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.

Battle of the Chosin Reservoir, Chosin also called Changjin, campaign early in the Korean War, part of the Chinese Second Offensive (November-December 1950) to drive the United Nations out of North Korea. The Chosin Reservoir campaign was directed mainly against the 1st Marine Division of the U.S.X Corps, which had disembarked in eastern North Korea and moved inland in severe winter weather to a mountainous area near the reservoir. The campaign succeeded in forcing the entire X Corps to evacuate to South Korea, but the Chinese did not achieve their particular objective of isolating and destroying the 1st Marine Division. Instead, in a deliberate retrograde movement that has become one of the most-storied exploits in Marine Corps lore, the Marines turned and fought their way down a narrow vulnerable road through several mountain passes and a bridged chasm until they reached transport ships waiting at the coast.

Following the fight out of the Chosin Reservoir, the 1st Marine Division embarked aboard ships bound for Pusan. Once offloaded in mid-December, the division moved inland some 40 miles west to Masan, an area previously occupied by the 1st Provisional Marine Brigade that summer. As 1950 drew to a close, the military situation in Korea appeared bleak. American policymakers were even contemplating evacuating U.S. forces. This U.S. Marine Corps history provides unique information about important aspects of the Korean War, with material on the 1st Marine Division, Lt. General Matthew Bunker Ridgway, Truman fires MacArthur, medical helicopter evacuation, and the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing 1951.

What makes a successful military man? How can one man best serve his country, preserve our freedoms, and achieve his personal best? Shaping the Battlefield is Captain Adam Hogue's incredible, true story of how he offers combat support during the surge in forces in Afghanistan in 2011, leads a successful mission, and completes his astonishing project with courage, grace, and a good sense of humor. Hogue's story begins in the debris of 9/11, a moment that shocked the world and caused men and women to go into action to fight terrorism. Clearly and vividly, Hogue shows how 9/11 changed his life. A huge supporter of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, he joins the war effort in 2005 to "put his money where his mouth is," so to speak. Worried that the war will end before he has a chance to deploy, Hogue takes an Active Duty Operational Support assignment at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. There, he works with the United States Special Operations Command Sustaining Brigade. Sixteen months into his assignment, he is sent to Afghanistan, where he is tasked with planning a surge in forces to support operations. In January 2011, Hogue and forty-seven other people arrive in Germany. Hogue makes his narrative sparkle by giving an insider's view to events. For example, any time the Air Force lands a plane in Germany, Spain, or any other interesting location, Hogue knows it's a well-known secret that the plane will go down for maintenance. Hogue also supplies fascinating details on rules and regulations, like obeying speed limits, how and when to salute officers, and why, if you didn't follow protocol, the Military Police would come in. Beautifully detailed and remarkably told, Shaping of the Battlefield juxtaposes the beauty of the terrain with the evils of the terrorists. As he builds and expands the Special Forces footprint in Afghanistan, he gets to see the war from both an inside and outside perspective, both while planning as a junior officer, and sitting in on high level meetings. This experience gives him a special understanding of the war, people, and the challenges. But being at a desk is not very challenging, and though Hogue is giving his job one hundred percent, he's soon chafing at the bit to do something more exciting, which happens very soon when he is sent to Mazir-I-Sharif, where he is instrumental in building a base for over three hundred soldiers. This is a tremendous memoir with a real in-the-trenches feel. Hogue details the dangers of his mission in pitch-perfect prose, and he makes you feel his own growth as both a leader and a man. As Hogue himself says of his mission, "As we flew into the clouds and over the mountains, none of us really knew what was going to happen next, but that was always the case in Afghanistan. You never knew what was going to happen next, but in this case, we received a mission and shaped our own piece of the battlefield." Whether you are in the military, you know someone in the armed forces, or you simply have an interest in the events tearing apart Afghanistan, you are sure to love Shaping the Battlefield.

When the Korean War broke out in June 1950, there were no U.S. Marines on the Korean peninsula. This changed quickly, as elements of the 1st Marine Division arrived in August 1950. This is a story of the Chosin.

In the final analysis, Saddam's regime and its threat could not be defeated except by fighting it. Yet, in the history of war, the two U.S. divisions that carried the brunt of the fighting, the 3d Infantry Division and the 1st Marine Division are not impressive in numbers. History has seen much larger forces. But on the shoulders was placed the burden of liberating the Iraqi people, and planting the seeds of freedom in the Middle East. In the chaos, confusion, and uncertainty of an ever-shifting and always dangerous battlefield, the young men and women who faced this enemy distinguished themselves for their presence of mind, their steadfast commitment to each other, and their willingness to pay the price for our freedom and the freedom of the Iraqi people, a people they barely knew. The events chronicled here capture the story of the Marines of the "Blue Diamond" as they prepared for war, conquered and army, and liberated a nation. From across America and beyond, they chose the demanding path, to become Marines. These Marines marched in the ranks of this national treasure that we call the 1st Marine Division. And, at a time when timid souls or cynical pundits grew loudest, these men shouldered their weapons and moved without hesitation against the enemy. Our victory was not inevitable. It was the courage, unselfishness, and skill of the young men of Blue Diamond to whom we owe our victory. Unit histories such as this cannot capture what we will remember of those men we lost. The young smiling faces of these men will carry more inside us than our words can ever convey. For young as they were, they proved themselves to be the very best of warriors. We record history so that others may share our story. We record history so that others may learn from it. We record history to remind us of what happened on these battlefields when we grow old. Most of all, we record history as a monument to our men and their families' sacrifice. We will always remember those we lost. Someday we will smile and laugh when we recall them amongst us, of how we were happy besides them, or even exasperated with them, but how we trusted them always with our dreams and with our very lives. And as we look today at the men and women of the 1st Marine Division, we can take heart at what we see. The courage to defend our country is still there. That awesome determination to defend our freedoms will never die. In Iraq, those who followed in the footprints of the heroes of Guadalcanal, Inchon, Hue City, and Desert Storm proved themselves worthy to be counted among their number. No mere narrative can fully capture the efforts, risks, and sacrifices of the men and women of the 1st Marine Division during Operation Iraqi Freedom. No words can capture the tears of family members as they sent their loved-ones off, perhaps for the last time. Nothing we can say will bring back our beloved comrades that made the ultimate sacrifice on the battlefield. Yet, "unsung the noblest deeds die." This is the story of the noble deeds of a special group of Marines who chose to serve their nation in the cause of freedom in a distant place.

LTC Harry Tunnell's Red Devils is the history of one Soldier's and one unit's experience in Operation Iraqi Freedom. War must be studied from a variety of perspectives if one hopes to understand it and profit from that understanding. Like studies of grand strategy and operational histories, personal accounts of war are a critical aspect of understanding that immensely complex phenomenon. Using a journal which he kept during the war, then reflecting on his experiences while recovering from the wounds he suffered and while at student at the National War College, LTC Tunnell tells the story of the 1st Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment in Northern Iraq. The story of the Red Devils covers that crucial period of time from early 2003 when the Army prepared for war, through the end of so called 'major combat operations, ' and into the start of the insurgency and counterinsurgency which goes on to this day. This is not a comprehensive, polished historical analysis, but a first-hand account of Operation Iraqi Freedom's earliest period. Red Devils represents one man's attempt to make sense of his and his unit's experiences in Iraq. It represents only a small part of the history of many units and individuals which have taken part in, and continue to take part in, the defining military campaign of our time. We hope this study will be useful as readers attempt understand that complex campaign

Early on the morning of January 17, 1991, the Persian Gulf War began. It consisted of massive allied air strikes on Iraq and Iraqi targets in Kuwait. The United States Air Force spearheaded the air offensive and furnished the bulk of the attacking aircraft. During forty-two days of fighting, the U.S. Air Force simultaneously conducted two closely coordinated air campaigns: one in support of allied ground forced; the other, attacking strategic targets. Planners of the strategic air campaign sought to isolate and incapacitate Saddam Hussein's government; gain and maintain air supremacy to permit unhindered air operations; destroy Iraq's nuclear, biological, and chemical capabilities; and eliminate Iraq's offensive military capability, which included its key military production facilities, their infrastructure, and the instruments it used to project its power - the Iraqi Air Force, the Republican Guard, and short-range ballistic missiles. This study develops background information to place the Persian Gulf War in its proper historical and cultural contexts, unfamiliar to and not easily understood by Americans. The first essay quickly summarizes the relationship between Arab culture and Islam, the history of Islam and the Arab conquests, and the creation of one of the flash points in present-day Middle Eastern conflicts - the Arab-Jewish dispute over Palestine. The second essay provides a military analysis of the Arab-Israeli wars from 1948 to 1982. It describes the performance of the engaged armed forces, the performance of Western versus Soviet weapons systems, the development of the respective forces' military professionalization, and the ability of the warring parties to learn from their experiences. The final three essays describe the recent history of the three regional powers of the Persian Gulf - Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Iraq. In addition to providing a detailed character analysis of Saddam Hussein and a military analysis of the Iran-Iraq War, these final sections examine the tension that arose in the three nations when the desire for modernization confronted the demands of Islamic conservatism.

CMH Publication 59-2-1. Global War on Terrorism Series. From the foreword: "By late 2006, 31/2 years after the dramatic capture of Baghdad by U.S. and coalition forces, the war in Iraq was going badly. Sectarian tensions had erupted into violence and American public support for the war was at an all-time low. For better or worse, the George W. Bush administration decided to gamble on a troop increase, sending thirty thousand additional U.S. troops to Iraq in order to stop the bloodshed and bring stability to Baghdad and the surrounding area. By June 2007, they were all in place, and the so-called surge began. "Surging South of Baghdad" covers this crucial period in the Iraq war from the perspective of a single division operating in the region south of the Iraqi capital. Before the surge, this slice of territory between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers had become an insurgent safe haven where the enemy cached weapons and built bombs that fueled sectarian violence in Baghdad. Placing the 3d Infantry Division there bolstered a flagging coalition presence in the area and began the process of stabilization and rebuilding. This account offers a snapshot of the surge, its successes and shortcomings, and shows how the Army coped with the changing demands of the modern combat environment

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 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.

Private Damien Thomlinson is a former member of the elite 2nd Commando Regiment of the Australian Army who was terribly injured in after a bomb explosion in Afghanistan. His inspiring journey back from the dead stands as proof that no challenge is too great and that the ANZAC spirit is truly alive and well. After losing both his legs in an accident in Afghanistan, Special Forces soldier Damien thomlinson was determined not only to survive, but to meet life head on. this is an uplifting story of guts, drive and exceptional resilience. Without warning, Private Damien thomlinson's life changed forever. On a night patrol in Afghanistan in 2009, his vehicle drove over a taliban explosive device. His right leg turned instantly to red mist and his left leg was severed below the knee. His arms and hands were shattered and his nose smashed. Blood poured into his lungs. He was as close to death as you can get. Damien's story could have been a tragedy, but because of his enormously optimistic spirit it is instead one of triumph and inspiration. Once a commando, always a commando. Damien was determined not to be defined or limited by his injuries. With dogged focus and commitment, he set about reclaiming his life - on his own terms. His extraordinary drive and willpower saw him walking again on prosthetic legs just eight weeks from the time of his accident, ready to stand and welcome his unit home from Afghanistan. He set himself extraordinary challenges including walking the demanding 96km Kokoda track in honour of a fallen comrade and becoming the public face of the Commando Welfare trust. Damien is now an aspiring Paralympian, determined to represent Australia in snowboarding. His life has irrevocably changed, but he believes it has changed for the better. Damien's positive attitude and larrikin, never-say-die spirit are an inspiration to all of us, and the story of his journey is humbling, heartbreaking and truly awe-inspiring.

We have been at war for four and one-half years. The financial burden of executing Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom caused military services to undergo extensive cost-cutting efforts. The intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) community is not exempt. Recently, the Air Force Nuclear General Officer Steering Group (AFNGOSG) requested an additional study of lower missile readiness rates, presumably to identify any potential cost savings from reduced maintenance and security footprints. This research offers an initial study by analyzing the impact of lowered ICBM alert rates caused by not repairing off-alert missiles until a lowered alert-rate threshold is reached and any correlation to a potential decrease in daily ICBM maintenance team utilization. The intent of this research is to provide an analysis of the ICBM maintenance team utilization at the current ICBM alert rate and at lowered alert rates. Quantitative research methodologies are used to model historical ICBM maintenance data from the 341st Maintenance Group (MG) and simulate future maintenance team utilization at both the current and decreased ICBM alert rates. The results of this simulation and modeling show negligible savings in overall ICBM maintenance team utilization. One maintenance section under study showed a statistically significant but slight increase in team utilization as the alert rate decreased. Another section under study exhibited a slight decrease in team utilization deemed statistically significant, however, extremely hard to quantify as the increase in team utilization was only .62 percent. The remaining four maintenance sections under study had statistically the same team utilization at all alert-rate levels.

American air power is a dominant force in today's world. Its ascendancy, evolving in the half century since the end of World War II, became evident during the first Gulf War. Although a great deal has been written about military oper ations in Desert Shield and Desert Storm, this deeply researched volume by Dr. Diane Putney probes the little-known story of how the Gulf War air campaign plan came to fruition. Based on archival documentation and interviews with USAF planners, this work takes the reader into the planning cells where the difficult work of building an air campaign plan was accomplished on an around-the-clock basis. The tension among air planners is palpable as Dr. Putney traces the incremental progress and friction along the way. The author places the complexities of the planning process within the con- text of coalition objectives. All the major players are here: President George H. W. Bush, General H. Norman Schwarzkopf, General Colin Powell, General Chuck Horner, and Secretary of Defense Richard Cheney. The air planning process generated much debate and friction, but resulted in great success - a 43-day conflict with minimum casualties. Dr. Putney's rendering of this behind-the-scenes evolution of the planning process, in its complexity and even suspense, provides a fascinating window into how wars are planned and fought today and what might be the implications for the future.

Over the Beach: US Army Amphibious Operations in the Korean War, by historian and retired Army Colonel describes the little known history of the Army's amphibious operations during the Korean War. This book is part of our tradition of publishing high-quality historical studies from outside authors that have continuing relevance to the US Army today. After the massive Chinese attacks of November and December 1950, the Army conducted a number of amphibious withdrawals as it fell back southward on the Korean peninsula to more defensible positions. Throughout the war, the Army also conducted a number of non-assault amphibious operations and over-the-shore logistical operations. Since the Korean War, the Army's amphibious role has greatly decreased in importance. The Army, however, conducted extensive riverine operations in Vietnam and continues to employ them in Iraq. Additionally, over-the-shore logistics remains an important part of Army doctrine and logistical capability today. This historical study chronicles an aspect of the US Army's history that may seem remote from the challenges facing the Army in 2008.

I hate war. War kills. War maims. War orphans. And it leaves a deep scar not only on the land, that will take years to heal, but also in the hearts of those who are affected by the war. I am one of those who carry a deep emotional wound to this day, more than sixty years later.

During World War II, under Japan, my father was imprisoned because he was a Christian minister who refused to bow down to the picture of the Japanese emperor. My elder brother volunteered to join the Japanese military in the hope of having his father released from the prison. He left home as a vibrant, fifteen-year-old boy and returned home as a worn-out, injured, eighteen-year-old man after the war; he died a year later. During the Korean War, two North Korean officers came to my house and took my father away because he was a Christian minister. He never returned.

"Shattered by the Wars" is a story of love, sacrifice, faith, and suffering, all wrapped in one package. The heroine in the story is my mother, as seen by her youngest son. Mother prayed without ceasing. Through her unceasing prayers, she was able to walk through the dark tunnel of trials and tribulations and lead us onward with love and grace and absolute faith in God.

At the time of this writing, the United States and the other members of the international security assistance forces are completing nearly a decade of conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan. What started as more conventional or tradition fights has degenerated over time into insurgency warfare, something U.S. forces have had to re-learn and re-build to fight.

This monograph tells the story of more than 3,600 U.S. Marines who supported Operation Provide Comfort, an international relief effort in northern Iraq from 7 April to 15 July 1991. The author presents historical glimpses of the Kurds, modern Iraq, and non-marine activities in order to provide background information. This work is one of a series about U.S. Marine operations in the Persian Gulf.

As a Navy SEAL on combat deployment in Iraq, Mike Ritland saw a military working dog in action and instantly knew he'd found his true calling. Ritland started his own company, training and supplying dogs for the SEAL teams, US Government, and Department of Defence. He knew that fewer than 1 per cent of all working dogs had what it takes to contribute to the success of our nation's elite combat units, and began searching the globe for animals who fit this specific profile. The results were a revelation: highly trained working dogs capable of handling both detection and apprehension work in the most extreme environments and the tensest of battlefield conditions. Though fiercely aggressive and athletic, these dogs develop a close bond with their handlers and other team members. Truly integrating themselves into their units, these K9 warriors are much like their human counterparts-unwavering in their devotion to duty, strong enough and tough enough to take it to the enemy through pain, injury, or fear.

This monograph is one in a series of five works dealing with various aspects of the Air Force's participation in Desert Shield and Desert Storm. Historians of the Air Force History Program built a foundation for researching any topic related to the Gulf War air campaign. Before, during, and after Desert Storm, they collected thousands of feet of documents and conducted a number of valuable oral history interviews.

Merriam Press Military Monograph 127. Second Edition (2012). This book is about the experience of one soldier, Bill Cain, his family, and the 42nd Field Artillery Brigade. Bill and his wife, Renee, were among those affected greatly by this historic event. His book, Crossing the Line, is based on their experiences, fears, and concerns during that time. Renee was eight months pregnant when Bill deployed to Saudi Arabia as the Brigade Intelligence Officer for the 42nd Field Artillery Brigade (attached to Seventh Corps). Soldiers of the 42nd played a key role in winning the fight in Kuwait, giving the Corps Commander the flexibility to mass fires all across the fight. With the subsequent events of 9/11 and the invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan, Desert Storm has dropped from view. In this book, Bill Cain resurrects the story of Desert Shield/Desert Storm and demonstrates the significance that it played in the changing and dangerous world in which we live and how it helped create the conditions that exist in the world today. This book will bring back memories, arouse emotions, and reinforce the patriotism and valor of our soldiers and their families. Contents: Dedication; Acknowledgments; Foreword; Prologue; D-Minus: The Road to "The Storm"; Chapter 1: The Clouds Gather; Chapter 2: Farewell to V Corps; Chapter 3: Welcome to Saudi Arabia; Chapter 4: Phase II - The Air War (18-25 February); Chapter 5: Phase III - The Deception Plan (26 January-15 February); Chapter 6: Phase IV - The Breach (16-24 February); Chapter 7: Phase V - The "End Around" and Exploitation (25-26 February); Chapter 8: Phase VI - Destruction of the Republican Guard (27-28 February); Chapter 9: Phase VII - Defense of Northern Kuwait (1-9 March); Chapter 10: The Waiting Game; Chapter 11: Coming Home; Chapter 12: Reunited at Last; Chapter 13: Gulf War Syndrome ... Saddam's Revenge?; Chapter 14: The World Has Changed; Chapter 15: Taps; Military Glossary; 57 photos; 2 maps specially commissioned for this book.

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.

Remarkably ambitious in its audacity and scope, NATO's irregular warfare and nation-building mission in Afghanistan has struggled to meet its nonmilitary objectives by most tangible measures. This book explores shortfalls in the U.S. Government's strategic planning processes and the mechanisms for interagency coordination of effort that have contributed to this situation, as well as reforms needed to meet emerging 21st century national security challenges.

From mind numbing boredom one moment to being absolutely scared to death the next Life at sea is always interesting The men and women of the Navy's HC-5 "Providers," Detachment 4, while deployed on the T-AE-26 Kilauea, set records, got awards, and had some fun too Start with helicopters hovering with explosive cargo, mix in some truly lunatic fork lift drivers, maybe grab a couple hours of sleep, if you're lucky, have some great food and terrible coffee, grab your Walkman and your gas mask, we'll enjoy surreal sunsets, and oh yeah, don't forget we're in a War Zone Its an Adventure, just like the Navy promised Told from the perspective of an aircraft mechanic who was just doing his best to hold things together, you'll feel the salt spray on your face as the rotor wash threatens to blow you over the edge. This book is dedicated to all the people back home, who wrote the letters and let us know they hadn't forgotten us. Thanks for the mail