I greatly enjoyed Kaplan's last book, Imperial Grunts, about his travels with the U.S. Military to places such as Yemen, Colombia, and Mongolia, and which "..concentrated mainly on unconventional land forces..."
This 'second' edition of his travels, as the name "Hog Pilots, Blue Water Grunts: The American Military in the Air, at Sea, and on the Ground" implies, "...includes long interludes with the Navy and the Air Force, as well as with the conventional Army...."
I can't wait to read it....
One item did jump off the page at me, and I hadn't even reached the Table of Contents yet. It is a quote from an Army officer, whom I am sure we will meet more of in the following pages....
"I will fortify the moral high ground. People will attack me with stories about Abu Ghraib and the killing fields of Filipino civilians a hundred years ago by American troops, actions which I cannot defend. And I will respond that my troops can build a school, or fix a little girl's cleft palate at a MEDCAP, whereas all the guerrillas of Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiyah can offer is a suicide vest. I will build my fortress on deeds, because I know that the only force protection I have is the goodwill of civilians. All the guns in the world can't keep an IED from going off.Amen brother.....- COL Jim Linder, U.S. Army
Now let's read!
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