Echo Oscar Mike, Charlie Sierra Mike Oscar

What does it take to transform a normal American youth into a warrior?

At the height of the Vietnam War, recent college graduate Phil Johnson decides to take hold of his fate by enlisting in the U.S. Army before the draft finds him. Inspired by his veteran father, his path appears clear: Basic Training and Officer Candidate School.

But the military has other plans. For no obvious reason, Phil is sent to helicopter flight school. After gaining his wings, he thinks the next move will be a ticket straight to Vietnam.

Instead, Phil is sent to Fort Ord to train infantry soldiers — a job he's unprepared for in a place that will change his life. When a deadly late-night encounter with a thief puts Phil at the center of a firestorm, he finds himself court-martialed for murder.

Cleared of the charges but forever altered, Phil is finally sent to Vietnam. Reunited with friends from his training days, they are formed into a high-stakes special task force to execute perilous missions. But as the war drags on and his aircraft is repeatedly shot down, Phil sees his brothers-in-arms fall one by one. Soon, he must confront an enemy far more insidious than the one they are fighting: the crushing weight of survivor's guilt.

Echo Oscar Mike, Charlie Sierra Mike Oscar is a gripping story of a man swept along by turbulent forces and forced to face his fears amid terror, grief, guilt, and the ever-present possibility of death. Will he come out the other side with his heart, body, and soul intact?

-- Dennis Gibb