Yes, I did have an open mind about Boddington, and I actually still do. I've neve met him, only know him by reading what he writes. The salient feature is that when "being patriotic" was cool his title was Col... USMCR, as if going to reserve meetings made him a war hero; then when public opinion turned against the military he suddenly became Mr... Just seems to me, that this taken with some of his glowing reviews of several POS's, results in a fairly low opinion of him and his writing, but if I were to see other evidence to the contrary, I'm willing to review my conclusions.
I have read Boddington's articles since I was in high school. He has always seemed "real", if for nothing else than he admits he is human. He makes mistakes, he misses, he doesn't always/only shoot big animals.
He is experienced and shares his experience without being preachy. He is one of the few hunting writers who hunts with his own firearms. Yes he does do reviews and hunts with those rifles, but I bet a bunch of us can relate details of his 8mm Remington Magnum, or his 7x57.
Regarding his military service, I don't recall it ever being a secret, or a big deal. IIRC, his rank was never on his byline until he reached Lt. Colonel. Which was around the gulf war or thereabouts. I suspect that the rank in the byline was as much or more a publisher or editor decision than Craig's.
I went to SCI this year. I ran into Brittany Boddington. What a polite, well spoken and humble young lady (and drop dead gorgeous). Young ladies like her and Eva Shockey are some of the driving forces behind the growth in lady hunters, the fastest growing segment of our sport.
You can often tell a lot about a man by how his children turn out. If Brittany is any example, Craig done good.
With Brittany's help, I located Craig's booth. I witnessed him talking with someone who he had met before, just a hunter, but Craig remembered the guy's kid who was there, commented on his growth and included him in the conversation by asking what he wanted to hunt on his first Safari. Pretty cool.
When it was my turn, I thanked him for his writing and entertaining me for more than 35years. He was so gracious. He took time to advise me of his books when I asked which one he would suggest I buy. The inscription is personal to me.
My wife suggested I go back and buy 1-2 more books for my birthday, which I did the next day (I bought 3). Even though it must be tiring, meeting all the people and signing books all day, day after day, Craig was the same as the day before, kind, gracious, humble and down to earth, the kind of guy you wouldn't mind yacking with.