This is an unsparing account of the sharp end of war written by one of the finest military historians of his generation.
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Summary
This is an unsparing account of the sharp end of war written by one of the finest military historians of his generation.
Description
This is an unsparing account of the sharp end of war written by one of the finest military historians of his generation.
Andrew Wiest, author of the bestselling Boys of ’67, traces the experience of the 150th Combat Engineers of the Mississippi National Guard in their 2005 tour of duty in Iraq, centered on the forward operating base Dogwood. Comprising youth hoping to attain a way out of grinding poverty, women seeking to break barriers, and patriots answering their nation’s call after 9/11, the 150th represented nearly all of what America had to offer in 2005.
Amid the transformation of the US military in the 21st century, no longer were they destined to be weekend warriors tasked mainly with local disaster relief. The new Guard was a sharp weapon of war. Soldiers grew up in the same communities, played sports and served together. As Dogwood reveals, this provides a singular advantage, but also intensifies loss. Defying poor equipment, lack of specialist training and heart-breaking losses, the 150th endured combat. They also implemented their own homespun counterinsurgency policy that turned an insurgency hotbed into a thriving community – one of the war’s few success stories. But all was forgotten.
Set within the context of a changing military, an evolving strategic situation and an unpopular war, Dogwood is an unflinching history which lays bare the harsh reality of combat through countless first-hand accounts.
Critic Reviews
Dogwood does an amazing job of capturing the full story of the Citizen Soldiers of the 150th in Anbar Province in Iraq in 2005. Brigadier General J. Roy Robinson, former commander of the 150th and former President of the National Guard Association of the United States
Anyone who wants to understand America’s militia tradition and the changing relation of the Guard to the nation’s regular army should read this book. Beth Bailey, author of 'An Army Afire'
...It is an inspiring story. But it is also a necessary one, because 20 years later America has been so eager to forget it. In Dogwood, Andrew Wiest doesn’t just tell the story; he reminds us of it, without flinching. Tom Junod, award-winning journalist
About the Author
Dr Andrew Wiest is University Distinguished Professor of History and founding director of the Dale Center for the Study of War & Society at the University of Southern Mississippi. Specializing in the study of World War I and Vietnam, his titles include Vietnam's Forgotten Army, which won the Society for Military History's Distinguished Book Award, and The Boys of '67, the basis for the Emmy-nominated National Geographic Channel Documentary Brothers in War. He is based in Hattiesbury, MS.
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