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.

From June 25, 1950, to May 20, 1951, Lt. Gen. George E. Stratemeyer, the Far East Air Forces commander, kept a diary of his activities during the Korean War. A number of general officers kept such diaries during World War II, although the practice was generally frowned upon by higher headquarters and, in the Navy at least, was against regulations. In the Korean War, the writing of such works became less wide-spread. Surprisingly, however, three diaries written by senior Air Force officers (Stratemeyer, Maj. Gen. Earle E. Partridge, Commander, Fifth Air Force, and Maj. Gen. Edward J. Timberlake, Vice Commander, Fifth Air Force) exist from the Korean War. These three diaries view the war from different perspectives: Stratemeyer's from a high-level planning, strategy, and political viewpoint; Partridge's from a mid-level planning and operational plane; Timberlake's from a slightly lower operational level. This book, however, deals only with General Stratemeyer's diary. It is a valuable document because his position as Far East Air Forces commander allowed him to observe the war and its personalities from a unique perspective. General Stratemeyer had his secretary type his diary entries onto 6 by 9 1/2-inch loose-leaf lined pages. Totalling some 750 pages, these were then placed into three large binders covering the periods June 25 - September 15, 1950, September 16 - December 16, 1950, and December 17, 1950 - May 20, 1951. The editor has changed this time division somewhat to conform to certain significant events and to make each section more or less equal in length. September 14 now ends the first section; the second section begins the following day with the Inch'on landings and concludes on November 25 with the opening of the massive Chinese Communist offensive; the final section covers the period November 26, 1950, to May 20, 1951, the date of Stratemeyer's heart attack. The reader should be aware that, although it was the intent of the editor to keep this diary as published as close as possible to the original, it is not the "raw" diary as Stratemeyer had it transcribed. By remaining close to the original, all messages have been retained even though some were word-for-word repeats of messages entered earlier, perhaps just a paragraph before. However, to prevent an overload of "sics," brackets or other such emendations, certain editorial changes have been made. This has been done primarily to make the text more readable. As General Stratemeyer wrote the diary and his secretary typed it, punctuation tended to wander or be non-existent at times. Commas and other such punctuation were often omitted, resulting in words which ran together or created occasional odd sentences. Also, Stratemeyer (or his secretary) often used quotation marks randomly for no particular reason. He (or they) also tended to capitalize everything that had an "official" ring to it, regardless of whether it was necessary or not (e.g., "Ground Force," "Border," etc.). In the case of place names, at times he capitalized the entire name but in the next sentence capitalized only the first letter of the name. Therefore, proper punctuation and capitalization has been inserted throughout the text. United State Air Force, Air Force History and Museums Program.

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.

When US-led forces invaded Iraq in 2003, they occupied a country that had been at war for 23 years. Yet in their attempts to understand Iraqi society and history, few policy makers, analysts and journalists took into account the profound impact that Iraq's long engagement with war had on the Iraqis' everyday engagement with politics, the business of managing their daily lives, and their cultural imagination. Drawing on government documents and interviews, Dina Rizk Khoury traces the political, social and cultural processes of the normalization of war in Iraq during the last twenty-three years of Ba'thist rule. Khoury argues that war was a form of everyday bureaucratic governance and examines the Iraqi government's policies of creating consent, managing resistance and religious diversity, and shaping public culture. Coming on the tenth anniversary of the US-led invasion of Iraq, this book tells a multilayered story of a society in which war has become the norm.

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

Includes many full color illustrations and maps.

Three Block War is 21st Century warfare defined. A clash of highly-trained and motivated warriors equipped with modern weaponry, opposed by a brutal cornucopia of asymmetrical zealotry and international terrorism, thriving in a land saturated with Soviet munitions. Part I: Iraqi Freedom chronicles the war in 2003, from the fierce urban battles in southern Iraq at Nasiriyah and the Faw Peninsula, to the mechanized assault that captured Baghdad and toppled Saddam Hussein. Battle tactics and the strategies of highly-aggressive commanders such as 1st Marine Division's Maj. Gen. James Mattis and 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines' Lt. Col. B.P. McCoy are also chronicled. Part II: Iraqi Jihad recounts 2004, the intensity, danger, courage, sacrifice and esprit de corps that U.S. Marines experienced fighting jihad in western Iraq's Anbar Province. From the Syrian border to Ramadi, Najaf and particularly Fallujah, the Marines fought legendary battles on desert sands, city streets and even inside the world's largest graveyard from April-December. Three Block War is illustrated with combat imagery by Marine and Navy combat photographers.

With North Korea rattling its saber again, Letters to Ann takes the reader back to the early years of the Korean War. Even in some of its darkest moments, Captain John Hughes finds and shares bits of humor about his daily military existence with his then four year-old daughter. It is a unique perspective of what so often is called "The Forgotten War."

Originally released in 2006. Contains papers from a symposium on the Korean War held at the U.S. Congress on June 7, 2000. Records the reminiscences and perspectives of veterans and historians participating in the symposium.

The city of an-Najaf, Iraq, is a provincial and market center located on the western branch of the Euphrates River approximately 100 miles south of Baghdad. Its population (prewar) of 563,000 expands at times with pilgrims to this important center of Islamic scholarship and theology. It is the location of several significant shrines for Shi'a Muslims and boasts one of the largest cemeteries in the world. Its more recent history has been marked by conflict of a political nature as the place of exile for Ayatollah Khomeini and site of the assassination of Ayatollah Mohammad Sadiq. It served as the location of Shi'a resistance to perceived political oppression and was a place of battle once more in 2004. This is a "battle study" written purposely from the perspective of the Marines, soldiers, and sailors who fought at an-Najaf in August 2004. Some context is needed to fit these events within the evolution of the campaigning in Iraq in 2004. The Americans deployed to al-Anbar and an-Najaf Provinces, faced a variety of threats as Iraq attempted to again govern itself. Threats were from disparate sources, including Sunni Fighters in Fallujah and Shi'a fighters in Najaf. Behind each was the possibility of al-Qaeda in Iraq or criminal exploitation of any disruption of Coalition efforts to establish responsible Iraqi Government. This complexity of threats did not lend itself to easy solutions. In March 2004, Lieutenant General James T. Conway's I Marine Expeditionary Force was faced with an outbreak of Sunni insurgency in Fallujah. At the same time, a Shi'a uprising took place across Iraq, including Baghdad, Najaf, an-Nasiriyah, al-Kut, al-Amarah, and Kirkuk. The fighting spread to Karbala, Hillah, and Basrah with attacks on Iraqi and Coalition outposts. The fighting dropped off in June with the establishment of the Iraqi Interim Government of Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, but the menace of further violence remained. The Multi-National Force-Iraq, under General George W. Casey Jr., USA, felt that before the Iraqis could be responsible for security in each province, the centers of violence had to be dealt with by a "clear-hold-build" approach. Baghdad, Fallujah, and Najaf were thus targeted. When Muqtada al-Sadr fomented another uprising in August, the recently arrived 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit found itself assigned to quell the uprising in Najaf. It would be reinforced for this effort by two U.S. Army and four Iraqi Army battalions. This narrative documents this effort from the small-unit level. The importance of the close relationship between political and military force is emphasized. The intent is to provide a view of combat for the education and training of Marines who might face similar circumstances.

"On Point II" is the US Army's first historical study of Operation Iraqi Freedom between May 2003 and January 2005. The authors of this study, historians at the Army's Combat Studies Institute, have based their account on primary documents and hundreds of interviews with key participants in the campaign. On Point II tells the dramatic story of how, after May 2003, the US Army reinvented itself by transforming into an organization capable of conducting a broad array of diverse and complex full spectrum operations to create stability in Iraq. Critical chapters in this comprehensive book focus on detainee operations (including the Abu Ghraib incidents), reconstruction efforts, and the general response to the growing insurgency in Iraq. The study uses maps, charts, and photographs to help tell its story and includes appendices that document the units involved in the campaign and key events during this period of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Originally published by the U.S. Army Combined Arms Center, Combat Studies Institute in December 2008.

Reckless: Pride of the Marines
By Andrew Geer

Introduction
I first heard of Reckless shortly after joining the 1st Marine Division in Korea in June of 1953. I was told she was a beautiful little mare with the head of a thoroughbred, but my first reaction was that this was probably an exaggeration, as I had seen many of the horses from past service in the Far East and knew them to be the Mongolian type of pony. I was also told of her heroic behavior in the battle of Vegas. Some of the tales I heard were difficult to believe.
I first saw this little lady, however, when the Division was in reserve for a brief period. After many, many months of close and bloody contact with the Chinese enemy, the Marines were given a respite from war. There was time to relax. A carnival was organized and a vast field was converted to an area where games of chance were operated. The profits from this venture were to go to Navy Relief.
It was then that I first saw Reckless. I was surprised at her beauty and intelligence, and believe it or not, her esprit de corps. Like any other Marine, she was enjoying a bottle of beer with her comrades. She was constantly the center of attraction and was fully aware of her importance. If she failed to receive the attention she felt her due, she would deliberately walk into a group of Marines and, in effect, enter the conversation. It was obvious the Marines loved her.
Within a few days of the carnival the 1st Marine Division went back into the line and once again Reckless performed with a courage and spirit that was difficult to understand or believe. Later, after the fighting had stopped, I was invited to attend a formal ceremony where Reckless was cited for bravery and I had the pleasure of promoting her to the rank of sergeant. Still later, there was another fund raising campaign in connection with the Iwo Jima Memorial Many ideas were initiated to promote competition among units to see which could raise the most money. Suddenly Reckless was "kidnapped" and held for considerable ransom. The news swept the Division like wildfire. Needless to say, her ransom was quickly forthcoming and the fund over-subscribed. In my career I have seen many animals that have been adopted by Marines, but never in all my experience have I seen one which won the hearts of so many as did this lovely little lady known as Reckless.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Windham Press is committed to bringing the lost cultural heritage of ages past into the 21st century through high-quality reproductions of original, classic printed works at affordable prices.
This book has been carefully crafted to utilize the original images of antique books rather than error-prone OCR text. This also preserves the work of the original typesetters of these classics, unknown craftsmen who laid out the text, often by hand, of each and every page you will read. Their subtle art involving judgment and interaction with the text is in many ways superior and more human than the mechanical methods utilized today, and gave each book a unique, hand-crafted feel in its text that connected the reader organically to the art of bindery and book-making.
We think these benefits are worth the occasional imperfection resulting from the age of these books at the time of scanning, and their vintage feel provides a connection to the past that goes beyond the mere words of the text.

The Combat Studies Institute (CSI) is pleased to present its latest publication in the Occasional Paper Series, "We Have Not Learned How to Wage War There" The Soviet Approach in Afghanistan,1979-1989, by Mr. Matt Matthews. For this work, Mr. Matthews collected a wide variety of sources on the subject, many of them of primary accounts, and used these materials to provide an overview of the evolution of the Soviet operational approach in Afghanistan between 1979 and 1989. This Soviet experience offers a number of useful insights for American military professionals who are, as of this writing, conducting operations in Afghanistan. Mr. Matthews begins his study by examining the Soviets' planning for its invasion of Afghanistan and initial goals for that campaign. The author then looks closely at how the Soviets adapted their tactics and organization to meet the committed and resilient insurgent threat that emerged to do battle against Soviet forces. Despite conventional interpretations of this campaign in Afghanistan which emphasize the rigidity of Soviet methods, Matthews' study suggests that the Soviets were flexible in their overall approach. The Soviet government did, for example, launch nation-building initiatives that would look familiar to American military officers who served in Afghanistan in the first decade of the 21st century. These efforts, however, were seriously hindered by a Soviet military culture that opposed a more comprehensive campaign to foster a popular central Afghan government. Matthews concludes his study by examining Soviet operations to extract their forces from Afghanistan while nonetheless leaving a viable, if not popular, Afghan government in place.

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 technology project focuses on the Korean War from the U.S. Air Force perspective. It details the start of the war and possible causes. It outlines major players in the war to include President Truman, FEC Commanders MacArthur, Ridgway, and Clark, and FEAF Commanders Stratemeyer and Weyland. The product then chronicles major events of the war in time slices from one month to two years long. Major operations discussed include: the Inchon landing, maintenance of the Pusan Perimeter, the railway interdiction campaign, Operation Strangle, and Operation Saturate. The product lists and compares aircraft in the opposing air forces. It ends with lessons learned from the Korean War.

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.

This unofficial military guide was written from the perspective of an Iraq combat infantryman's viewpoint. It presents a unique view of the war on terrorism that many categories of readers will find fascinating and highly informative: Those planning to enlist in any military branch with a unit likely to be deployed in a combat zone or recently enlisted in such a unit will find this unofficial military guide to be a treasure trove of tips that could prevent loss of pay grade, and maybe even their life. Also, survivalists, campers, military enthusiasts/history buffs, and those interested in getting an up-front-and-personal perspective of what really went on in Iraq, will find this special report of great interest.

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.

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.

This document is part of the United States Air Force's Korean War Fiftieth Anniversary Commemorative Series. "We now know, as we never knew it in the Air Force before, that we can fly anything, anywhere, any time. Climate, mountains, oceans-those can't stop us."

The fight for air superiority began the day the Korean War started and only ended with the armistice three years later. Once the shock of the North Koreans' invasion wore off, it did not take long for the United States Air Force, assisted by other United Nations air forces, to destroy the North Korean Air Force. The arrival of the MiG-15 in November 1950, often flown by Soviet pilots, changed things considerably however. For the remainder of the war, bitterly contested air battles were fought almost daily. Yet despite a decided numerical superiority in jet fighters, the Communists were never able to gain air superiority, testament to the skill and training of the UN fighter pilots, primarily those U.S. Air Force airmen flying the magnificent F-86 Sabre.

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 " "Treat yourself to a large dose of Entertainment, Humor and Human Drama. WT Naud's book is better than M*A*S*H because it all really happened I've known every character in the book." Peter Marshall/ MC Hollywood Squares "Oji is the culmination of a writing career in a styleof wit and wisdom that's well worth reading." Joel D. Swanson/ Writer for Network Series including the Dick Van Dyck Show and Mayberry Rfd.

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.