An author with local ties has just released his first book.
Rixford native Rob Krott has written a memoir titled “Save the
Last Bullet for Yourself, A Soldier of Fortune in the Balkans and
Somalia.”
This is the first of three books and looks at the life of Krott
as a soldier for hire in the countries of Croatia, Bosnia and
Somalia during the early part of the 1990s.
It reads as if he’s sitting right there, telling the story;
which some readers will want to know at the start. The book is
intended for readers who like true adventure, for the soldiers and
the wannabe soldiers, those that have an understanding for the real
act of war; it is not for those looking for answers to the “why”
questions or a philosophical view, according to Krott.
He takes part in many unrelated conflicts for the simplicity of
being somewhere and doing something; an adventure that the regular
military couldn’t provide.
“I have a taste for adventure, it’s like a dream you have when
you are a boy,” said Krott, when asked how he got started in this
type of business.
Krott is fluent in at least four languages and has been to 68
foreign countries. He is knowledgeable of U.S. military tactics as
well as many overseas militia groups. His duties have included
journalistic correspondence in the bush countries of Africa and
parts of the southwestern U.S.
Krott has worked for “start up” contract companies and the big
names like Blackwater. He provides his services on a freelance,
contract basis; whether it be writing about the goings on in an war
torn area, making significant contacts in remote areas, securing
otherwise militant areas or training foreign fighters.
His list of contacts and associates reads like a who’s who of
international lineup of the best of the world’s former military
soldiers.
Krott began his career after his junior year at Otto-Eldred
Junior-Senior High School when he went off to basic training in
Fort Benning, Ga. He returned from training the first day of his
senior year.
“It was hard going back to school after being in the Army, the
childishness was too much, I wasn’t a good student that year,”
Krott said.
He barely managed to graduate high school in 1981, but then went
on to graduate from St. Bonaventure University a full semester
early. While completing his degree, Krott was part of the ROTC
program and received his commission to second lieutenant at the age
of 20.
After receiving a bachelor of arts degree in history, Krott went
on active duty, serving three years in the infantry and taking
Special Forces assignments, including a stay on the demilitarized
zone of South Korea.
He attended Harvard University, at the expense of the
government, and did three semesters of graduate work. That’s when
he realized his calling. Six days after his three year tour with
the Army was over, he was jumping out of an airplane with Guatemala
paratroopers.
“It was hard to have a problem with authority and to be an
officer at the same time,” said Krott.
Currently, Krott is providing specialized security services in
Iraq for an unnamed contractor. He plans to publish at least two
more books that will entail his trips up through 2000, including
the Sudan and Burma. When asked if these book had generated any
negative response, he replied that of course being a mercenary
usually does; he doesn’t mind though. “I have more friends than
enemies.”
“Save the Last Bullet for Yourself, A Soldier of Fortune in the
Balkans and Somalia” is available through Amazon online and should
be available locally soon. Krott will also make an appearance on
C-SPAN Book TV in the near future.
