Somalia on $5 a Day - A Soldier's Story

Informationen zum Autor Martin Stanton  is a retired US Army colonel and the author of  Somalia on $5 a Day: A Soldier’s Story and Road to Baghdad . He has written articles for publications such as Infantry , Armor , and the Marine Corps Gazette , among others. Colonel Stanton works at the Department of Defense in Tampa, Florida. Klappentext "Stanton's battalion was the first army unit in Somalia in 1992 and it did one hell of a job accomplishing a difficult mission where there wasn't a template. I had the pleasure of tagging along with his unit and saw first-hand how its leaders dealt with and solved problems. . . . A first-rate book and a must read. All professional soldier-leaders should carry Stanton's book in their rucksacks.” —DAVID H. HACKWORTH Author of About Face and Hazardous Duty A country torn by seemingly endless war! a people tormented and victimized by relentless banditry-—into this land of warlords came the soldiers of the army's elite 10th Mountain Division. They were strangers in a strange land sent to restore hope to this cauldron of misery and despair. The Pentagon deemed it a hostile fire zone thereby earning each soldier a monthly bonus of $150— Somalia on $5.00 a day. Major Stanton and the infantrymen of Task Force 2-87 found themselves in unfamiliar surroundings! trying to accomplish a vague and constantly changing mission where knowing the good guys from the bad guys was nearly impossible. When the focus of Restore Hope changed from limited famine relief to nation building! the men found themselves in armed clashes with Somali warlords. In this exciting and often humorous memoir! Stanton relates the mounting frustrations experienced by the U.S. soldiers! futility that culminated in the infamous chaos on the streets of Mogadishu. One The 10th Mountain Division (July–September 1991) Three months later I was driving through the incredible greenness of summertime in upstate New York to report to Fort Drum. After six years in the desert (four in Fort Irwin, California, and two in Saudi Arabia), going back to a place that had grass was something strange. Fort Drum was only a few miles from the Canadian border, so I knew we would often visit Donna’s family in Toronto. Being so far along in her pregnancy, she had flown on to visit her folks. I would pick her up after I signed for quarters. The trees and lush countryside were a feast for the eyes, and even though we had been back from Saudi for almost a month, I could still take simple pleasure in being in America. The miles rolled on, and the sign for Fort Drum came up. With a sense of anticipation and well-being, I turned off to report to my new duty station. Fort Drum (previously Camp Drum, and before that, Pine Camp) has a long history of army and National Guard use going back to before World War I. Camp Drum had served as a key mobilization post during World War II. In fact, Pvt. Bill Mauldin, the cartoonist, had served there, training with the 45th Division before shipping out overseas to Italy. Many of the cartoons he drew of stateside training were based upon his experiences at Pine Camp. Camp Drum soldiered on as a National Guard mobilization and training post over the next four decades, becoming Fort Drum somewhere along the line. Then in the early 1980s the decision was made to activate a light infantry division (the 10th Mountain) there. A massive construction effort transformed the sleepy little post with its World War II buildings into one of the most modern and well-laid-out posts in the U.S. Army. By the time I got there (July 1991), Fort Drum was the newest post I’d ever seen. I was pleasantly surprised as I drove around the troop areas and checked out some of the other modern facilities, such as the PX and commissary. It certainly wasn’t some run-down post with inadequate housing in the middle of east overshoe. Not a bad place to...

Product details

• Authors: Martin Stanton
• Publisher: Presidio Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback
• Released: 29.07.2003
• EAN: 9780891418221
• ISBN: 978-0-89141-822-1
• No. of pages: 352
• Dimensions: 107 mm x 175 mm x 18 mm