Only A Soldier Understands: Books 1 - 5 Collection: The Search for Life


Book Description

You may already know Clay Lifto from other books in the Only a Soldier Can Truly Understand series. You may know him as a valued mentor about what to expect from military life, or as a warm and empathetic guide to help you cope with PTSD and other challenges. You might know him as a stalwart source of tough love and straight talk-the guy who tells it like it is. In this volume of the series, Lifto gets personal, and teaches you one of the hardest and most necessary lessons of all: that in vulnerability lies the greatest strength, and it's through making mistakes that we learn the most powerful lessons. Born and raised on a small Minnesota farm by an Appalachian mom and a factory-worker dad, Clay Lifto escapes his bitter childhood by joining the Army. Filled with angst and naivete, he tries desperately to cope as he is forced into places, situation, and problems he is ill-equipped to deal with. Journey with him through life as each episode shapes his direction, his mind, and eventually . . . his heart. Imagine with him what life is really about and what his role could be, as he trips and stumbles toward his soul's purpose. Explore the strangeness of military life in basic training, the cultures of military training, the exotic worlds of the Middle East, Vietnam, Australia, and Germany. And dream with him about what God might have in store for him when it's all over . . . because the story is still being told. In his journey, you may see a mirror of your own path, because . . . Only a Soldier Can Truly Understand.




Only a Soldier Understands - Book 5: Lessons I Learned in the Army


Book Description

Clay Lifto knows what it's like to be a soldier - not the great hero, but an ordinary guy performing his duty, raising his family and trying to live the Christian life. In this 5th book in his series, Only A Soldier Understands, he becomes a bit reflective in his personal story as he shares some life lessons he learned as he enters the Army a second time. He branches out into a new phase of his military experience, past the Middle East, past Vietnam, and into the spy games of the European Cold War. As the chapters of Clay's life continue, he shares amazing things that can happen in a soldier's life when he makes a commitment. Not a lecture, not a Bible study, just a personal story of God's grace. Clay explores not only the physical realities of deployment, but also the emotional and psychological growth and challenges that come from experiences ranging from finding the woman of his life to frustrations with civilian life to the relationship with his family back home to breaking up with his wife to surrendering to the truth about himself and his own life to getting into a job far over his head to finding his true calling in life. As Clay's stories bring back memories of your own experience, each chapter ends with a reflection of a major lesson in life that he learned - maybe a lesson you could apply to your own personal journey in life. The Only a Soldier Understands series is for the new recruit, the career soldier, and the veteran. It's for anyone who has served in the military-and they are great books to share with friends, to exchange stories and thoughts. You don't even need to read this book in chronological order...the Table of Contents provides detailed guidance if you'd like to target a specific area of your career. And if you enjoy this book, go back and read Books 1, 2, 3, and 4 in the series, and look forward to new books by Clay Lifto, coming soon.




Only a Soldier Understands


Book Description

This book is personal. And it's about you. Nobody understands what it feels like to be a soldier except another soldier. It's about your family back home. It's about trying to gain respect. It's about achieving something important after feeling like a failure. It's about living far from home and feeling lonely. It's about discovering women. It's about good and bad bosses. It's about successes and failures, excitement and frustration. Sound like you yet? And the book will bring back memories. I'll share my story while you reflect upon your own. In fact, it will draw you back to your childhood, and spur visions of your future. No soldier's story is dull if you have a sense of humor. And you'll laugh at my story as well as your own as we quickly turn the pages together. It's an easy read, too. Stories of my life in the military are a quick, two-page read for the most part. I follow up with a few questions directed to you about your own story. That's why sometimes a bunch of guys might get together over lunch and read some of these together. It gets you laughing and sharing about your own journey down the road. This book is a chronological collection beginning with the decision to join the military, and continues the trip in 37 short pieces. There's a pretty good table of contents if you want to target a special spot in your career. Volumes 2-4 continue the journey if you'd like to travel on! This book is for the new recruit. This book is for the naive soldier. This book is for the career guys. It's for the lonely guy who needs a quick read. It's for hooch-mates to laugh about. It's food for the soul, like having a chaplain in your pocket. I'd like to be like your secret big brother, who comes from the same thread, who has been on the same road trip with you, and won't leave your side. One more thing. If you've had a hard time of it, if your life hasn't gone the way you had hoped, if you screwed it all up - then you need t




Only a Soldier Understands - A Military Devotional and Bible Study for Warriors with a Story Book 2: Training


Book Description

Nobody understands what it feels like to be a soldier - except another soldier. In Only a Soldier Understands Volume 2: Training, Vietnam veteran Dr. Clay Lifto continues to examine his early days in the Army, sharing feelings and milestones that are universal to young men and women entering the military and finding their identity. This book takes a look at the deeply personal journey of a new soldier. It's about family back home, and gaining their respect. It's about living far from home and feeling lonely. It's about good and bad bosses. It's about successes and failures, excitement and frustration. But most of all, it's about gaining insight and perspective about your life-changing experiences. Told in a series of short anecdotes full of humor and honesty, this book offers you the opportunity to compare and contrast your own feelings and facts, and provides questions designed to help you delve deeper, as well as compassionate advice from the best Commander of all. If you're stuck in a particular place in your career, the Table of Contents can guide you to the section you need most right now. But each of the 38 stories has something valuable for you. Equally relevant to both the new recruit and the career soldier, Only a Soldier Understands gives you a mentor you can trust, and a colleague who's been where you are. About the Author: Dr. Clay Lifto, Professor Emeritus of Marketing and Management, has served at Kirkwood College since 1982. Among his many professional accomplishments, he has founded a property management company operating in three states, and established a college program focused on supervisory management. He holds a BS in business management, a BA in Russian studies, a master's in education, and a doctorate in pastoral leadership. Currently he is pursuing his second doctorate, as well as an MBA in global management. Since 1993, Dr. Lifto and his wife Ruth have been involved with missionary humanitarian projects in Ukraine, where they have been teach




From a Soldier’S Perspective


Book Description

As soldiers who have just returned from war, we fight a separate war daily in an attempt to leave the war behind. Many soldiers, just like myself, come home from war only to fight a separate internal battle, with debilitating illnesses such as post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression. It was important for me to share my story not only for myself but for those who have fought, for those who have fallen, and for those who continue to wage war in order for the United States of America to continue to remain free. The price of freedom is not free. War is chaos, and many soldiers bear the scars from it for the rest of our lives.




A Soldier of the Great War


Book Description

A young aesthete from a privileged Roman family, Alexandro Giuliani, found his charmed existence shattered by the coming of WWI. Highly recommended.




A More Elite Soldier


Book Description

Former U.S. Army Ranger Chuck Holton shows how God oversees our training and gives each of us specific skills to accomplish the mission He has for us in this great spiritual war. The rigor of becoming an Airborne Ranger is exceeded only by the challenge of being one--but those who join their ranks find fulfillment in something bigger than themselves. In the same way, pursuing God's objectives energizes our everyday lives. In this riveting book, you will be issued potent spiritual ammunition for your daily battles from the perspective of a seasoned Special Operations soldier. Life is combat. From the instant the alarm clock signals the beginning of your day, you’re jumping into a zone of uncertainty and your survival depends on having a clear focus. Your objective: Get on mission as an elite soldier and become part of something bigger than yourself. God will lead you through the danger zone of today’s insecurity, equipping you to make a difference.




Soldier Dog


Book Description

With his older brother gone to fight in the Great War, and his father prone to sudden rages, 14-year-old Stanley devotes himself to taking care of the family's greyhound and puppies. Until the morning Stanley wakes to find the puppies gone. Determined to find his brother, Stanley runs away to join an increasingly desperate army. Assigned to the experimental War Dog School, Stanley is given a problematic Great Dane named Bones to train. Against all odds, the pair excels, and Stanley is sent to France. But in Soldier Dog by Sam Angus, the war in France is larger and more brutal than Stanley ever imagined. How can one young boy survive World War I and find his brother with only a dog to help?




TRADOC Pamphlet TP 600-4 The Soldier's Blue Book


Book Description

This manual, TRADOC Pamphlet TP 600-4 The Soldier's Blue Book: The Guide for Initial Entry Soldiers August 2019, is the guide for all Initial Entry Training (IET) Soldiers who join our Army Profession. It provides an introduction to being a Soldier and Trusted Army Professional, certified in character, competence, and commitment to the Army. The pamphlet introduces Solders to the Army Ethic, Values, Culture of Trust, History, Organizations, and Training. It provides information on pay, leave, Thrift Saving Plans (TSPs), and organizations that will be available to assist you and your Families. The Soldier's Blue Book is mandated reading and will be maintained and available during BCT/OSUT and AIT.This pamphlet applies to all active Army, U.S. Army Reserve, and the Army National Guard enlisted IET conducted at service schools, Army Training Centers, and other training activities under the control of Headquarters, TRADOC.




The Fateful Adventures of the Good Soldier Švejk During the World War, Book Two


Book Description

A picaresque series of tales about an ordinary man's successful quest to survive, and a funny but unrelentingly savage assault on the very idea of bureaucratic officialdom as a human enterprise conferring benefits on those who live under its control, and on the various justifications bureaucracies offer for their own existence.