BOOK REVIEW: GUNSHIP ACE: THE WARS OF NEALL ELLIS, HELICOPTER PILOT AND MERCENARY
By A J. Venter
Casemate Publishers, 324 Pages
Review by J.C. Tejeda Jr.
Usually the word “mercenary” will either conjure up images of disgust or starry-eyed fascination. The sullied reputation of “Les Affreux”, those mercenaries of the Congo era, was a case in point. However, that does not give the average reader an accurate, much less glamorous picture of what a real life mercenary is like. To his credit, Al J. Venter has made a career covering the various wars that plagued the African continent over the last thirty years. It was he, better than anyone else that brought light to the otherwise murky world of these modern day Soldiers of Fortune. His book, Gunship Ace, covers the story of one such mercenary. His name is Neall Ellis (or, better known by his nickname, Nellis). It is part biography, part history, and ultimately the best story about mercenary world that is not tainted by prejudice or propaganda.
The book covers the life of Neall Ellis from his childhood in Rhodesia, to his early service in both the Rhodesian and later South African military. It was there he learned to fly helicopters. His coming of age occurred during the Border Wars fought in what is today Namibia between South Africa and the forces of both Angola and Cuba. When the era of Apartheid ended in 1994, Ellis retired from the South African Air Force. He tried his luck in business (a fishing lodge), only to find it hard to earn a living from it. It was through his military contacts that he landed a job flying helicopters in Bosnia. Although the work was more to liking and skill set, Nellis learned first hand the messy world the business of being a private military contractor can be where pay is not always forthcoming, conditions are spartan, and working conditions hazardous to the point of suicidal. In spite of those early hardships, it was his next job that proved to be the most hazardous and his most rewarding.
That challenge was to be his stint in Sierra Leone. Wracked by a terrible Civil War in the late 1990s, Nellis found an opportunity flying for Executive Outcomes, a pioneer in the world of Private Military Contracting. It was there he discovered that Russian Helicopters like the Mi-8 Hip or the venerable Mi-24 Hind Gunship were ideal for the harsh conditions of West Africa. Like Bosnia, Nellis had to adapt to the hard living conditions where water and electricity were mostly unavailable, where security was a never-ending concern, and working conditions so harsh as to compel any other contractor to quit.
What drove Neall Ellis on you may ask? Perhaps it was his upbringing in Rhodesia. One would get the impression that, like many in Souther Africa, it was that pioneering spirit that enabled people endure, adapt, improvise, and ultimately prevail over those obstacles that would break an ordinary city dweller. What impressed this reader most was that Ellis continued to fight for the Sierra Leone government despite not being paid for a year, and fighting rebels (fighting under the banner of the Revolutionary United Front or RUF). The RUF rebels were not your average romantic revolutionaries, but a cruel mob of child soldiers whose savagery puts them on par with Mulele’s Simbas (of the Congo) or Cambodia’s Khmer Rouge. What is more interesting is that unlike some of his paymasters (i.e. The Zairean government), Neall Ellis never gave in to the temptation of Blood Diamonds, or other treasures that would have sullied the reputation of military contraction. More often than not, Ellis would return home to South Africa broke.
That he would return broke (though not destitute), and yet continue to fly in some of the most dangerous places in the worlds says something about the man’s character. The man simply does what he enjoys doing, and doesn’t seem to be bothered about the setbacks nor the obstacles that would have overwhelmed others. A case in point was his foray to Zaire in 1997. It was during the last days of Mobutu’s regime where Ellis and crew had to escape on foot from the town of Gabolite towards the Central African Republic. They did this unarmed, and at the same time hounded by Laurant Kabila’s rebels who were itching for revenge against anyone who had served under Mobutu.
Another interesting aspect of the man was his intimate knowledge of the business. Like Tim Spicer of Sandline International (another PMC), Ellis goes into detail about the nuts and bolts of setting up and running an aviation company in a place like Africa. Anyone who can manage such a difficult venture in such an ever more difficult environment deserves business credit above and beyond the average Hedge Fund Manager.
To summarize, this book is more than just a biography. It is also a detailed history of those wars that plagued Africa since the end of colonialism. Not only does it give the reader insight into the murky world of mercenaries, it also gives the reader insight into the bigger picture of geopolitics. Again, Neall Ellis’s story is unlike what one would imagine a mercenary to be. He is not the stereotypical ruffian as portrayed in Hollywood films, and he is certainly not Rambo. The best thing about reading Gunship Ace is that if a humble man like Neall Ellis can accomplish so much, then anyone can do the same.