Do you know of any other books that make soldiers look stupid like this?

This excerpt says more about 's ignorance of soldiers and his adoption of an inaccurate stereotype than it does about anything else. You can find many similiar examples in all sorts of writing and entertainment written by people with NO knowledge of the military and without the honesty to find out. A prime example would be the depiction of the Brigadier in the Dr Who series as a bumbling incompetent.