Southeast Texas Medical Associates, LLP James L. Holly, M.D. Southeast Texas Medical Associates, LLP


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De-identified note which I received on June 13, 2018

“Dr. Holly,

“Thank you so much. I absolutely loved and enjoyed our conversation/emotional experience (the best doctor’s appointment I have ever had) this morning. I am so grateful for your beautiful hospitality and military appreciation; I truly cannot thank you enough.

“Thank you so much for the books.  My husband and I are looking forward to reading them and checking out the movies and literature.

“Thank you so much for the dinner invitation. We would be honored to have dinner with you and Mrs. Carolyn.

“Please thank (with a huge hug) your amazing grandson for everything he does. He is truly an American Hero! I hope that I have the privilege of meeting him while we are here (stationed in Tx).

“You are a very special person and I am so grateful that I had the honor of meeting you and get to have you as my doctor.

“Sincerely,

______

“(PS. My brother is an Aggie Alumni; My husband and I are Sam Houston Bearkats- we like to say A&M cousin down the road)”

The following is my note to which the above is a response:

Thank you for listening to my stories this morning.  At some time in the future, we will invite you and your husband for dinner at our favorite place.  The following is a note I wrote this morning to Dr. McRaven.  I have had both The Chosen (about Green Beret training) and Spec Op (about special op doctrine) sent to you.   Following my signature is a piece about The Chosen followed by a two part series on If You Want to Change the World.

Larry Holly

The Israeli Raid on Entebbe – A Study in Special Operations Excellence and the review of a disappointing movie

The television movie, Raid on Entebbe, was released in 1977 and has been until now the best factual portrayal of the events which took place on July 4, 1976. It was the excellence of that movie which made the April, 2018 release of Seven Days in Entebbe so anticipated. I saw this film last night (June 12, 2018) and it was a great disappointment.

Another cause of disappointment was created by the fact that the significance of the Entebbe raid was made clear in the 1995 book Spec Ops: Case Studies in Special Operations Warfare – Theory and Practice by William H. McRaven, four star admiral, Navy Seal, the commander of joint special forces, and recently retired President of the University of Texas System.

In this book, Dr. McRaven details the six principles of special forces actions as learned from an analysis of eight actual special forces actions, the last and most significant being the Israel rescue of hostages at Entebbe. The six special forces principles which McRaven defined are: simplicity, security, repetition, surprise, speed and purpose.

It is through the practice of these principles that “relative superiority” can be gained by a small unit over a much larger force. With a family member in special forces, I have read this and other technical studies on this subject with great interest.

Several months ago, Dr. McRaven and I discussed this forthcoming movie and we were both eager to see it. Alas, it was, in my judgment, a disappointment. The movie seems to take a sympathetic view of the terrorists and spent a great deal of time analyzing who they were and why they committed this terrorist act.

The theme of the movie surrounded a dance company’s theatrical presentation of a portrayal of a violent event. I never quite understood what the dance was supposed to portray but it was woven throughout the movie. While the characters of the terrorists were developed, the persons of the Israeli government officials and of the Israeli military were not.

A technical complaint is that the explanations of events which were included in the movie in prose where in small type and were not on the screen long enough to be read by the average reader.

I would recommend the 1977 movie to anyone. I would recommend Dr. McRaven’s book to all, but I cannot recommend Seven Days in Entebbe. It is disappointing.

PS: If you would like to know more about Dr. McRaven read his book, First Make Your Bed. This is a compilation of lessons he learned through his Seal Team Training.