|
|
Books > History > Asian / Middle Eastern history > From 1900 > Postwar, from 1945 > General
Eyewitness to War Oral History Series: US Army Advisors in
Afghanistan is the third publication by the Combat Studies
Institute that makes exclusive use of oral history. This volume is
a product of interviews obtained by the CSI Operational Leadership
Experience (OLE) project and our Contemporary Operations Study Team
(COST) The interviews used in this volume range from a senior
officer who conceptualized the idea for Task Force Phoenix, the
Coalition Joint Task Force that execute a broad-based training,
mentoring, and assistance program aimed at improving the Afghan
National Army's (ANA) ability to field mission-ready operational
commands, to embedded transition team members assigned to coach,
teach and mentor their ANA counterparts. The interviews are in
their own words; they provide frank commentary to a range of topics
including pre-deployment training, logistics support, poppy
eradication (and some of the corruption they encountered associated
with that task) and integration of Special Forces with conventional
infantry on operations. As the US Army continues its advisory
mission in Afghanistan and in other countries around the globe, the
relevancy of US Army Advisors in Afghanistan grows and should be on
the reading list for Soldiers tasked with this mission.
Despite American success in preventing the conquest of South Korea
by communist North Korea, the Korean War of 1950-1953 did not
satisfy Americans who expected the kind of total victory that they
had experience in World War II. In that earlier, larger war,
victory over Japan cam after two atomic bombs destroyed the cities
of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. But in Korea five years later, the
United States limited itself to conventional weapons. Even after
Communist china entered the war, Americans put China off-limits to
conventional bombing as well as nuclear bombing. Operating within
these limit, the U.S. Air Force helped to repel two invasions of
South Korea while securing control of the skies so decisively that
other United National forces could fight without fear of air
attack.
The 24th Division and XVIII Airborne Corps performed the impossible
in February 1991. In less than 100 hours, MG McCaffrey moved across
635 miles of desert, reached the Euphrates River from the border
between Iraq and Saudi Arabi, turned east toward Basrah and Saddaam
Hussein and his elite guard surrendered. An equally impossible
feat, surgical support accompanied him throughout his attack, never
more than 30 minutes from the fight. The Dream, is the story of how
the medical plan came together. Never before in the history of the
Armed Forces had the medical force been faced with such a
challenge. The doctrine, the manuals that were supposed to provide
the answers repeatedly came up short. The Dream provides the
answers to how support never envisioned before not only stayed with
the fighting force, but improved their survival rate almost 10%
higher than previous conflicts.
The role of the Organized Reserves in the history of the US Army
has taken many twists and turns since the nation's founding. The
organization and missions of the Army's reserves, both the National
Guard and the Army Reserve, are once again undergoing fundamental
change to meet the needs of the 21st century. In Iroquois Warriors
in Iraq, Mr. Steve Clay analyzes the role played by the "Iroquois
Warriors" of the US Army Reserve's 98th Division (Institutional
Training). In an unprecedented move, the soldiers of the 98th were
called on in mid-2004 to deploy to Iraq and to fulfill a critical
role in the building, training, and advising of the new Iraqi Army.
This monograph is the story of how that concept evolved and how it
came to form a nexus with MNSTC-I that resulted in the use of a
USAR training division for an overseas combat mission for the first
time in US Army history. The monograph presents issues connected
with the mobilization, deployment, training, and integration of
Reserve Component (RC) units and personnel in general; the use of
units to perform tasks not part of their mission essential task
list (METL); and issues associated with the major task assigned to
the 98th Division-training and advising a foreign army. It finishes
with an analysis of the overall mission and provides conclusions
and recommendations for consideration. The intent of this monograph
is to expose leaders and soldiers to the issues described above, so
in future conflicts, and perhaps even for the current conflict,
they might gain insights that will enable them to develop solutions
should similar problems arise.
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.
This monograph provides a historical overview of Afghanistan's
recent history, reviews the contemporary causes of internal
instability, illustrates the international response, and analyses
three existing approaches to PRTs: those of the United Kingdom,
Germany and the United States. It also identifies and evaluates a
number of PRT tactical and operational lessons learned. The
monograph concludes by combining the pertinent lessons learned into
a recommended PRT "blueprint" to meet the contemporary and evolving
challenges of provincial security and reconstruction in
Afghanistan.
Infidels in the Garden of Mesopotamia is an extensive work that
provides the reader with an insiders look into the world of high
threat protection operations in hostile and semi permissive
environments worldwide.
WT Naud's book is a humorous heart-felt M*A*S*H type account of the
unconventional lives of CODEBREAKERS fighting the Korean War from
the back lines in OJI-JAPAN. Using his NEW YORK STREET SMARTS, Naud
managed to serve his country with the help of the SON OF A MAFIA
DON, seventeen EX-KAMIKAZE WAITERS, Tokyo's infamous BLACK MARKET
SAM, twenty stunning MISS TOKYO CONTESTANTS, rigged BINGO GAMES, a
bag full of GOLF CLUBS and a breathtaking JAPANESE GIRL with
COBALT-BLUE EYES. Underlying the M*A*S*H type antics that kept him
from getting shipped to the FRONT LINES, is a compassionate story
of the devastation the JAPANESE PEOPLE experienced during WWII and
five years later we find a country still pockmarked with physical
and emotional scars. "Though I was more akin to BUGS BUNNY than
JAMES BOND, I had somehow managed to end up in the ASA, the ARMY
SECURITY AGENCY, an organization so SECRET it denied it's own
existence. "At OJI, the most SENSITIVE ASA BASE in the FAR-EAST,
COMMUNIST SPY-GIRLS were luring GI'S into TRYSTS to get TOP-SECRET
DECODED information about MACARTHUR'S WAR PLANS. I was CHARGED with
STOPPING them. CODEBREAKERS were turning up DEAD... A beautiful
ORIENTAL COMMUNIST RECRUITER wanted to seduce me.... My FIRST
SERGEANT wanted to kill me... The JAPANESE BLACK MARKETEERS wanted
me to stop screwing up their business... My best friend, the SON OF
A MAFIA DON, kept trying to SHOOT himself so he wouldn't get SHOT
fighting on the front lines..... All I wanted to do was PLAY GOLF
and stay out of the TRENCHES in KOREA... AND IT'S ALL TRUE "
The Second Battle of Seoul was the battle to recapture Seoul from
the North Koreans in late September 1950. The advance on Seoul was
slow and bloody, after the landings at Inchon. The reason was the
appearance in the Seoul area of two first-class fighting units of
the North Korean People's Army, the 78th Independent Infantry
Regiment and 25th Infantry Brigade, about 7,000 troops in all. The
NKPA launched a T-34 attack, which was trapped and destroyed, and a
Yak bombing run in Incheon harbor, which did little damage. The
NKPA attempted to stall the UN offensive to allow time to reinforce
Seoul and withdraw troops from the south. Though warned that the
process of taking Seoul would allow remaining NKPA forces in the
south to escape, MacArthur felt that he was bound to honor promises
given to the South Korean government to retake the capital as soon
as possible. On the second day, vessels carrying the U.S. Army's
7th Infantry Division arrived in Incheon Harbor. General Almond was
eager to get the division into position to block a possible enemy
movement from the south of Seoul. On the morning of September 18,
the division's 2nd Battalion of the 32nd Infantry Regiment landed
at Incheon and the remainder of the regiment went ashore later in
the day. The next morning, the 2nd Battalion moved up to relieve an
U.S. Marine battalion occupying positions on the right flank south
of Seoul. Meanwhile, the 7th Division's 31st Infantry Regiment came
ashore at Incheon. Responsibility for the zone south of Seoul
highway passed to 7th Division at 18:00 on September 19. The 7th
Infantry Division then engaged in heavy fighting with North Korean
soldiers on the outskirts of Seoul. Before the battle, North Korea
had just one understrength division in the city, with the majority
of its forces south of the capital. MacArthur personally oversaw
the 1st Marine Regiment as it fought through North Korean positions
on the road to Seoul. Control of Operation Chromite was then given
to Major General Edward Almond, the X Corps commander. General
Almond was in an enormous hurry to capture Seoul by September 25,
exactly three months of the North Korean assault across the 38th
parallel. On September 22, the Marines entered Seoul to find it
heavily fortified. Casualties mounted as the forces engaged in
desperate house-to-house fighting. Anxious to pronounce the
conquest of Seoul, Almond declared the city liberated on September
25 despite the fact that Marines were still engaged in
house-to-house combat. This U.S. Marine Corps history provides
unique information about an important aspect of the Korean War.
Subjects covered in this history include: the 1st Marine Division;
Major General Oliver P. Smith; Seoul/Wonsan campaign; aerial
medical evacuation; close air support in the recapture of Seoul;
marine combat vehicles; Bushmaster; 1950 street fighting.
Making history useful to the reader - this is one of the missions
of the Combat Studies Institute. We strive to produce works that
recount historical events to inform decision makers and to enable
experiential learning. This collection of events put together by
John McGrath, which occurred in Iraq during the 2003-2005
timeframe, addresses that mission. The authors largely used primary
source material - interviews and unit histories - to develop these
vignettes and in doing so have made the works relatable not only to
Soldiers who experienced similar situations but to any reader who
can imagine themselves having to function in these types of
situations. We honor those involved in these actions and hope that
by recounting their stories others may not only recognize them for
their service but may also learn and grow from their experience.
This work is the continuation and revision of a project started in
2006 with the publication of "In Contact " by the Combat Studies
Institute. The original concept was to present a series of military
vignettes in a style similar to the widely used case-study
methodology commonly found in military literature. The final
version of "Between the Rivers," instead of following this strict
case-study format, presents combat action vignettes as narrative
accounts of the various types of actions challenging combat leaders
in Iraq in 2003-2005. The present volume lies directly within the
tradition of these predecessor works on small-unit actions. Since
the fall of2001, the United States Army, along with the other
American armed services, has been engaged in military actions in
Iraq and Afghanistan. Because the current conflict has so many
different fronts and facets, no handful of small- unit case studies
could do justice to such a complex tapestry of events. This book
thus represents a volume that showcases the American soldier in
combat operations within the context of the Global War on
Terrorism/The Long War. This series of five case studies is drawn
from events in Iraq. Four of the studies discuss combat operations
within a counterinsurgency framework at the company and battalion
levels. The final case study presents a deployment dilemma facing a
brigade-level task force commander when he was asked to replace a
whole division in the same geographical space. In each case, the
story is derived from oral interviews and key documents and is
fully annotated. The primary purpose for presenting these vignettes
is to provide a vicarious education in what future participants
will face as the War on Terrorism continues and beyond.
This monograph is more than the story of Marine expeditionary
operations in Afghanistan. It describes who our nation's enemies
are; how America became involved in the Global War on Terrorism;
and how the Marine Corps struggled to acquire a major role in
Operation Enduring Freedom, as well as the actions of Marines and
sailors who helped prosecute the air and ground campaigns against
Taliban and al-Qaeda forces. In the latter regard, we see the 15th
Marine Expeditionary Unit, already forward deployed on 11 September
2001, ready to conduct a noncombatant evacuation operation, secure
a forward operating base, or provide a quick reaction force for
joint special operating forces conducting the initial offensive
action of the war. The 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit then combined
with the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit and quickly maneuvered from
the Mediterranean to form a provisional Marine expeditionary
brigade known as Naval Expeditionary Task Force 58. Working
simultaneously under the direction of U.S. Central Command's land
and maritime component commanders and in association with joint
special operations forces, Brigadier General James N. Mattis and
his force embarked on a sequence of operations in southern
Afghanistan. These included, but were not limited to, establishing
Forward Operating Base Rhino, interdicting enemy lines of
communications along Highway 1, occupying Kandahar International
Airport, securing the American embassy in Kabul, detaining several
hundred prisoners of war, and supporting special operations forces
during numerous sensitive site exploitation and special
reconnaissance missions. The monograph also describes the 13th
Marine Expeditionary Unit's rapid reinforcement of Coalition forces
during Operation Anaconda, only days after Task Force 58's
disbandment. 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. 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. Colonel Nathan S. Lowrey began his
military career as an infantry officer, serving first as a rifle
platoon commander in Panama during Operation Just Cause and then as
a recruiting officer in Portland, Oregon. After transferring to the
Reserves to attend graduate school, he joined the History
Division's Field Operations Branch in 1998 and subsequently
deployed to document operations in Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Iraq.
He joined the Histories Branch as a civilian writer in 2005 and
later served as head of the Field and Oral History Branch from 2008
to 2010.
Alabama native, World War II veteran and long-time Associated Press
photographer Fred O. Waters shares his remarkable life story as a
Naval Seaman, Army journalist and hall-of-fame professional
photographer. Travel with Waters as he enlists into the Navy at age
16, ships out for Guam and supports the U.S. military effort
against the Japanese Empire. Continue Waters' first-hand account of
enlisting into the Army and photographing the recovery of Japan
after the atomic bomb drops on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Following
his military career, Waters remains in Southeast Asia and covers
conflicts in Korea, Vietnam, Laos and many island nations.
Eventually, Waters returns Stateside and embarks on a 25-year
career with the Associated Press in St. Louis, Missouri, covering
the Civil Rights Movement, floods, politics, athletics and the
rigors of news gathering prior to the digital communications age.
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.
|
|