When the Bullet Hits Your Funny Bone: The Essence of A U.S. Navy Seal

This is a funny book. And by "funny" I in no way mean that in any kind of politically correct, or easily offended description of that word. If you are easily offended, this is not the book for you. If you have never been in "life or death" situations with others that you have trained alongside of, then a lot of this humor may not make sense to you. It may actually seem pretty mean. But trust me, its funny if you understand where it comes from.The jokes and pranks in this book are from a time that no longer exists. The old-school Navy is gone, and there are a lot of things about it that I miss. That is probably a good thing though. If you understand it you will probably find quite a few things in this book that make you laugh or make you remember the old days.The book is written in many short, two to three page chapters. Each chapter sets the stage for the ensuing joke or prank. I found myself reading a chapter or two every time I had a few spare minutes.There were many times during reading this book that I laughed. One was the chapter about the monkey and the safe. I could not stop laughing. Then I started to think, what went so horribly wrong in my life that I find this funny? I stopped laughing for a minute in contemplation, then realized "screw that, its funny" and I started laughing again. I also liked the story about culling goats on an island to protect an endangered fox.I you spent time in the military, or worked alongside others where you spent lots of time together and put in long hours, then you will enjoy this book because there is a good chance you may have played a few of these pranks. Or maybe thought about doing some of them and then reconsidered because it was too mean?

I've never been accused of not having a sense of humor. This book is funny to many who've reviewed it but lost on me. I don't know why that is. I'm odd man out here.I recognize that SEAL's are a different breed of soldier and I appreciate that. Since I've not hung with SEAL's, I'm missing that connection. Marines, I understand.Perhaps it's unfair for me to review here since I've only read half the book. I've decided to finish the book and will update my review at that time.Semper Fi.Updated: Finished the book and glad I did. There seemed to be more stories in the 2nd half that I thought funny: the Ambassador's niece, taping the laser vest's so the SEAL's weren't shot while training with Rangers, and more.More personal information also surfaced about Billy that I didn't know until I had read most of the book: that he served 23 years (think that was correct) which is a life time of the toughest training and combat.I have to add that SEAL's probably understand SEAL humor more than anybody else would, including other military personnel who are non-SEAL's. The humor, I thought, was sometimes heavy handed in a over the top sort of way. Sometimes I wondered how someone would think the joke, often played on them, would think it funny after being PO'd about the prank played on them. But, that's probably me. SEAL's are most definitely a breed unto themselves. God Bless Them ALL!So, Billy, if you read this, thank you for serving and all the fun stuff you got to experience as well. You've led a full life and did it with honor and dignity, courage and humor.For your Brother, who also served, and died in defense of our Country, I include him in my prayers and grieve his death with you. I am truly sorry for your loss.Semper Fi, Brother.

I enjoyed this book immensely. I would like to thank Billy for giving us this insight into the making of a Navy Seal. While some might find some of the humor slightly macabre, most all professions have their inside jokes that can be off-putting to those not familiar with the field. While I would never in any way put myself on the level of a Navy Seal, I have worked in the emergency medical field. The best, and in my opinion, healthiest way to deal with the stress of life or death situations is through humor. Billy has the knack for telling his stories in such a humorous, folksy and fun way that reading them makes you cringe, while thinking, `oh no, you didn`t !`, then burst out laughing because you know they did! His stories were like listening to a favorite brother and a group of his buddies re-living their exploits around the kitchen table. Billy gets the point across that being a Seal is not for the faint of heart, that `good` is not good enough. You must strive for excellence, and there is no such thing as a `former Navy Seal.` I would recommend this book to anyone who has the slightest curiosity about these heroes who risk their lives and limbs and give up all sense of normalcy to serve their country in perilous acts of courage devoid of `bragging rights`. I am glad a friend recommended this book to me. To Billy, thank you and the brotherhood of the Navy Seals from the bottom of my heart for your selfless, valiant service to our country. Salute!

This collection of anecdotes meshes with my time in the Canadian and then the British Armies. The faces were different, the antics were different . . . . But these antics described in " Funny Bone " still brought tears of laughter to my eyes. It's a roughshod ride over the hills and dales of Military Life, and for that , thank you Mr Allmon.Is there a follow up, surely there's more yarns to be told over a sandbag ?

I have just finished Billy's book and I have enjoyed it very much. It has many funny and informative short stories contained within it. As Billy says at the beginning not everyone will understand the humour but the work hard play hard lifestyle shines through. Well done Billy write some more

On of its kind. The book shows the life in the teams when the guys were not busy. As the author said "Boredom is the mother of all inventions, and the necessity for a well-played practical joke"; he tells the stories about their pranks. But be aware tough guys play tough pranks!