Full of energy and ambition, Anthony Mena, struggles with the decision of which military branch he will join when he graduates from high school. Towards the end of the school-year, he enlists in the United States Air Force to serve in Security Forces. In spite of his mother's protest, Anthony leaves to basic training a month after graduation in hope of deploying to fight in the war-torn country of Iraq.
This is the true story of a courageous and determined young man who serves his country while the United States is involved in a bloody and controversial war in Iraq. Anthony proudly volunteers to deploy to Iraq a few months after joining the Air Force. This first deployment does not satisfy Anthony's desire to be involved in challenging experiences.
Once again, this brave, adventurous airman volunteers for a year-long deployment to the bloody city of Baghdad. This time, he proudly serves as the lead driver for his squad, which consists of four Humvees, as they patrol the dangerous streets of Baghdad. They are faced with incredible experiences during an entire year in Baghdad. Anthony and the other troops struggle to survive from the first day of their arrival. They witness hundreds of dead bodies, some missing body parts and others badly tortured or burned. The troops encounter deadly bombings, Humvees blown apart, and witness their own companions lose their lives. Anthony's fellow airmen face many sleepless nights and listen to the sounds of bombs exploding close to them on a nightly basis.
After much turmoil, Anthony and many of the troops suffer from insomnia and nightmares. The need for sleeping pills begins. The troops struggle to get enough sleep and to have the energy and courage to survive another day in Baghdad. After twelve long months of working with corrupt Iraqi police and enduring the ugly conditions left from the war, this deadly mission comes to an end. Anthony returns back to his base in the United States.
Unable to comprehend Anthony's unusual behavior after returning from Iraq, Anthony's mother is determined to find out what has caused her son to have such a drastic change in personality. Months later, Anthony reveals to his parents that he has post-traumatic stress disorder. This ambitious, energetic young man who loved serving his country is now faced with the devastating symptoms associated with PTSD. Worst of all, Anthony begins a long journey of using a variety of prescribed pills. He also suffers from a severe back injury, which the doctors are unable to diagnose. The Air Force places him on job restrictions, takes away his weapons, and places him in an office job. Anthony's dream is shattered. As his list of medications grows, he experiences strange hallucinations, memory loss, and other side effects. Anthony's mother does everything within her power to help her son cope with the symptoms of PTSD, his back injury, and many side effects from the pills. This is not only an intense story about Anthony, but about what our troops suffer upon returning from war.

On January 17, 1991, airmen from all military services and 10 nations became the "thunder and lightning" of Operation Desert Storm, the multinational military offensive sanctioned by the United States to liberate Kuwait from the domination of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. What occurred is a classic in the decisive application of aerospace power. Desert Storm will continue to spawn numerous histories and analyses. Few, however, will be as focused and useful to airmen as this.

After Southeast Asia, analysts and force planners came to the realization that there was a fundamental difference between search and rescue (SAR) in a permissive area and in an area that was not permissive (i.e., under enemy control). This second condition is now called combat search and rescue or CSAR. At the time of Desert Storm, the two forms of rescue were defined thusly: Search and Rescue (SAR): Use of aircraft, surface craft, submarines, personnel, and equipment to locate and recover personnel in distress on land or at sea. Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR): A specialized SAR task performed by rescue-capable forces to effect recovery of distressed personnel from hostile territory during contingency operations or wartime.2 The development of this rescue capability has been well established. Dr. Robert Futrell documented our efforts in Korea in The United States Air Force in Korea, 1950-1953. His work was followed by Dr. Earl Tilford's Search and Rescue in South east Asia, which eloquently chronicled the heroic efforts of the rescue crews in that conflict who brought back literally thousands of airmen. It extensively documented what is now considered the "golden age" of rescue. This work is meant to follow in those traditions and will focus on our CSAR efforts in the Persian Gulf War of 1991, or more specifically, the period of Operation Desert Storm, 17 January to 28 February 1991. Overall, CSAR in Desert Storm appears to have been a mixed bag. Because of advances in precision weaponry, Global Positioning System (GPS) technology, countermeasures, and training, relatively few coalition aircraft were shot down. Forty-three coalition aircraft were lost in combat, most over high-threat areas. Eighty-seven coalition airmen, soldiers, sailors, and marines were isolated in enemy or neutral territory. Of that total, 48 were killed, one is still listed as missing, 24 were immediately captured, and 14 were exposed in enemy territory. Of those who survived, most landed in areas controlled by enemy troops. Of the few actually rescueable, six were not rescued for a variety of reasons, but primarily because of limitations in CENTAF's ability to locate them accurately and in a timely manner.

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.

In the summer of 2010, a unit of Danish soldiers known as ISAF-10 deployed to Afghanistan under British command. In Helmand Province, they tried to secure a fragile peace while dealing with the challenges of training an often apparently indifferent Afghan police and army, ensuring a functioning collaboration with the British despite insufficient military intelligence and divergent military cultures, and fell under frequent attack by an increasingly sophisticated and deadly Taliban. In this remarkable book, Kjeld Hald Galster tells their story. He also looks at the wider picture, examining coalitions ranging from Ancient Greece to the Cold War. Exploring the millennia-long history of coalition warfare, he looks at what makes them work, the lessons they teach us, and how they reflect - and predict - the rise and downfall of the coalitions of the willing in Afghanistan and Iraq, and those yet to come.

This essay is a brief history of the U.S. army during the years immediately following the Korean War. For many in our own time that period-corresonding to the two terms of the Eisenhower presidency-has acquired an aura of congenial simplicity. Americans who survived Vietnam, Watergate, and painful economical difficulties wistfully recall the 1950s as a time when the nation possessed a clearly-charted course and had the will and the power to follow it.

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 offensive and furnished the bulk of the attacking aircraft. During 43 days of fighting, the U.S. Air Force simultaneously conducted two closely coordinated air campaigns. 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 Ears of America is the personal story of a young man's journey from a small New Jersey town to the Cold War conflict of Korea. More than merely a battle of geography, Korea became a clash of two opposing ideologies: democracy and communism. This book provides a first hand look into the daily operations of the Army Security Agency and the soldiers charged with intercepting enemy transmissions in order to stay one step ahead of their foes. The book tells of the important role played by South Korean and UN forces; the critical services provided by the air force, artillery, engineers, and many other supporting units; and of the psychological warfare that was being waged by both sides. The conflict in Korea transitioned the world into a new era. The Ears of America details the bravery of those involved in this war; a war that has yet to officially end.

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 "

First published in 2005. Contains papers from a symposium in commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of the Korean War. Focuses on contributions made by the armed forces of the United States and its allies to the air warfare during the Korean War.

Discusses the experiences of the 65th Infantry, a Puerto Rican infantry unit, during the Korean War. 348 pages. maps. ill.

In 1991, at the start of the first Gulf War, I was as a 4th year medical student in Paris France on a general surgery rotation. Little did I know that fifteen years later, as I cared for Iraqi - civilians, military, terrorists who would have killed us given the chance, the words of Dr. Jean Louis Paille would echo in my mind - "Patient care trumps politics every time... Every time." Under fire and under pressure in Balad, Iraq, Lt. Col Jay T. Bishoff, a United States Air Force surgeon, gives a first-hand account of the war in Iraq through unique photographic images and his personal encounters in his new book, Boots of War. Dr. Bishoff recounts true stories from the 332 EMDG Hospital in Balad Iraq when it was the busiest trauma center in the world. While insurgents launched mortar and rocket attacks onto the Balad, Iraq Air base an average of seven times a day, medical personnel continually cared for critically injured U.S. and coalition soldiers, Iraqi nationals and even the rocket firing insurgents themselves. Full of laughter and tears, these modern-day war stories are unforgettable accounts of Operation Iraqi Freedom, its human cost, and its moral lessons.

For three years, beginning in June 1950, air and ground crews of the United States Air Force (USAF) conducted bombing operations with Boeing B-29 Superfortresses in support of the United Nations (U.N.) forces engaged on the peninsula of Korea. Powered by four large radial piston engines, the propeller- driven Superfortress had been the most advanced very long-range heavy bomber developed during the Second World War. But such had been the pace of aeronautical development since the Second World War that it was now, at the time of Korea, considered but a medium bomber, and one outclassed by early jet aircraft at that. Manned principally by officers and men from the Strategic Air Command (SAC), the B-29 units carried out missions very different from the task for which SAC was trained. Instead of striking at the homeland of a major industrial power with ATOMIC weapons, the crews at- tacked targets of many types, showing the variety of functions that air power could perform. The bombers carried out battlefield support, interdiction, and air superiority (counter airfield) missions. They hit industrial targets of the type normally classified as strategic and also took part in an effort to utilize air power to pressure the enemy to agree to a cease-fire. This study traces the war fought by Far East Air Forces (FEAF) Bomber Command (Provisional), the B-29 force created to attack targets in Korea from bases in Okinawa and Japan. Consisting of units belonging to FEAF and others from SAC assigned on temporary duty, Bomber Command cooperated with other USAF organizations to support operations in the Korean peninsula. The B-29 crews earned credit in all ten of the recognized campaigns of the Korean War. Politically, the war had three phases. From June 25, 1950, when North Koreans attacked South Korea, until November 2, 1950, U.N. forces defended the south and defeated the invaders. From November 1950 until July 1951, the U.N. had to deal with the intervention of Communist China and the most desperate fighting of the war. Beginning on July 10, 1951, fighting continued even as negotiations for a cease-fire between the opposing military commands were under way. This third phase, and the war, ended when the armistice was signed on July 27, 1953. As for actual combat operations, however, Bomber Command experienced the war in terms of the opposition it encountered. Following a brief but intensive air superiority war in the summer of 1950, North Korea posed negligible air opposition, but when the Chinese entered the war in November, assisted by Soviet fighter pilots flying MiG-15 jet fighters, the limitations of the obsolescent B-29s became apparent. Communist air resistance was so heavy that by the end of October 1951 the B-29s had switched to a remarkable night campaign that continued for more than a year and a half. By 1953, SAC was well on the way to removing the B-29s from its inventory. Thus, for one last time, the B-29, a workhorse of the air campaign in the Pacific in World War II, flew into combat. Often called a "police action," or the "Korean conflict," the fighting in Korea was undertaken under the leadership of the United States on the authority of the U.N., to defend the Republic of Korea against the Communist North Koreans and Chinese and their Soviet supporters. Thus, it differed significantly from previous conflicts, which had been typified by formal declarations of war by the Congress. This semantic uncertainty well reflects the unprecedented situation that American fighting men faced in the Far East. For Bomber Command, the contrast between what a strategic bomber like the B-29 had been designed for and what it actually did clearly illustrates the anomalies.

The war on terror-fought shot by shot, bullet by bullet, kill by kill. The ongoing War on Terror is unlike any conflict the United States Armed Forces have fought. There are no set battles. The enemy adheres to no warrior code or international law. Their only desire is to kill-or be killed. That's where the snipers of the U.S. Marine, Army, and Navy SEALs come in. Here in their own words are the compelling and gripping true stories of the snipers whose sole purpose is to eliminate any and all enemy threats with a single bullet. From the deserts and rubble-strewn streets of Iraq to the endless labyrinth of the remote Afghanistan mountain country, this is life and death beyond the front lines of battle and behind the scope of a high-powered rifle.

Yearbook/Cycle Book for the 1st Sustainment Brigade and underlying unit's for their tour at Camp Taji, Iraq from Sep 2007 through December 2008.

This book is an intimate account of an ordinary individual's extraordinary life journey that transcends both cultural and social boundaries. Th e author was born and lived in Korea during his formative years, and has been living in the United States for the following 47 years. Th is individual's unique story of his environment is informative and his approach to his life time challenges highlights every passage of the book. Th e book is thoughtprovoking as well as enlightening...a rare gem in its subject, style, and exposition. This book enlightens and entertains its readers at the same time eff ortlessly.

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

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.

Presents a comprehensive history of the U.S. program, chiefly derived from SIGIR's body of extensive oversight work in Iraq, hundreds of interviews with key figures involved with the reconstruction program, and thousands of documents. The report examines the pre-war planning for reconstruction, the shift from a large infrastructure program to a more community-based one, and the success of the Surge in 2007 and beyond. The report provides thirteen lessons applicable to contingency relief and reconstruction operations, which should create a basis for reviewing and reforming the U.S. approach to these activities.

Since 2001, the US Army in Afghanistan has been conducting complex operations in a difficult, often dangerous environment. Living in isolated outposts and working under austere conditions, US Soldiers have carried out missions that require in equal parts a warrior's courage and a diplomat's restraint. In the larger discussions of the Afghanistan campaign, the experiences of these Soldiers-especially the young sergeants and lieutenants that lead small units-often go undocumented. But, as we all know, success in Afghanistan ultimately depends on these small units and their leaders, making their stories all the more important. In 2010, as the scale and tempo of Coalition operations in Afghanistan increased, so did the need for historical accounts of small-unit actions. As commander of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), I commissioned the Combat Studies Institute to research and write the cases collected in this volume and in those that will follow. By capturing key insights from both lethal and non-lethal operations, I hoped these accounts would be of immediate utility to sergeants and lieutenants at the center of future operations. The eight actions described in these pages take the reader through a wide range of platoon-level operations, from an intense firefight near Kandahar to an intricate civic action project in Kunar Province. Drawing from dozens of Soldier interviews, these accounts vividly depict the actions themselves and offer critical insights of greatest benefit to the small-unit leaders of today and tomorrow. The US Army always has prided itself as an institution of constant learning, strongly committed to drawing lessons from its past. This volume from the Combat Studies Institute is an excellent example of that long and honorable tradition.

A timely lesson in the perils of nation-building and a sobering reminder of the limits of military power from the Costa Award winning author of The Volunteer. In its earliest days, the American-led war in Afghanistan appeared to be a triumph - a 'good war' in comparison to the debacle in Iraq. It has since turned into one of the longest and most expensive wars in recent history. The story of how this good war went so bad may well turn out to be a defining tragedy of the twenty-first century - yet, as acclaimed war correspondent Jack Fairweather explains, it should also give us reason to hope for an outcome grounded in Afghan reality. In The Good War, Fairweather provides the first full narrative history of the war in Afghanistan, from the 2001 invasion to the 2014 withdrawal. Drawing on hundreds of interviews, previously unpublished archives, and months of experience living and reporting in Afghanistan, Fairweather traces the course of the conflict from its inception after 9/11 to the drawdown in 2014. In the process, he explores the righteous intentions and astounding hubris that caused the West's strategy in Afghanistan to flounder, refuting the long-held notion that the war could have been won with more troops and cash. Fairweather argues that only by accepting the limitations in Afghanistan - from the presence of the Taliban to the ubiquity of poppy production to the country's inherent unsuitability for rapid, Western-style development - can we help to restore peace in this shattered land. The Good War leads readers from the White House Situation Room to Afghan military outposts, from warlords' palaces to insurgents' dens, to explain how the US and its British allies might have salvaged the Afghan campaign - and how we must rethink other 'good' wars in the future.

Staff Sergeant Jeremiah Workman is one of the Marine Corps's best-known contemporary combat veterans. In this searing and inspiring memoir, he tells an unforgettable story of his service overseas-and of the emotional wars that continue long after fighting soldiers come home. In the Iraqi city of Fallujah in December 2004, Workman faced the challenge that would change his life. He and his platoon came upon a building in which insurgents had trapped their fellow Marines. Leading repeated assaults on that building, Workman killed more than twenty of the enemy in a firefight that left three of his own men dead. But Workman's most difficult fight lay ahead, in the battlefield of his mind. He returned stateside, was awarded the Navy Cross for gallantry under fire, and was then assigned to the Marine base at Parris Island as a drill instructor. Haunted by the thought that he had failed his men overseas, Workman suffered a psychological breakdown in front of the soldiers he was charged with preparing for war. In Shadow of the Sword, a memoir that brilliantly captures both wartime courage and its lifelong consequences, Workman candidly reveals the ordeal of post-traumatic stress.

My chief lied and my shipmate died. That's just the tip of the iceberg. Do yourself a favor and read this war story before you enlist. Otherwise, you may be joining the enemy.

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."