FORT BENNING BLUES

Like his protagonist, Jefferson Bowie Adams II, Busby attended Officer Candidate School in Fort Benning, Ga., in the early 1970s. His first novel presents Vietnam from an alternative perspective, showing that those who didn't actually see action in southeast Asia were still irrevocably affected by the conflict. Although he is personally ambivalent about the war, Adams knows it will break his grandfather's heart if he flees to Canada. He joins OCS as a way to postpone being sent to Vietnam. As an officer candidate, he goes all out to succeed, showing himself to be as tough and gung ho as any of his peers. The candidates are harassed by seemingly sadistic officers, in Adams's case by the brutal First Lieutenant Rancek. As the men endure the rigorous training, contradictions become evident. Absolute obedience and reflexive subservience are required, yet the program is supposed to produce leaders. What Busby has going for him until the final pages is the crystal-clear voice of an open-minded reporter as he chronicles the first weeks of training with an objective eye. Moments of humor and a number of surprises include an account of an afternoon Adams spends with Lt. William "Rusty" Calley of My Lai infamy. Later, a surprisingly human side of Lieutenant Rancek is revealed. The events of the final pages strain credulity as the impartial reporter, affected by Kent State and My Lai, chooses sides. An unnecessary epilogue is a letdown, but Busby still delivers a memorable account of Officer Candidate School in the Vietnam era. (May)