Download or read book Memoirs of a Deployed Airman written by Patrick B. Monahan and published by iUniverse. This book was released on 2009 with total page 566 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Almost as if it were a dream, day number 360 came and I was transported into another world. The flights were long, but within just a couple of days, I found myself back at my original starting point-Salt Lake City, Utah. Before arriving in Salt Lake City though, I was greeted by my parents and my in-laws at Baltimore-Washington International (BWI) airport. As I scrambled through the baggage claim area and customs, I made my way towards my release from the regimented deployment world. Both sets of parents were poised and ready to greet me and my friends returning from overseas. Upon catching a glimpse of me, they popped out of their seats and began waving small American flags in my general direction. It was very nice to see them and it was a nice patriotic sight. I arrived at the airport at approximately midnight and I was hungry, so we all went out to eat at an all night diner in Arlington, Virginia. It was about 0300 in the morning when we finished up our meal and headed back to my in-laws house to sleep. I caught an 1800 flight the next day which brought me to Salt Lake City at approximately 2300 that night. The second leg of my flight from Phoenix, Arizona was very comfortable and relaxing. Wearing my DCUs, one of the flight attendant's decided to move me to First Class. Not only did this provide me with more comfort, but it also provided me an opportunity to sit next to her husband who had joined her on the flight. I had a really nice conversation with the flight attendant's husband throughout the flight. Then, as we landed in Salt Lake City, the flight attendant announced to all of the people on the flight that I had just returned home from the war in Afghanistan. Everyone began to clap and I received the honor of being the first person off of the airplane. I then began my mad dash towards my family. People noticed that I was in uniform, holding two little bears (one for each of my girls), and I was practically running, so everyone pretty much got out of my way. Within minutes, I saw Melanie holding a "Welcome Home" poster and my girls waving small American flags. It was a very impressive and precious sight. I scooped up both of my daughters in my hands and I embraced the whole family. The nice thing was that Suzanna didn't cry...everyone seemed to at least have some idea who I was this time. In fact, Annabelle wouldn't hardly let me go out of her sight for the next few days. I learned several days later that Annabelle had a lot of trouble sleeping while I was gone...which was attributed to me not being there and her not knowing when I would come home. This latter fact is what changed my mindset from wanting to go back to the combat zone any time soon. While I was gone, I made the most of my deployment and I even learned to enjoy many aspects of the adventure. However, when you see the effects of being gone on the homefront, nothing else seems to matter but family. Would I go again? Absolutely. But, I would certainly wait for my number to come up or for someone to come asking for my assistance a little more passionately. When I arrived at my actual home in the Ogden, Utah area, I quickly noticed several decorations on the property. I hadn't expected such extravagance, but I was certainly impressed by what I saw. As I walked around the house and the yard in my civilians clothes the next day, surrounded by my family, I finally felt like I was home.

Download or read book On Military Memoirs written by L.H.E. (Esmeralda) Kleinreesink and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2016-10-11 with total page 402 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Winner of the Caforio prize for the best book in armed forces and civil-military relations published between 2015 and 2016 In On Military Memoirs Esmeralda Kleinreesink offers insight into military books: who were their writers and publishers, what were their plots, and what motives did their authors have for writing them. Every Afghanistan war autobiography published in the US, the UK, Germany, Canada, and the Netherlands between 2001 and 2010 is compared quantitatively and qualitatively. On Military Memoirs shows that soldier-authors are a special breed; that self-published books still cater to different markets than traditionally published ones; that cultural differences are clearly visible between warrior nations and non-warrior nations; that not every contemporary memoir is a disillusionment story; and that writing is serious business for soldiers wanting to change the world. The book provides an innovative example of how to use interdisciplinary, mixed-method, cross-cultural research to analyse egodocuments.

Download or read book Dead Six written by Larry Correia and published by Baen Publishing Enterprises. This book was released on 2011-10-01 with total page 628 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Michael Valentine, veteran and former member of an elite private military company, has been recruited by the government to conduct a secret counter-terror operation in the Persian Gulf nation of Zubara. The unit is called Dead Six. Their mission is to take the fight to the enemy and not get caught. Lorenzo, assassin and thief extraordinaire, is being blackmailed by the world's most vicious crime lord. His team has to infiltrate the Zubaran terrorist network and pull off an impossible heist or his family will die. When Dead Six compromises his objective, Lorenzo has a new job: Find and kill Valentine. As allegiances are betrayed and the nation descends into a bloody civil war, Lorenzo and Valentine must face off. Two men. Two missions. Only one will win. At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management).

Download or read book The Unforgiving Minute written by Craig M. Mullaney and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2009-02-19 with total page 418 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “The Unforgiving Minute is one of the most compelling memoirs yet to emerge from America's 9/11 era. Craig Mullaney has given us an unusually honest, funny, accessible, and vivid account of a soldier's coming of age. This is more than a soldier's story; it is a work of literature." —Steve Coll, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Ghost Wars and The Bin Ladens "One of the most thoughtful and honest accounts ever written by a young Army officer confronting all the tests of life." —Bob Woodward In this surprise bestseller, West Point grad, Rhodes scholar, Airborne Ranger, and U. S. Army Captain Craig Mullaney recounts his unparalleled education and the hard lessons that only war can teach. While stationed in Afghanistan, a deadly firefight with al-Qaeda leads to the loss of one of his soldiers. Years later, after that excruciating experience, he returns to the United States to teach future officers at the Naval Academy. Written with unflinching honesty, this is an unforgettable portrait of a young soldier grappling with the weight of war while coming to terms with what it means to be a man.

Download or read book Walk in My Combat Boots written by James Patterson and published by Little, Brown. This book was released on 2021-02-08 with total page 416 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Discover “the stories America needs to hear” (Admiral William H. McRaven, US Navy (Ret.)) with these moving and powerful recollections of war, told by the men and women who lived them. Walk in my Combat Boots is a powerful collection crafted from hundreds of original interviews by James Patterson, the world’s #1 bestselling writer, and First Sergeant US Army (Ret.) Matt Eversmann, part of the Ranger unit portrayed in the movie Black Hawk Down. These are the brutally honest stories usually only shared amongst comrades in arms. Here, in the voices of the men and women who’ve fought overseas from Vietnam to Iraq and Afghanistan, is a rare eye-opening look into what wearing the uniform, fighting in combat, losing friends and coming home is really like. Readers who next thank a military member for their service will finally have a true understanding of what that thanks is for.

Download or read book Attention Servicemember written by Ben Brody and published by . This book was released on 2020-09 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Attention Servicemember is Ben Brody's searing elegy to the experience of the American wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Brody was a soldier assigned to make visual propaganda during the Iraq War. After leaving the army, he traveled to Afghanistan as an independent civilian journalist. Returning to rural New England after 12 years at war, he found his home unrecognizable - even his own backyard radiated menace and threat. So he continued photographing the war as it exists in his own mind. This critically-acclaimed photobook was shortlisted for the Aperture-Paris Photo First Book Award and is now in its second printing.

Download or read book Back in the Fight written by Joseph Kapacziewski and published by Macmillan + ORM. This book was released on 2013-05-07 with total page 344 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The inspiring and thrilling combat memoir of the only Army Ranger serving in direct combat operations with a prosthetic limb. On October 3, 2005, Kapacziewski and his soldiers were coming to the end of their tour in Northern Iraq when their convoy was attacked by enemy fighters. A grenade fell through the gunner's hatch and exploded, shattering Kapacziewski's right leg below the knee, damaging his right hip, and severing a nerve and artery in his right arm. He endured more than forty surgeries, but his right leg still wasn't healing as he had hoped, so in March 2007, Kapacziewski chose to have it amputated with one goal in mind: to return to the line and serve alongside his fellow Rangers. One year after his surgery, Kapacziewski accomplished his goal: he was put back on the line, as a squad leader of his Army Ranger Regiment. On April 19, 2010, during his ninth combat deployment (and fifth after losing his leg), Kapacziewski's patrol ran into an ambush outside a village in eastern Afghanistan. After a fellow Ranger fell to withering enemy fire, shot through the belly, Sergeant Kap and another soldier dragged him seventy-five yards to safety and administered first aid that saved his life while heavy machineguns tried to kill them. His actions earned him an Army Commendation Medal with "V" for Valor. He had previously been awarded a Bronze Star for Valor—and a total of three Purple Hearts for combat wounds. Back in the Fight is an inspiring and thrilling tale readers will never forget.

Download or read book Rule Number Two written by Heidi Squier Kraft and published by Little, Brown. This book was released on 2007-10-24 with total page 182 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When Lieutenant Commander Heidi Kraft's twin son and daughter were fifteen months old, she was deployed to Iraq. A clinical psychologist in the US Navy, Kraft's job was to uncover the wounds of war that a surgeon would never see. She put away thoughts of her children back home, acclimated to the sound of incoming rockets, and learned how to listen to the most traumatic stories a war zone has to offer. One of the toughest lessons of her deployment was perfectly articulated by the TV show M*A*S*H: "There are two rules of war. Rule number one is that young men die. Rule number two is that doctors can't change rule number one." Some Marines, Kraft realized, and even some of their doctors, would be damaged by war in ways she could not repair. And sometimes, people were repaired in ways she never expected. Rule Number Two is a powerful firsthand account of providing comfort admidst the chaos of war, and of what it takes to endure.

Download or read book Army Pro written by Floyd Russell Mulvany, Jr. and published by . This book was released on 2021-05-31 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Love My Rifle More than You Young and Female in the U S Army written by Kayla Williams and published by W. W. Norton & Company. This book was released on 2006-09-17 with total page 298 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Brave, honest, and necessary.”—Nancy Pearl, NPR Seattle Kayla Williams is one of the 15 percent of the U.S. Army that is female, and she is a great storyteller. With a voice that is “funny, frank and full of gritty details” (New York Daily News), she tells of enlisting under Clinton; of learning Arabic; of the sense of duty that fractured her relationships; of being surrounded by bravery and bigotry, sexism and fear; of seeing 9/11 on Al-Jazeera; and of knowing she would be going to war. With a passion that makes her memoir “nearly impossible to put down” (Buffalo News) Williams shares the powerful gamut of her experiences in Iraq, from caring for a wounded civilian to aiming a rifle at a child. Angry at the bureaucracy and the conflicting messages of today’s military, Williams offers us “a raw, unadulterated look at war” (San Antonio Express News) and at the U.S. Army. And she gives us a woman’s story of empowerment and self-discovery.

Download or read book Call Sign Chaos written by Jim Mattis and published by Random House. This book was released on 2019-09-03 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A clear-eyed account of learning how to lead in a chaotic world, by General Jim Mattis—the former Secretary of Defense and one of the most formidable strategic thinkers of our time—and Bing West, a former assistant secretary of defense and combat Marine. “A four-star general’s five-star memoir.”—The Wall Street Journal Call Sign Chaos is the account of Jim Mattis’s storied career, from wide-ranging leadership roles in three wars to ultimately commanding a quarter of a million troops across the Middle East. Along the way, Mattis recounts his foundational experiences as a leader, extracting the lessons he has learned about the nature of warfighting and peacemaking, the importance of allies, and the strategic dilemmas—and short-sighted thinking—now facing our nation. He makes it clear why America must return to a strategic footing so as not to continue winning battles but fighting inconclusive wars. Mattis divides his book into three parts: Direct Leadership, Executive Leadership, and Strategic Leadership. In the first part, Mattis recalls his early experiences leading Marines into battle, when he knew his troops as well as his own brothers. In the second part, he explores what it means to command thousands of troops and how to adapt your leadership style to ensure your intent is understood by your most junior troops so that they can own their mission. In the third part, Mattis describes the challenges and techniques of leadership at the strategic level, where military leaders reconcile war’s grim realities with political leaders’ human aspirations, where complexity reigns and the consequences of imprudence are severe, even catastrophic. Call Sign Chaos is a memoir of a life of warfighting and lifelong learning, following along as Mattis rises from Marine recruit to four-star general. It is a journey about learning to lead and a story about how he, through constant study and action, developed a unique leadership philosophy, one relevant to us all.

Download or read book Way of the Reaper written by Nicholas Irving and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2016-08-09 with total page 305 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A thrilling account of Nick "The Reaper" Irving's 10 greatest sniper kill missions that provide insight into the art of being a sniper

Download or read book MacArthur s Airman written by Thomas E. Griffith, Jr. and published by University Press of Kansas. This book was released on 2017-01-20 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A fighter pilot who flew 75 combat missions in World War I, George C. Kenney was a charismatic leader who established himself as an innovative advocate of air power. As General MacArthur's air commander in the Southwest Pacific during World War II, Kenney played a pivotal role in the conduct of the war, but until now his performance has remained largely unexplored. Thomas Griffith offers a critical assessment of Kenney's numerous contributions to MacArthur's war efforts. He depicts Kenney as a staunch proponent of airpower's ability to shape the outcome of military engagements and a commander who shared MacArthur's strategic vision. He tells how Kenney played a key role in campaigns from New Guinea to the Philippines; adapted aircraft, pilots, doctrine, and technology to the demands of aerial warfare in the southwest Pacific; and pursued daring strategies that likely would have failed in the European theater. Kenney is shown to have been an operational and organizational innovator who was willing to scrap doctrine when the situation called for ingenuity, such as shifting to low-level attacks for more effective bombing raids. Griffith tells how Kenney established air superiority in every engagement, provided close air support for troops by bombing enemy supply lines, attacked and destroyed Japanese supply ships, and carried out rapid deployment by airlifting troops and supplies. Griffith draws on Kenney's diary and correspondence, the personal papers of other officers, and previously untapped sources to present a comprehensive portrayal of both the officer and the man. He illuminates Kenney's relationship with MacArthur, General "Hap" Arnold, and other field commanders, and closely examines factors in air warfare often neglected in other accounts, such as intelligence, training, and logistical support. MacArthur's Airman is a rich and insightful study that shows how air, ground, and marine efforts were integrated to achieve major strategic objectives. It firmly establishes the importance of MacArthur's campaign in New Guinea and reveals Kenney's instrumental role in turning the tide against the Japanese.

Download or read book The Armed Forces Officer written by Richard Moody Swain and published by Government Printing Office. This book was released on 2017 with total page 216 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1950, when he commissioned the first edition of The Armed Forces Officer, Secretary of Defense George C. Marshall told its author, S.L.A. Marshall, that "American military officers, of whatever service, should share common ground ethically and morally." In this new edition, the authors methodically explore that common ground, reflecting on the basics of the Profession of Arms, and the officer's special place and distinctive obligations within that profession and especially to the Constitution.

Download or read book My War written by Colby Buzzell and published by Random House. This book was released on 2014-11-28 with total page 418 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'Once we passed the checkpoint at the border, it hit me. I was like, Holy Shit, this is it, I'm entering a combat zone. Cool!' At twenty-six Colby Buzzell, unemployed and living at home, decided to join the US Army. Within months he was in Iraq, a machine gunner in the controversial Stryker Brigade Combat Team, an army unit on the cutting edge of combat technology and the first of its kind. Trapped amid 'guerrilla warfare, urban-style' in Mosul, Iraq, Buzzell was struck by the bizarre and often frightening world surrounding him. He began writing a blog describing the war - not as being reported by CNN or official briefings - but as experienced by the soldier on the ground. His story is a brutally honest and hard-hitting account of the absurdities of modern war. These are the real stories of the war: a firefight where the resistance came from 'men in black'; a night spent chain-smoking in the guard tower counting the tracer bullets being fired over the city; and the hesitation of a young soldier who had been passed around from platoon to platoon because he was too afraid to fight. My War is a powerful story of a young man and a war, unlike any you have read before.

Download or read book Sergeant Rex written by Mike Dowling and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2012-10-09 with total page 293 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The thrilling and inspiring story of a U.S. Marine and his dog Rex, a bomb sniffing German Shepard, who forged a bond of trust and loyalty while serving on the war-torn streets of Iraq's most dangerous city. Called "a deeply affecting tale of courage and devotion in the cauldron of war" by Publishers Weekly, Sergeant Mike Dowling's heart-pounding account of an unbreakable bond between man and dog takes us into the searing 130-degree heat, the choking dust, and the ever-present threat of violent attack in Iraq's infamous Triangle of Death. In 2004, Dowling and his military working dog Rex were part of the first Marine Corps military K9 teams sent to the front lines of combat since Vietnam. It was Rex's job to sniff out weapons caches, suicide bombers, and IEDs, the devastating explosives that wreaked havoc on troops and civilians. It was Mike's job to lead Rex into the heart of danger. An extraordinary chronicle of loyalty in the face of terrible adversity, Sergeant Rex is an unforgettable story of sacrifice, courage, and love.

Download or read book Kaboom written by Matt Gallagher and published by Da Capo Press. This book was released on 2010-03-23 with total page 338 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When Lieutenant Matt Gallagher began his blog with the aim of keeping his family and friends apprised of his experiences, he didn't anticipate that it would resonate far beyond his intended audience. His subjects ranged from mission details to immortality, grim stories about Bon Jovi cassettes mistaken for IEDs, and the daily experiences of the Gravediggers-the code name for members of Gallagher's platoon. When the blog was shut down in June 2008 by the U.S. Army, there were more than twentyfive congressional inquiries regarding the matter as well as reports through the military grapevine that many high-ranking officials and officers at the Pentagon were disappointed that the blog had been ordered closed.Based on Gallagher's extraordinarily popular blog, Kaboom is "at turns hilarious, maddening, and terrifying," providing "raw and insightful snapshots of a conflict many Americans have lost interest in" (Washington Post). Like Anthony Swofford's Jarhead, Gallagher's Kaboom resonates with stoic detachment and timeless insight into a war that we are still trying to understand.