Four years ago this month, I began writing each week to all of you on matters that I think are important. Today marks the 200th issue of my weekly missives. I hope that you have found them useful. So, forgive me if I engage in a bit of self-promotion concerning the books I have written.
Desert Redleg
After the First Gulf War (1990-1991) I tried to put that experience to paper. It was a brief engagement. Life took over and I was consumed with so many other things. Battalion command, the War College, the Pentagon, then my transition to elected politics, and the Virginia General Assembly for 16 years. Life comes at us fast, I suppose, and consumes our time. But in 2017, I took out the journal I kept during the war and transcribed it, beginning at the moment I deployed from Fort Riley, Kansas to the day I left Saudi Arabia six months later. I was struck by the flow of that journal and realized then that the book—in a sense—could write itself if I committed to do so.
In short order, others in the 1st Infantry Division Artillery offered their journals and supporting documents, maps, orders, plans, pictures, and remembrances. I finished my first draft in 2018 and by 2019 had a contract to publish it under the auspices of the Association of the US Army’s (AUSA) Book Program. It was released in May 2020 and has been well received.
In it I share the role of the artillery—which was significant—during the ground war. I also dispel the false narrative that this was a “100 hour” war that quickly concluded. Nothing could be further from the truth. The artillery, prior to the invasion of Iraq, fought for eight days to take down enemy forces arrayed before the 1st Division, “The Big Red One.” That, coupled with the largest preparatory fires since WWII and Korean War, ensured our division’s assault on the Iraqi 26th Infantry Division would be successful. Desert Redleg reveals the significance of the field artillery in combat, a condition that remains so today as witnessed in Ukraine. The moniker of the artillery— “The King of Battle”—is as true today as it was throughout history. And there are major lessons to draw from the Gulf War as the US Army rebuilds itself after years of counterinsurgency wars that frankly saw an atrophying of artillery skills across the Army.
That sad fact is why I am engaged in authoring a new book on the future of the artillery and what we must do to revitalize those skills for potential conflict in the 21st century. And those wars, particularly in the Middle East and in Europe, to say nothing of Taiwan, are looming before us.
Yanks in Blue Berets
My next book reached back to 1981 when I was one of 36 US military officers who served as unarmed peacekeepers in the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO) in Israel, Lebanon, and Syria. Most of my service that year was in support of the observer group in southern Lebanon, which was a dangerous place, indeed, the Wild West without a good saloon. In Yanks I share the stories and experiences of US peacekeepers from 1978 to 1982. When I contacted those who had served in UNTSO before, during, and after me, their willingness to share their stories was enthusiastic. Collectively they expressed their view that “at last someone is going to tell our story.” I did, and like Desert Redleg, Yanks also offers lessons we must harvest to engage the trouble in the Middle East today. And there is much trouble, even as I write this 200th update to you.
Learning From the Past
It’s my fond hope that you will read both of my books. As I like to say, we always go forward best by going back first. This idea inspires how I write, pointing to history and the lessons we learn from it. It is a central theme in the new book I am writing on the future of the artillery and the path we must take to be prepared for the conflicts that are ahead, ones we will not be able to avoid or shoo away like we would a bothersome gnat buzzing in our ear.
You can obtain Desert Redleg: Artillery Warfare in the First Gulf War and Yanks in Blue Berets: American UN Peacekeepers in the Middle East from these links (as well as Amazon) or, if you want an autographed copy, from the Shop page on my website.
I hope you will. Why? Because we must learn the lessons of the past or failure will haunt our future. Pray for peace and that our leaders will be both wise and vigilant.
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