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An American Soldier's Awakening

An American Soldier's Awakening PDF Author: LTC Nina R. Petrarca USA Ret.
Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
ISBN:
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 65

Book Description
Never could I have envisioned the siege of emotions to overcome me as my military career came to a halt. I was faced with a psychological war that had become my badge of honor over the years. Standard military tactics had no place at this juncture, and I was well outside my comfort zone. As a woman warrior, my life to date existed outside the norms of conventional thinking, and I was embarking upon unfamiliar territory. I always found comfort in working with my military colleagues in taking on the mission at hand; in fact, it had become second nature. In retirement, I no longer had a foothold in preserving our US Constitution or protecting our republic from enemies, foreign or domestic. I could not fathom the perplexities of this new journey. My faith in God had always been my armor for strength and courage, so why would it be different now? This time, the enemy resided within me, and I had no escape route. I was alone with my thoughts and had no place to go. Through self-reflection, it became apparent that the most effective way to move through this quagmire was to remain close to my faith and acknowledge my feelings in a deliberate and meaningful way. I have always been analytical by nature, and at a young age, I discovered the arts can offer calm when experiencing feelings of despair. Over time, I discovered writing slowed down my racing thoughts and put me back in control of my well-being. As my introspective reasoning became manageable, prose evolved to poetry, my darkness began to shed light, and healing would learn to reside within me. 13

An American Soldier's Awakening

An American Soldier's Awakening PDF Author: LTC Nina R. Petrarca USA Ret.
Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
ISBN:
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 65

Book Description
Never could I have envisioned the siege of emotions to overcome me as my military career came to a halt. I was faced with a psychological war that had become my badge of honor over the years. Standard military tactics had no place at this juncture, and I was well outside my comfort zone. As a woman warrior, my life to date existed outside the norms of conventional thinking, and I was embarking upon unfamiliar territory. I always found comfort in working with my military colleagues in taking on the mission at hand; in fact, it had become second nature. In retirement, I no longer had a foothold in preserving our US Constitution or protecting our republic from enemies, foreign or domestic. I could not fathom the perplexities of this new journey. My faith in God had always been my armor for strength and courage, so why would it be different now? This time, the enemy resided within me, and I had no escape route. I was alone with my thoughts and had no place to go. Through self-reflection, it became apparent that the most effective way to move through this quagmire was to remain close to my faith and acknowledge my feelings in a deliberate and meaningful way. I have always been analytical by nature, and at a young age, I discovered the arts can offer calm when experiencing feelings of despair. Over time, I discovered writing slowed down my racing thoughts and put me back in control of my well-being. As my introspective reasoning became manageable, prose evolved to poetry, my darkness began to shed light, and healing would learn to reside within me. 13

A Soldier's Dream

A Soldier's Dream PDF Author: William Doyle
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1101188014
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 249

Book Description
For six months in 2006, a charismatic young U.S. Army captain and Arab linguist named Travis Patriquin unleashed a diplomatic and cultural charm offensive upon the Sunni Arab sheiks of Anbar province, the heart of darkness of the Iraqi insurgency. He galvanized American support for the “Sunni Awakening,” the tribal revolt against Al Qaeda that spread through the province and eventually across Iraq, a turning point that led to dramatically lower levels of violence in the country. The Awakening may not have succeeded without Patriquin, who was so beloved by Iraqis that they adopted him into their tribes and loved him as a brother. This is the true story of a man who loved Iraq, and a soldier who helped engineer the turning point of the Iraq War. It is the story of America’s T.E. Lawrence—Travis Patriquin.

Awakening Victory

Awakening Victory PDF Author: Michael Silverman
Publisher: Casemate
ISBN: 1612000770
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 471

Book Description
An “instructive first-hand account of how Iraq’s insurgents were defeated” in the surge of 2007—written by a Combat Arms Battalion Commander who lived it (Publishers Weekly). In August 2006, the American war in Iraq was looking grim. Control of Al Anbar Province, the seat of the Sunni insurgency, was said to be irrevocably lost to the insurgents. Al Qaeda in Iraq had planted their flag in the provincial capital, Ramadi, declaring it the capital of their new “Islamic State of Iraq.” In January 2007, the 3rd Battalion, 69th Armored Regiment, deployed to Ramadi, spearheading a surge that would become the D-Day of the Global War on Terror. By mid-summer 2007, attacks in the province were down ninety percent. As the “awakening” swept through Iraq, it brought about the best security situation since 2003. The 3rd Battalion was the only unit to participate in this campaign from start to finish. Moreover, many of the US successes came directly from this unit’s work. Awakening Victory tells the story of this incredible campaign through the eyes of the 3rd Battalion commander. It describes the battalion’s actions, including incidents previously unknown to the public, but it is not merely another war story. The author uses the actions of his battalion to describe a paradigm shift, moving from a war of bombs and bullets to one of partnership and ideas.

Confronting al Qaeda

Confronting al Qaeda PDF Author: Martha L. Cottam
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1442264861
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 159

Book Description
Based on in-depth interviews with tribal Sheiks involved in the Awakening and their American military counterparts, Confronting al Qaeda is a study of decision-making processes and the political psychology of the Sunni Awakening in al Anbar. It traces the change in American military strategy that made the Awakening collaboration between the Sunni tribes and the U.S. forces possible. It explains how the evolution of the tribal leaders’ perspective and of the American military strategy led to defeat al Qaeda in al Anbar. The process of these changing mutual images is detailed as well as how the cooperation between groups led to further evolution of perceptions. Political and military realities urgently forced these perceptual and social identity shifts initially, but the process of cooperation and engagement accelerated these shifts through increasingly mutually beneficial cooperation and interaction during the battle with al Qaeda in Iraq.

Red Summer

Red Summer PDF Author: Cameron McWhirter
Publisher: Henry Holt and Company
ISBN: 1429972939
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 366

Book Description
A narrative history of America's deadliest episode of race riots and lynchings After World War I, black Americans fervently hoped for a new epoch of peace, prosperity, and equality. Black soldiers believed their participation in the fight to make the world safe for democracy finally earned them rights they had been promised since the close of the Civil War. Instead, an unprecedented wave of anti-black riots and lynchings swept the country for eight months. From April to November of 1919, the racial unrest rolled across the South into the North and the Midwest, even to the nation's capital. Millions of lives were disrupted, and hundreds of lives were lost. Blacks responded by fighting back with an intensity and determination never seen before. Red Summer is the first narrative history written about this epic encounter. Focusing on the worst riots and lynchings—including those in Chicago, Washington, D.C., Charleston, Omaha and Knoxville—Cameron McWhirter chronicles the mayhem, while also exploring the first stirrings of a civil rights movement that would transform American society forty years later.

1861

1861 PDF Author: Adam Goodheart
Publisher: Vintage
ISBN: 1400032199
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 498

Book Description
A gripping and original account of how the Civil War began and a second American revolution unfolded, setting Abraham Lincoln on the path to greatness and millions of slaves on the road to freedom. An epic of courage and heroism beyond the battlefields, 1861 introduces us to a heretofore little-known cast of Civil War heroes—among them an acrobatic militia colonel, an explorer’s wife, an idealistic band of German immigrants, a regiment of New York City firemen, a community of Virginia slaves, and a young college professor who would one day become president. Their stories take us from the corridors of the White House to the slums of Manhattan, from the waters of the Chesapeake to the deserts of Nevada, from Boston Common to Alcatraz Island, vividly evoking the Union at its moment of ultimate crisis and decision. Hailed as “exhilarating….Inspiring…Irresistible…” by The New York Times Book Review, Adam Goodheart’s bestseller 1861 is an important addition to the Civil War canon. Includes black-and-white photos and illustrations.

Illusions of Victory

Illusions of Victory PDF Author: Carter Malkasian
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190659440
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 281

Book Description
In the immediate aftermath of the 2007 "Surge" of American troops in Iraq, the defeat of al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) in Anbar Province was widely hailed as one of America's signature victories. US Marines and soldiers fought for years there, in grinding battles such as Fallujah and Ramadi that define the experience of Iraq. Eventually, the fractious tribal sheiks in that province, with the help of American troops, united in an "Awakening" that dealt AQI a stunning defeat. The Awakening's success argued that the United States could intervene in a war-torn country and, with the right strategy, bring stability and peace. It seemed to exemplify snatching victory from the jaws of defeat. A decade later, the situation in Anbar Province is dramatically different. In 2014, much of Anbar fell to the AQI's successor organization, the Islamic State, which swept through the region with shocking ease. In Illusions of Victory, Carter Malkasian looks at the wreckage to explain why the Awakening's initial promise proved misleading and why victory was unsustainable. Malkasian begins by tracing the origins of the Awakening, then turns his attention to what happened in its wake. After the United States left, Iraq's Shi'a government sidelined Sunni leaders throughout the country. AQI, brought back to life as the Islamic State, expanded in northern and western Iraq and quickly found a receptive audience among marginalized Sunnis. In short order, the progress that had resulted from the Awakening fell apart. Malkasian draws many lessons from Anbar. Chief among them, the most stunning of victories may not last. The fact that the leading model of success fell apart severely damages the idea that the United States can send the military to a country for a few years and create lasting peace. Even the most successful example was bound to deeper social, sectarian, and religious forces insensitive to temporary boots on the ground. From today's perspective, rather than decisive success, Anbar exemplifies how intervention itself is a costly, long-term project. The most brilliant victory could not escape this wisdom.

Al-Anbar Awakening

Al-Anbar Awakening PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Anbār (Iraq : Province)
Languages : en
Pages : 328

Book Description


Awakening of a Foot Soldier

Awakening of a Foot Soldier PDF Author: John Healey
Publisher: iUniverse
ISBN: 059540362X
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 136

Book Description
A collection of journal entries by a former soldier in Somalia and Bosnia, who seeks entry into Iraq in 2004 to work as a contractor in order to search for death, but who ultimately finds inner peace.

The Gamble

The Gamble PDF Author: Thomas E. Ricks
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1101192062
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 418

Book Description
Fiasco, Thomas E. Ricks’s #1 New York Times bestseller, transformed the political dialogue on the war in Iraq—The Gamble is the next news breaking installment Thomas E. Ricks uses hundreds of hours of exclusive interviews with top officers in Iraq and extraordinary on-the-ground reportage to document the inside story of the Iraq War since late 2005 as only he can, examining the events that took place as the military was forced to reckon with itself, the surge was launched, and a very different war began. Since early 2007 a new military order has directed American strategy. Some top U.S. officials now in Iraq actually opposed the 2003 invasion, and almost all are severely critical of how the war was fought from then through 2006. At the core of the story is General David Petraeus, a military intellectual who has gathered around him an unprecedented number of officers with both combat experience and Ph.D.s. Underscoring his new and unorthodox approach, three of his key advisers are quirky foreigners—an Australian infantryman-turned- anthropologist, an antimilitary British woman who is an expert in the Middle East, and a Mennonite-educated Palestinian pacifist. The Gamble offers news-breaking account, revealing behind-the-scenes disagreements between top commanders. We learn that almost every single officer in the chain of command fought the surge. Many of Petraeus’s closest advisers went to Iraq extremely pessimistic, doubting that the surge would have any effect, and his own boss was so skeptical that he dispatched an admiral to Baghdad in the summer of 2007 to come up with a strategy to replace Petraeus’s. That same boss later flew to Iraq to try to talk Petraeus out of his planned congressional testimony. The Gamble examines the congressional hearings through the eyes of Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker, and their views of the questions posed by the 2008 presidential candidates. For Petraeus, prevailing in Iraq means extending the war. Thomas E. Ricks concludes that the war is likely to last another five to ten years—and that that outcome is a best case scenario. His stunning conclusion, stated in the last line of the book, is that “the events for which the Iraq war will be remembered by us and by the world have not yet happened.”