as a pioneer and sniper with 2 Commando Regiment. His reward: eventual deployments to Afghanistan, where he saw several tours of grizzly, death-defying action, and survival from a helicopter crash which left him with severe back injuries, and mental anguish at the loss of several of his trusted team members also on that fateful flight.
Ryder was evacuated to Germany, then repatriated to Australia where he became a walking zombie on prescription medications. He decided to abandon the medications and resort to hard physical training to become fit enough to return to duties as an operator with the Tactical Assault Group – East (TAG-E) - his dream job after sniping; and deployment to Iraq to train local commandos engaged in real-time action.
Ryder provides plenty of detail as to the tactics, training, operations, and weapons which he has interacted (those darn night-vision goggles!), that would interest even seasoned veterans. I was amazed by the deluge of information about sniping techniques, and was fascinated, but I can’t see his former Command being too pleased by its inclusion to his book, nor the focus on intra-service rivalries.
This amazing book does Scott Ryder, the Army, and in particular 2 Commando Regiment of the Special Forces immensely proud, as it serves-up to the reader just how blessed we are to have patriots like Scott and the Special Forces, on Team Australia, preserving our lives and liberty. Outstanding reading!
The RUSI – Vic Library is most grateful to the publishers for making this work available for review.