Describes the author's experiences in Iraq from 2003 to early 2004, including the tactics and procedures used to keep order and rebuild the country, the stresses of combat, and the emotions of losing friends in battle.
Reviews from Goodreads:
Marjorie rated it with 5 stars and had this to say,
"My son (Army ROTC) may be in Battleground Afghanistan in a few years. Captain Brown's obsession with cleanliness, physical training, field practice, and what's for dinner were instructive. His frank observations about the impact of a democratic military on a tribal society were informative. The losses he and his unit suffered in one year were eye-opening. His diary is my introduction to 21st century war, a see-saw between the boring "groundhog days" of laying about and the terror-anger-controlled violence of being hunted, hunting and killing--and then having diplomatic teas with the population that has come to respect you through fear. I can only hope that my son will negotiate the confusions, conundrums and disparities of war with as sane an eye as Captain Brown's."
John Monti rated it 5 stars and had this to say,
"Brown served in Iraq immediately after the invasion and saw the insurgency begin to unfold in 2003, especially in Sumara. He saw Iraq for what it is - too tribal for liberal democracy. Brown even says the taboo suggesting the Saddam Hussein governed Iraq like he did for a reason...the people only responded to strength.
Brown gave the reader a feeling of what it was like to be a company commander in a mechanized unit with Bradley IFVs (infantry fighting vehicles). Brown is a good mentor; he was a Ranger officer as well. Appendix A is an Army operations summary nutshell which would be good to read for a layman before reading the book itself."
Jan Hjortshoj rated it 4 stars and had this to say,
"Clear and disturbing insight into the realities of Iraq in 2004. Makes you reflect on how tragically mismatched the tools, training and tasking where to the mission of speed-dialling a tribal based dictatorship of the 19th century ionto an open westernstyle democracy."
Amblingbooks.com
"Here is a book that tells it like it was?In general, what we see on TV or read abou
Reviews from Goodreads:
Marjorie rated it with 5 stars and had this to say,
"My son (Army ROTC) may be in Battleground Afghanistan in a few years. Captain Brown's obsession with cleanliness, physical training, field practice, and what's for dinner were instructive. His frank observations about the impact of a democratic military on a tribal society were informative. The losses he and his unit suffered in one year were eye-opening. His diary is my introduction to 21st century war, a see-saw between the boring "groundhog days" of laying about and the terror-anger-controlled violence of being hunted, hunting and killing--and then having diplomatic teas with the population that has come to respect you through fear. I can only hope that my son will negotiate the confusions, conundrums and disparities of war with as sane an eye as Captain Brown's."
John Monti rated it 5 stars and had this to say,
"Brown served in Iraq immediately after the invasion and saw the insurgency begin to unfold in 2003, especially in Sumara. He saw Iraq for what it is - too tribal for liberal democracy. Brown even says the taboo suggesting the Saddam Hussein governed Iraq like he did for a reason...the people only responded to strength.
Brown gave the reader a feeling of what it was like to be a company commander in a mechanized unit with Bradley IFVs (infantry fighting vehicles). Brown is a good mentor; he was a Ranger officer as well. Appendix A is an Army operations summary nutshell which would be good to read for a layman before reading the book itself."
Jan Hjortshoj rated it 4 stars and had this to say,
"Clear and disturbing insight into the realities of Iraq in 2004. Makes you reflect on how tragically mismatched the tools, training and tasking where to the mission of speed-dialling a tribal based dictatorship of the 19th century ionto an open westernstyle democracy."
Amblingbooks.com
"Here is a book that tells it like it was?In general, what we see on TV or read about the war is written by journalists and is not the first-hand account of the soldiers who are over there. Captain Brown has done a fine job of recounting his participation in Iraq." ? Military magazine
