Alex is the son of an Navy career father. His father expects him to follow his footsteps into the Naval Academy.
Instead, Alex joins the Marines....which disappoints his father and Alex's girlfriend as well.
Alex does exceptionally well in the Marine Corp, also seeing combat and earns the highest medals.
He then joins the Naval Academy to become a Marine Corp Officer.
However he has to break a rule and go absent without leave to help a Marine he served with. This gets him into a lot of trouble. But he stands his ground on what he believes is a matter of honor.
This is a terrific book about the military code and honor and the people we are and become when serving in the military.
Thoroughly good read.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for my unbiased opinion.

I will admit I had a bit of difficulty getting into this book at first. Military jargon is not my strong suit but realized that this story had so much more to offer. The story of Alex Kramer, Marine, who gave all in battle, including risking his own life to save his fellow Marines. Faced with a difficult choice to go back for a fellow Marine struggling after combat left him debilitated and hopeless, the choice seemed to not be a difficult one for honorable Alex Kramer. However that choice left his career in possible jeopardy. I enjoyed having the perspective of Tara Marcellus of the Navy and her battle to do right by her team. When she failed to stand by her fellow officers in previous incident, she utilized Alex Kramer’s predicament to prove she could stand by her men at all costs and she did. Overall this was a great story about our service men and women who give all and stand up for what is right.

Alex joins the Marines as an enlisted man after graduating college, must to the chagrin of his Admiral father that had hoped he’d head to Annapolis to follow in his footsteps. Alex leads a group of Marines into a battle where he ends up with the third highest military award -the Silver Star. Later, Alex enrolls in Annapolis to become an officer. The story has a few twists and turns from there. It’s a story of duty, honor, and loyalty.

An outstanding book that encompasses so much about the military: its institutions, its rules (written and unwritten), and its personnel (good and bad). When a marine grunt decides to enter the Naval Academy, he finds that a lot of what he had learned in the marines couldn’t be (or wasn’t) taught in the classroom. Standing by his strong moral compass puts him at odds with Academy regulations and puts him at risk.