The first major surprise of the post World War II years came into play when in late June 1950, the United States found itself responding in crisis fashion to the North Korean invasion of the new republic of South Korea, just four years and nine months after VJ-Day. The nation became involved in Korea as a result of the Cairo and Yalta conferences in which the United States and the Soviet Union agreed to the concept of a free and independent post-war Korea.

This monograph is an account of the activities of the Marines and units of the 3d Marine Aircraft Wing in support of the I Marine Expeditionary Force's efforts to liberate Kuwait. This document is part of a preliminary series of official Marine Corps histories that cover Marine Corps operations in the Gulf War. On 2 September 1990, 3d Marine Aircraft Wing took command of Marine aviation forces ashore from a Marine composite aircraft group, which had hurriedly been moved to the Persian Gulf as part of Operation Desert Shield. The wing would grow to be the largest deployed in Marine Corps history. It would fly more than 10 different types of aircraft from eight airfield sites that required laying more than 4.5 million square feet of ramps, landing, and taxiing areas. In addition, the wing and its support groups would construct six 3,000-man base camps and establish a Marine Air Command and Control System that would operate across four countries in a joint and combined arena. When Operation Desert Storm began, the 3d Marine Aircraft Wing was ready and provided more than 18,000 fixed-wing and helicopter sorties in support of I Marine Expeditionary Force's mission of ejecting Iraqi forces from Kuwait.

The author explains why North Korea, though impoverished, nevertheless feels compelled to spend enormous amounts of its scarce resources on developing nuclear bombs and missiles capable of being delivered to the US, or at least to US allies. To most Americans this seems slightly bizarre. But Paone's conclusion is that North Korea is quite rational - it simply wants to DETER the US from doing the same thing as it did during the Korea War: killing three to six million Koreans; burning down hundreds of villages, towns and cities; and leaving behind tens of thousands to live the rest of their lives without limbs or with napalm deformed bodies. We in the US may have only vague recollections of the 36,000 Americans killed or the 93,000 wounded in that war; but the Koreans vividly remember their millions of dead and the countless deformed survivors. Paone sets forth his explanation primarily through American military-oriented sources; the diaries of US Generals; over 200 photos of war scenes taken by US Army and US Air Force personnel; daily Press Releases from General Douglas MacArthur's Command in Tokyo and finally American newspaper accounts.

The term "Battles of the Outposts" encompasses the fighting that took place in the final two years of the Korean War. In the first year of the war sweeping movement up and down the peninsula characterized the fighting. Combat raged from the 38th Parallel south to the Pusan Perimeter then, with the landing at Inchon and the Perimeter breakout, up to the Yalu, and finally a retreat south again in the face of the massive Chinese intervention.

At the time it was fought, the war in Korea was unique in recent American military experience. Unlike World Wars I and II, which were vigorously prosecuted on the battlefield until the enemy surrendered unconditionally, the Korean conflict ended without clear-cut military victory for either side. It was fought with limited means for limited objectives. In fact, political efforts to resolve the conflict at the negotiating table predominated during the last two years of the conflict. During this period, neither side sought a decision by military means. The conflict in Korea also was an important milestone in the "cold war" relations between the Communist and non-Communist nations. By launching an unprovoked attack on a militarily insignificant country located in an area where none of their vital interests were involved, the Communists appeared to leaders of the non-Communist states to be giving proof of their aggressive designs for world domination. As a result, the United States reversed the policy of reducing its military establishment and launched an impressive expansion of its armed forces. At the same time, the United States joined with its North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) partners to create a military command for the alliance and to incorporate German forces in it. In the Far East, the United States also acted to shore up the defenses of the non-Communist world by entering into treaties with Australia and New Zealand, the Philippines, Japan, South Korea, and Nationalist China. The Korean War provided the first wartime test for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, acting as part of the machinery set up by the National Security Act of 1947 and its 1949 amendment. In this capacity, they provided strategic direction to the United Nations (UN) forces in the field and were the agency by with President Truman exercised overall control of war strategy. When the focus shifted from combat to armistice negotiations, the Joint Chiefs of Staff continued to play an active role. They participated in all the key decisions taken during negotiations, and they provided the channel of communications between the Government in Washington and Commander in Chief, United Nations Command (CINCUNC), and his armistice negotiating team in Korea. The focus of this volume is, naturally, on the Joint Chiefs of Staff. But as they were not acting in a vacuum, it has been necessary to describe the context in which they functioned. To this end, the actions of the President and the Secretaries of State and Defense concerning overall military strategy and armistice negotiations have been described in some detail. In addition, the consequences of these actions, on the battlefield and at the negotiating table, have been sketched in broad outline.

This bibliography comprises unclassified publication dealing in whole or significant part with Marine Corps operations and related matters in the Korean War.

A marine's diary of the Korean War and the battle of Chosin Reservoir. A story of courage, strong faith, and determination by a young marine to lead others against incredible odds to become one of the "Chosin Few." A religious picture of the Boy Jesus was found amidst rubble and destruction became a relic that Richard Janca carried with him for life. This is a story of heroism of a young marine who earned the Bronze Star and Purple Heart.

The Mughals, British and Soviets all failed to subjugate Afghanistan, failures which offer valuable lessons for today. Taking a long historical perspective from 1520 to 2012, this multi-authored volume examines the Mughal, British, Soviet and NATO efforts in Afghanistan, drawing on new archives and a synthesis of previous counter-insurgency experiences. Special emphasis is given to ecology, terrain and logistics to explain sub-conventional operations and state-building in Afghanistan. War and State-Building in Modern Afghanistan provides an overall synthesis of British, Russian, American and NATO military activities in Afghanistan, which directly links past experiences to the current challenges. These timely essays are particularly relevant to contemporary debates about NATO's role in Afghanistan; do the war and state-building policies currently employed by NATO forces undercut or enhance a political solution? The essays in this volume introduce new historical perspectives on this debate, and will prove illuminating reading for students and scholars interested in military history, the history of warfare, international relations and comparative politics.

In Fallujah, during a particularly difficult time in the Iraq War, a group of Marines are deployed on a tour that will bring them closer together, while threatening to tear them apart. The Delta Company Outlaws are a group of Light Armored Reconnaissance Marines deployed in 2004 to one of the most hostile war zones in the world. Through the memoirs of one Marine, this touching story encapsulates the drama surrounding everyday life during the Iraq War. With a bond formed through blood, sweat, and tears, a group of unfamiliar Marines will come together stronger than family. Memoirs of an Outlaw: Life in the Sandbox is a dramatic new take on the Iraq War that focuses more on the personal aspects of war rather than exclusively on combat. With a touching approach to the camaraderie, daily life, and devastating losses, this enlightening memoir by Robert M. Tanner delves into the brotherhood that's formed throughout a deployment while documenting the combat experiences and daily life of a Marine. Using personal experiences, this engaging story hooks readers with drama, action, and honesty while painting an illuminating picture of both the funny and tragic sides of war. Inspired by a bond that's stronger than blood, Memoirs of an Outlaw began as a therapeutic way to document wartime experiences and eventually led to a full-fledged memoir. Deciding to focus on the daily life and camaraderie of war, the story captures the tension, drama, and bonding that comes with combat and living in a hostile environment far away from home. By focusing on the humanistic side of the armed forces, Memoirs of an Outlaw perfectly captures a unique moment in time during an extraordinarily challenging part of the war.

On October 12, 2003, five US embedded tactical trainers (ETTs) working with the fledgling Afghan National Army, are ambushed at a derelict former Soviet tank park called the Bone Yard by militia of a local warlord. Outnumber 10 to 1, the US soldiers must clover around their vehicles--except for their commander, LTC Tom Brewer, who is cut off from them, and wounded--and fight it out until help arrives over an hour later. The Bone Yard gives an example of combat in the early years of the Afghanistan War.

The initial conflicts in the Global War on Terrorism, Afghanistan and Iraq, pose significant challenges for the armed forces of the United States and its coalition allies. Among the challenges is the use of field artillery in those campaigns that fall short of conventional warfare. Engaged in a spectrum from full-scale combat to stability and support operations, the military is faced with an ever-changing environment in which to use its combat power. For instance, it is axiomatic that the massive application of firepower necessary to destroy targets in decisive phase III combat operations is not necessary in phase IV stability operations. However, the phasing of campaigns has become increasingly fluid as operations shift from phase III to IV and back to phase III, or activities in one portion of a country are in phase IV while in another portion phase III operations rage. The challenges of this environment are significant but not new. The US military has faced them before, in places like the American West, the Philippines, Latin America, Vietnam, and others. Dr. Larry Yates' study, Field Artillery in Military Operations Other Than War: An Overview of the US Experience, captures the unique contributions of that branch in a variety of operational experiences. In doing so, this work provides the modern officer with a reference to the continuing utility of field artillery in any future conflict. combat Studies Institute.

This book is a Black and White (Grayscale) "REPRINT" . "Although events did not afford the Marines an opportunity to engage the enemy in heavy combat, their contribution in southern Afghanistan was nonetheless significant. From a strategic perspective, the arrival of a sizable conventional force demonstrated America's resolve to confront the sponsors of terrorism directly and signaled an end to Taliban rule. From an operational perspective, Task Force 58 successfully blocked the western escape route from Kandahar and threatened the enemy's last remaining urban stronghold. As Lieutenant General Gregory S. Newbold, former director of operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, later observed: The insertion of Task Force 58 had a deep psychological impact on the Taliban and al-Qaeda-they were confronted with a military situation which now unhinged any hope they had for a gradual pullback from the north and a chance to hold from their area of greatest strength. . . . The insertion of Task Force 58 fundamentally changed the equation for the enemy from one of grim hope to hopelessness.1 The strategic agility and operational reach showcased by the Navy amphibious squadrons and Marine expeditionary units validated the utility of task-organized expeditionary forces, particularly in respect to the effectiveness of long-range, ship-to-objective maneuver. These combined achievements contributed directly to the subsequent deployment of expeditionary strike groups in 2003. As a result, today's naval services are now in a better position to address emerging crises around the globe, regardless of whether they occur in littoral or landlocked regions of the world." Dr. Charles P. Neimeyer Director of Marine Corps History

Black & White Edition Desert Storm Diary is an insightful account of the first Persion Gulf War as witnessed by a reserve officer from North Dakota. Carefully detailed with entries from Col. Franklin Hook's wartime diary, the book captures the experiences of this physician and Army reservist called up and charged with command of the 311th Evacuation Hospital. Col. Hook's riveting report includes caring for patients in a combat zone and flying Medevac missions, while navigating problems with higher headquarters and negotiating with Arab Muslim civilians. Desert Storm Diary documents the chronology of the war, including its major battles, its leaders and its countless heroes. Desert Storm Diary also captures a story beyond military history as it unfolds as a family memoir recounting the Gulf War experiences of Hook's two sons, Bill and Paul, both deployed overseas at the same time and serving as a B-52 pilot and an Abrams M1-A1 tank platoon commander respectively. Bill and Paul's stories are featured as father-son interviews, and Col. Hook captures the spirit of a father's simultaneous pride and concern as he documents Bill's role in the last B-52 mission over Baghdad and describes his own angst over hearing a serviceman from North Dakota was missing after a B-52 bombing run. Col. Hook's memoir closes with an epilogue of informative perspective, "Reflections and the Ten Commandments of Muslim Diplomacy."

The lightning campaign that toppled the Saddam Hussein regime in Iraq in the spring of 2003 seemed to herald the arrival of a new way of war, as Germany's blitzkrieg had done at the beginning of World War II. But the initial victory soon devolved into a persistent counterinsurgency conflict reminiscent of the long U.S. effort to pacify the Philippines after the rapid defeat of Spain in 1898. In Iraq, American soldiers and their Coalition partners had merely traded one fairly weak and generally conventional opponent for a more deadly, diverse, and determined foe relying on the tactics of the guerrilla and the terrorist. This volume focuses on that second and longer campaign. But rather than a narrative of the overall course of the conflict, it provides a soldier's-eye view of the war by focusing on detailed accounts of selected engagements. Each illustrates the everyday challenges that America's soldiers faced in a difficult struggle against an inventive and often elusive enemy. Weapons, doctrine, and procedures developed to fight a conventional campaign against a similar opposing force had to be adapted to fit a different type of conflict. The U.S. Army's combat and support forces brought both resourcefulness and resilience to this task while continuing to demonstrate the same courage shown by previous generations fighting the nation's battles. These stories not only symbolize the tip of the spear formed by units in contact, but they also represent the contributions of all American men and women who have served their country in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Taken together, these accounts will provide our deploying leaders and soldiers a better understanding of the environment that they will encounter and prepare them for the work that must be done.

This official U.S. Marine Corps history provides unique information about an important aspect of the Korean War. Some of the subjects included in this history: Major General Field Harris, Colonel Lewis B. Chesty Puller, Major General Oliver P. Smith, 1st Marine Division, General Douglas MacArthur, President Truman, USS Mount McKinley, Wolmi-Do, the drive to Kimpo, amphibious assault, DUKWs.

Chronicles the role of the United States Marines in the defense of the Pusan Perimeter and their part in the expansion of United Nations forces in the Korean War. Captain John C. Chapin earned a bachelor of arts degree with honors in history from Yale University in 1942 and was commissioned later that year. He served as a rifle-platoon leader in the 24th Marines, 4th Marine Division, and was wounded in action in World War II during assault landings on Roi-Namur and Saipan.

In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the United States launched and led military operations in Afghanistan in order to end the ability of the Taliban regime to provide safe haven to al Qaeda and to put a stop to al Qaeda's use of the territory of Afghanistan as a base of operations for terrorist activities. Many observers argue that in succeeding years, as U.S. and world attention shifted sharply to the war in Iraq, the Afghan war became the "other war" and suffered from neglect. The Obama Administration, however, has made the war in Afghanistan a higher priority, by giving it early attention, regularly conducting strategy reviews, and making significant additional commitments of civilian and military resources. By early 2011, senior leaders, including the Commander of NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), General David Petraeus, were pointing to discrete progress on the ground, though noting that such progress was still "fragile and reversible." In late 2010, NATO and the Afghan government agreed to pursue a key medium-term goal: the transition of lead responsibility for security to Afghans throughout the country by the end of 2014. The U.S. government has stated its intention to begin drawing down some U.S. forces from Afghanistan in July 2011, and also to maintain a long-term strategic partnership with Afghanistan beyond 2014. Strategic vision for Afghanistan is still, many would argue, a work in progress. President Karzai has consistently stressed the theme of "Afghan leadership, Afghan ownership." President Obama has consistently stressed the core goals of the United States: to disrupt, dismantle, and defeat al-Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and to prevent their return. Yet for the U.S. government, fundamental issues remain unresolved. These include: determining the minimum essential conditions required for Afghanistan itself to be able to sustain stability with relatively limited international support; defining the appropriate combination of U.S. efforts, together with other international resources, over time, required to achieve those minimum conditions; and balancing U.S. national security interests in Afghanistan and the region against other imperatives, in a constrained fiscal environment. This report, which will be updated as events warrant, describes and analyzes the key players in the war in Afghanistan; the strategic outlooks of the Afghan government, the U.S. government, and NATO; the threats to the security and stability of the Afghan state and its people; the major facets of the current effort: security, governance and anti-corruption, development, reconciliation and reintegration, and transition; mechanisms in place to measure progress; and critical issues that Congress may wish to consider further.

The Korean War (1950 - 1953) is also called the "Forgotten War" by many. Within these pages are the illustrated stories of CPL Rosser who finds himself fighting alone behind enemy lines, Pvt David Mills as he survives being a Prisoner of War at the age of seventeen, a story of Valor with CPL Rodolfo Hernandez, and fly in a Sabre jet with Double Ace Major General Frederick "Boots" Blesse. Each story is told by the soldier who lived them, in their own words.