Having just finished, and been deeply impressed by The Generals, I was glad that “Wang” tossed this our way about T. Ricks’ upcoming tour: Sunday, Feb. 24 — George Marshall house, Leesburg, Va. I pass it all the time but have never visited it. Might be a good excuse to go. (Within walking distance are two of my favorite haunts, here and here.)
Sir John Keegan 1934-2012
I read tonight that Sir John Keegan has passed away at age 78. His obit from the Telegraph. I had the opportunity to meet him in 1989 in London where he gave a lecture to a group of American Officers visiting the UK and later Normandy. A spell binding lecturer, he was truly a man who enjoyed what he did. His death, as that of his Sandhurst Colleague leaves a void in the company of Military Historians. May he rest in peace.
The People’s Military
From the Early Bird; a book review by Tom Donnelly of U.S. Civil-Military Relations After 9/11: Renegotiating the Civil-Military Bargain, by Mackubin Thomas Owens (Continuum, 224 pp., $22.95) found on page 51 of 2 May 11 edition of the National Review. Donnelly, asserts the author raises three points which need to be considered in the context of Civil Military Relations: Three chief characteristics make our current volunteers different from the revered citizen-soldier ideal. First, military service is too often institutionally regarded as a kind of self-actualization therapy. Think of the “Army of One” commercials: They pictured not a “band of [...]
More from TomDispatch
While reviewing TomDispatch this morning, came across this by Andrew J. Bacevich. Read and enjoy. By the way it is the second article down.
New Dawn Book Trailer
I have just returned from a national book tour and the release of my latest book, New Dawn: The Battles for Fallujah. It was a great tour. I made many new friends and reconnected with many old friends too. Already, New Dawn has been nominated for two huge awards. 1. The Marine Corps Heritage Foundation’s 2011 General Wallace M. Greene Jr. Award – The General Wallace M. Greene, Jr. Award is named for the 23rd Commandant of the Marine Corps, who during his distinguished Marine Corps career gave stature to the historical program, as we know it today. He is [...]
More Fallout from Hood
Brief forward (John): All, we’re honored to have with us a new blogger — Shannon Meehan. Shannon is -of course- a VMI man and an Army armor officer with combat experience in Iraq. He’s also the author of Beyond Duty, a gritty war memoir that’s well worth your time. Shannon has an insider edge on the Hood fallout, as he was treated in an office next to Hasan’s (here’s a link to a Dallas Morning News piece, hot off the wires, where Shannon is quoted extensively). Please join me in welcoming our newbie to the family — all of us [...]
Running the War in Iraq, by Major General Jim Molan
Running the War in Iraq, by Major General Jim Molan, Australian Army Retired; 2008: Harper Collins Publishers; Sydney, Australia; ISBN: 9780732287818; ISBN10: 0732287812; 358 pages. Some interesting links to about the book: http://www.harpercollins.com.au/books/9780732287818/Running_the_War_in_Iraq/index.aspx http://www.homepagedaily.com/Pages/article5542-is-australian-general-jim-molan-a-war-criminal.aspx http://blogs.theaustralian.news.com.au/letters/index.php/theaustralian/comments/the_facts_about_fallujah/desc#commentsmore
Samuel P. Huntington; The Soldier and The State: The Theory and Politics of Civil-Military Relations
Samuel P. Huntington; The Soldier and The State: The Theory and Politics of Civil-Military Relations; Cambridge, The Belknap Press of Harvard University; 1957 Several weeks ago, during my move to Northern Virginia, as I was separating my books into categories, I picked up the late Samuel P. Huntington, The Soldier and the State, I did so for two reasons, as he had just recently died I wanted to gander at his first work which had a decided impact on the United States Military and two because of some research I am doing, I thought he would be a good starting [...]
The Dark Side
The subject is torture, the subject is imprisonment, the subject is our Constitution, the subject is how the United States squandered (my words not her words) the standing we had in the world after 9-11 by using techniques for obtaining information, which we in the past have condemned.
Touching History
Up for a good book this summer? if you pick up Touching History by airline pilot Lynn Spencer, you won’t regret it and it’ll be gone in a weekend, if you are anything like me. It is the story of the skies over America on Sept 11, 2001. Spencer, an airline pilot for ExpressJet Airlines, spent much of the last few years interviewing the principles in this infamous day, from air traffic controllers in Boston and Washington and Indianapolis to military controllers at the Fleet Area Surveillance Facility, Virginia Capes (FASFAC VACAPES, also known as Giantkiller, the controllers I talked [...]
