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 Knows


Book Description

On a gloomy Sunday afternoon at the height of the Troubles, rookie bomb disposal officer Ray Lane was called to the Border to defuse a 1,000kg bomb planted by the IRA. This was the beginning of an extraordinary career. From 10 beer kegs filled to the brim with explosives, to fiendish homemade devices designed to maim and murder, Ray's job was the very definition of hazardous. Developing unparalleled skills in wartime diplomacy, he went on to spend perilous stints on the front line of conflicts in Bosnia, Lebanon, Afghanistan and Ukraine. He witnessed the horrors of war up close and was left with deep personal scars. From the darkest depths of humanity to the pinnacle of bravery, this gripping memoir explores the nature of warfare, duty and the courage and mental strength it takes to be the person who overrides every natural human instinct and walks towards a 1,000kg bomb. 'A truly amazing story told with strength and courage' Ray Goggins 'A compelling story of outstanding courage' Ivan Yates




Breach of Trust


Book Description

A blistering critique of the gulf between America's soldiers and the society that sends them off to war. As war has become normalized, armed conflict has become an "abstraction" and military service "something for other people to do." Bacevich takes stock of a nation with an abiding appetite for war waged at enormous expense by a standing army demonstrably unable to achieve victory.




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




I Am a Soldier, Too


Book Description

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • The Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and bestselling author lends his remarkable narrative skills to the story of the most famous POW this country has known. In I Am a Soldier, Too, Bragg lets Jessica Lynch tell the story of her capture in the Iraq War in her own words--not the sensationalized ones of the media's initial reports. Here we see how a humble rural upbringing leads to a stint in the military, one of the most exciting job options for a young person in Palestine, West Virginia. We see the real story behind the ambush in the Iraqi Desert that led to Lynch's capture. And we gain new perspective on her rescue from an Iraqi hospital where she had been receiving care. Here Lynch’s true heroism and above all, modesty, is allowed to emerge, as we're shown how she managed her physical recovery from her debilitating wounds and contended with the misinformation--both deliberate and unintended--surrounding her highly publicized rescue. In the end, what we see is a uniquely American story of courage and true heroism.




Something about a Soldier


Book Description




They Fought Like Demons


Book Description

Popular images of women during the American Civil War include self-sacrificing nurses, romantic spies, and brave ladies maintaining hearth and home in the absence of their men. However, as DeAnne Blanton and Lauren M. Cook show in their remarkable new study, that conventional picture does not tell the entire story. Hundreds of women assumed male aliases, disguised themselves in men’s uniforms, and charged into battle as Union and Confederate soldiers—facing down not only the guns of the adversary but also the gender prejudices of society. They Fought Like Demons is the first book to fully explore and explain these women, their experiences as combatants, and the controversial issues surrounding their military service. Relying on more than a decade of research in primary sources, Blanton and Cook document over 240 women in uniform and find that their reasons for fighting mirrored those of men—-patriotism, honor, heritage, and a desire for excitement. Some enlisted to remain with husbands or brothers, while others had dressed as men before the war. Some so enjoyed being freed from traditional women’s roles that they continued their masquerade well after 1865. The authors describe how Yankee and Rebel women soldiers eluded detection, some for many years, and even merited promotion. Their comrades often did not discover the deception until the “young boy” in their company was wounded, killed, or gave birth. In addition to examining the details of everyday military life and the harsh challenges of -warfare for these women—which included injury, capture, and imprisonment—Blanton and Cook discuss the female warrior as an icon in nineteenth-century popular culture and why twentieth-century historians and society ignored women soldiers’ contributions. Shattering the negative assumptions long held about Civil War distaff soldiers, this sophisticated and dynamic work sheds much-needed light on an unusual and overlooked facet of the Civil War experience.




The Good Soldier


Book Description

The Good Soldier A Tale of Passion by Ford Madox Ford At the fashionable German spa town Bad Nauheim, two wealthy, fin de siecle couples - one British, the other American - meet for their yearly assignation. As their story moves back and forth in time between 1902 and 1914, the fragile surface propriety of the pre - World War I society in which these four characters live is ruptured - revealing deceit, hatred, infidelity, and betrayal. "The Good Soldier" is Edward Ashburnham, who, as an adherent to the moral code of the English upper class, is nonetheless consumed by a passion for women younger than his wife - a stoic but fallible figure in what his American friend, John Dowell, calls "the saddest story I ever heard."




Out in the Army


Book Description

"A highly readable and distinctly 21st-century boy's own tale." BEN SUMMERSKILL OBESeeking escape from the quiet countryside of North Wales, the young James Wharton joined the British Army with adventure on his mind - and he found it...At basic training, boozing and brawling accompany the daily trials of army life, but all the while James faces a battle of his own: he is gay, and finding the courage to tell not only his family and friends but also his fellow soldiers will be the biggest challenge of all.Written with searing honesty, and updated to include a new chapter, James charts his incredible journey from punchbag to poster boy, describing the troubles and trials of coming to terms with his sexuality via late nights in Soho clubs and early mornings at ceremonial events.The first openly gay person to appear on the cover of Soldier, the British Army's official magazine, James has played an active role in developing support networks for gay men and women within the forces.A courageous and candid account from the soldier who escorted the Queen to the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton, endured rocket attacks in the deserts of Iraq and served bravely alongside Prince Harry on the plains of Canada - this is James's life out in the army."A fascinating and charming insight into a remarkable life that wouldn't have been possible just a few years ago." MATT CAIN, FORMER CUL TURE EDITOR, CHANNEL 4 NEWS




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.