Long Hard Road - NCO Experiences in Afghanistan and Iraq, SC book, 2007, color

Description

Book: Softcover
used, very good condition
Original US Government printing, not photocopied version.
all color pages.
195 pages
Long Hard Road: NCO experiences Afghanistan and Iraq
This October 2007 book was prepared by the US Army Sergeants Major Academy.
The call to war is often met by young Soldiers who lack an understanding
of what they are about to encounter. These young Soldiers must be trained,
prepared, and then led in battle by those with experience and understanding---the
Noncommissioned Officer Corps. In an effort to preserve the history of the US
Army Noncommissioned Officer and to provide future noncommissioned officers
with an understanding of the actions necessary to prepare Soldiers and to lead
them in war, the US Army Sergeants Major Academy undertook a program to
gather and publish the stories of NCOs who had served in both Afghanistan and
Iraq. Most of the papers received were from students of the US Army Sergeants
Major Course who had already deployed to either Operation Enduring Freedom
or Operation Iraqi Freedom. This work highlights a few of those stories. A wide
range of topics have been chosen to allow the reader to understand the preparations,
training, and actions needed for NCOs to accomplish their missions.
The work is prepared in two sections: the first we call Stories from
Afghanistan and the second, Stories from Iraq. Stories from Iraq is further broken
down into “Fighting the Iraqi Army” and “Fighting the Insurgency.” Each story
has a brief introduction to provide the reader with a background and setting for
the story. Timelines are also provided to assist the reader in following the stories
in relation to other events that are taking place during the same time frame. In
addition, maps provide the reader with an understanding of where in Afghanistan
or Iraq those events occurred.
To help readers understand many of the acronyms used by the US Army and
specific units, a Glossary is made available as well; it is by no means inclusive of
all Army acronyms.
Colonel David J. Abramowitz and Command Sergeant Major James E. Dale
charged three members of the US Army Sergeants Major Academy staff to put
this work together: Jesse McKinney (SGM Retired), School Secretariat Director;
MSG Eric Pilgrim, Editor-in-Chief of the NCO Journal and a veteran of Operation
Iraqi Freedom; and L.R. Arms, Curator of the NCO Museum and a Marine Corps
Vietnam veteran. They were assisted in their efforts by Ms. Melissa Cooper,
Museum Specialist, Ms. Jeannie Tapia, Academic Records Technician, and SPC
Joseph Edmondson, Graphic Artist. Together they reviewed more then 683 papers
to determine which papers would be included in this work. Many of the selected
stories were shortened and edited for clarity; however, every attempt was made
to remain true to the author’s original intent. In the future, the Sergeants Major
Academy will hopefully continue to produce works of this nature, ultimately
retaining the knowledge and experiences gained in warfare by noncommissioned
officers.