Kerry visits Baghdad to mark the 10th anniversary of the U.S. invasion and to push Baghdad not to help Iran arm Syria’s Assad.
Iraq
IEDs, C.O.D.
Army Major Keith Boring spent much of 2006 and 2007, his second Iraq combat tour, as a battalion plans officer for 1-40 Cavalry, 4-25 Infantry south of Baghdad. While his specialty was armor – he is a tank-driver, after all …
Soldiers Write…About War, and a Woman
Every once in awhile a war book – actually written by a soldier – grabs you and won’t let go. The latest is The Yellow Birds, by Iraq war vet Kevin Powers. Nate Rawlings interviewed him here on Battleland more than a month …
$4.2 Billion
The MRAP: Brilliant Buy, or Billions Wasted?
For Gold Star Mothers, a War Without End
Gold Star Mothers are women who have literally borne the troops that have made the ultimate sacrifice.
General Misconduct
“At the end of my military career, some 40 years later, that [Vietnam] war had a lot to do with the way I handle myself in the wars that we're in right now, part of which means to make sure that the American people know what's going on - to put a face on that, to put a face on those we've lost. I was a big advocate for opening Dover [Air Force Base] to the public and the families for just that reason. We want people to know what's going on and to consciously say “yes” or “no” -- we will continue this, or we won't continue it. The Vietnam War began, the American people didn't support the men and women in uniform, and that is not the case now.”
Better the Second Time Around
Army Major Jeremy Hall pulled two tours as an Army engineer north of Baghdad – first in 2007 and 2008, and then again in 2010 and 2011. He faced challenges during his initial deployment, but was glad he went back for a second …
The Securitization of Instability
Having escaped Iraq after eight years, now mired in the nation’s 12th year in Afghanistan, Americans are probably ready for a book looking at the kind of missions the U.S. military has taken on post-9/11. They’re not pure …
“I predict that traumatic brain injury is going to be the Agent Orange of this conflict.”
Iraq: Will Over Skill
Army Major David Cutright served twice in Iraq – in 2003-04 with the 3rd Brigade of the 4th Infantry Division, and in 2009-10 with the 1st Brigade of the 82nd Airborne Division, when he was in an advise-and-assist role to the …
The Yellow Birds: An Iraq Veteran’s Novel Gives a View from the Inside
War has always been a strange and distant endeavor, brought home from the battlefields in letters, photographs and stories after the guns fell silent. Then beginning with the war in Vietnam, images of battlefield violence were …