I too just finished Steve Beeler's book. I found it to be trite and bit like an Oliver Stone movie. The title, Firestone Syndrome, has always been a myth. There never was a Syndrome; there still is a Firestone Spirit. I was there during the period mentioned in the book, I guess I must have been one of the "elitist" he mentioned because I am a Viet Nam Vet, I was a TO, and I am a friend and admirer of the man whom he based the character he calls Felix Smith on. Steve, just like Oliver Stone drums up a conspiracy amongst the so-called "Elitists" to murder crooks that beat the system through legal loopholes. My recollection is that it was difficult to get three of the "elitists" to agree where to go to lunch on a court break let alone engage in a sinister conspiracy. I also felt that the allusion to George Arthur's murder was in poor taste. Especially so since I was one of the last people to talk to him. What disappoints me is the fact that our detractors from the ACLU to our own REMFS will be saying I told you so after reading the book. What I remember best about Firestone is the fact that you could get people to drive 100 miles an hour to a hazardous situation to help someone they wouldn't let date their sister. I recently watched the entire "Band of Brothers" series about the 101st Airborne in WWII. There were a number of parallels to the Firestone Spirit. They were sometimes led by brilliant leaders, sometimes lead by incompetents, their leaders ranged from "Follow Me" to "Go do it I'll be at the Command Post", but above all they took care of each other and always responded to calls for help. I found the deputies at Firestone were more rugged individualists than followers of some charismatic super cop. We all did things our own way, but were brothers when we needed to be. Just like the 101st troopers we didn't mix well with rear echelon types. It's similar to the way trauma surgeons relate to plastic surgeons. Trauma surgeons think plastic surgeons are wanna be's and plastic surgeons think trauma surgeons are butchers. Firestone deputies dealt with daily trauma unlike Deputies at stations that seldom saw trauma. We were good at it and knew it. We were and are very proud of the fact that we were from Firestone. Steve, I remember you as a good watch commander, I invite you to come to the next Firestone Reunion and see what a diverse group we are. Then never was a "Firestone Syndrome" but there will always be a "Firestone Spirit", which is still alive at Century Station. I will always remember what Duane Preimsberger said as the Emcee at Frank Sanchez' retirement, "for those of you that have never worked Firestone, you still owe the County an obligation"