Battleground Iraq: Journal of a Company Commander
Todd S. Brown. Washington, DC: U.S. Army Center of Military History, 2007. 292 pp. Illus. Appen. Gloss. Index. $29.
Soon after the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom in March 2003, the author, an Army infantry company commander in the heavily populated and dangerous Sunni Triangle of Iraq, began recording his thoughts and leadership philosophy in a log.
This diary imparts an honest picture of day-to-day combat rigors by someone who has been in the fight. Brown tells of "the boredom, camaraderie, and moments of terror" that he and his troops underwent throughout his tour of duty in an exceptionally dangerous area of operations.
The book carefully relates tactics, techniques, and procedures that evolved in the extremely arduous efforts to maintain good order among the civil population while countering terrorist activities. In short, it plainly describes the same kind of thorny problems that U.S. forces faced in Vietnam: how to balance combat with the equally important task of nation building.
The appendices are comprehensive. Appendix A summarizes command and control at the brigade level and below. The second tells of Captain Brown's experiences in Samarra. Here, Brown points out that his story departs from strictly historical accounting and gains "a novelistic quality in both style and length." Appendix C recaps subsequent operations in and around Samarra. The fourth deals with counter-mortar operations from a fixed position, and the last describes the Army's Bradley Fighting Vehicle and its capabilities.
Battleground Iraq is an especially valuable read for Marine and Army company-grade officers. It will remind them they are all victims of their own experiences—and make them grateful that Captain (now Major) Brown reiterated the point.
Military Misdemeanors
Terry Crowdy. New York: Osprey Publishing, 2007. Illus. Notes. 320 pp. $16.95.
According to this humorously outrageous work, corruption, incompetence, lust, and downright stupidity rule the world of politico-military policy. Moreover, a great deal of it occurred long before we became acquainted with sordid stories from the White House Oval Office.
From the Napoleonic lieutenant who pimped his wife to gain promotion, to Satanists in today's Royal Navy, the author finds military history rife with scandal and sensation. He has probed the darkest reaches of political hi-jinks, from ancient days to now.
"Surviving Custer" details the fight at the Little Big Horn and the alleged cowardice of Major Marcus Reno, one of Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer's subordinate commanders. "Dreyfus" relates the tale of how a Jewish officer in the French Army was marked by government authorities as a traitor and imprisoned. "Draft-Dodger-In-Chief" tells the now familiar story of former President Bill Clinton's efforts to avoid military service during the Vietnam War.
In all, author Crowdy fills his book with more than 70 "true" tales of cover-ups, miscarriages of justice, and shocking sexual escapades. One of the most notorious people represented in Military Misdemeanors is Muhammad Said al-Sahaf, Saddam Hussein's minister of information. After denying that Iraq fired Scud missiles into Kuwait, Sahaf expressed optimism about the first Gulf War: "Yes, the American troops have advanced further. This will only make it easier for us to defeat them"
This is a fun read, but definitely not something to be used as a reference for your staff college—or any other—serious writing assignment.
The Coast Guard in Film
Ralph W. Judd. Victoria, BC, Canada: Trafford Publishing, 2007. 324 pp. Illus. Appen. Index. $36.50.
Retired U.S. Coast Guard Commander Judd has done a splendid job of compiling films about his service that date from 1914 to 1985. They include documentaries, short subjects, and Hollywood features. In addition, he covers films about progenitors of the Coast Guard: e.g., the Revenue Cutter Service, Lighthouse Service, and Steamboat Inspectors.
The cast, credits, synopsis, and reviews are provided for most of the feature flicks. Among the book's highlights are John Wayne as a young officer in The Sea Spoilers (1936) and Yul Brynner making his film debut as a villain (and wearing his own hair) in Port of New York (1946). More recent pictures show Walter Matthau, Andy Griffith, and Joey Bishop laughing it up in Onionhead (1958), and Robert Duvall in The Lightship (1985).
One interesting short subject, Story of a Dog (1945), portrayed the Coast Guard's War Dog Unit and followed them from training to action against Japanese snipers. Another, Cruise of the Eagle (1958), described the sea-going regimen undergone by Coast Guard Academy cadets on the training ship, USCGC Eagle (WIX-327).
The "Celebrity Appendix" is surprising. Who would have guessed that Arthur Godfrey was a Coastie in the late 1920s? Or that actor Victor Mature joined in 1942 and rose to the rank of chief boatswain's mate? Other Coast Guard veterans were actor Gig Young, tennis champion Jack Kramer, TV star Buddy Ebsen, and acclaimed writer Alex Haley.
Commander Judd has been around. He directed convoys through Arctic ice fields and commanded an electronics station in Vietnam. Not least, he has given us a highly entertaining book.
Service to Country: Personnel Policy and the Transformation of Western Militaries
Curtis Gilroy and Cindy Williams, Eds. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 2007. 504 pp. Illus. Index. $27.
According to this book, dramatic changes are under way for military men and women in North America and Europe. The editors believe that improvements—such as greater opportunities for women and minorities—better pay, and help with post-service employment, "will directly affect how Western armed forces are able to fight wars like those in Iraq and Afghanistan and respond to crises elsewhere."
Service to Country explores the ongoing transformation of military personnel policies by looking at causes as well as the potential costs and benefits of transformation. Contributors include scholars and experts on government and military affairs, economists, sociologists, and a demographer.
Part I discusses transformation of European military capabilities, 1989-2005, and the effect of NATO membership on military service in the Baltic States. Part II ranges from the economic case for all-volunteer forces, to conscription in Denmark and Finland, to military transformation in Germany. Part III presents views on the transition to all-volunteer forces in the United States, Great Britain, France, Spain, and Romania. Finally, Part IV explores ways to reform military reserve policies.
Certain of the editors' conclusions seem contradictory. For example: while all-volunteer forces "can offer important economic advantages" to nations seeking to deal with new threats and missions, they "are not well suited to every set of circumstances, and a mixed model that includes both conscripts and volunteers is still a sound choice for some countries."
Even so, it is hard to dispute the thrust of this in-depth study, which centers on the critical importance of sound and innovative personnel policy in achieving national military readiness.