An unprecedented view of Green Beret training, drawn from the year Dick Couch spent at Special Forces training facilities with the Army’s most elite soldiers. In combating terror, America can no longer depend on its conventional military superiority and the use of sophisticated technology. More than ever, we need men like those of the Army Special Forces–the legendary Green Berets. Following the experiences of one class of soldiers as they endure this physically and mentally exhausting ordeal, Couch spells out in fascinating detail the demanding selection process and grueling field exercises, the high-level technical training and intensive language courses, and the simulated battle problems that test everything from how well SF candidates gather operational intelligence to their skills at negotiating with volatile, often hostile, local leaders. Chosen Soldier paints a vivid portrait of an elite group, and a process that forges America’s smartest, most versatile, and most valuable fighting force.

Description: Soldier with his arm and head visible over canvas covered item. Probably Morotai, Maluku Islands, Indonesia.

"Making John a Soldier A Nebraskan Goes to War" describes the life and trials of some of the 16,000,000 Americans who fought freedom's battle in World War II- the group Tom Brocaw dubbed " The Greatest Generation." The book describes how World War II engulfed the author's life from his enlistment in 1942 until his discharge three years later. It includes highlights of life changing experiences the author encountered as an infantry rookie training in California's desert in 1943 to the role he later played helping crush Hitler's minions. The book is more than a history of one person or one infantry division. Rather it describes key battle actions of Army units in both the Pacific and European theaters, as well as pivotal Marine and Naval engagements in the Pacific. It examines the titanic Russian and German struggles from Germany's invasion of Russia in June 1941 to the Soviet's final conquest of Berlin in 1945. Thirty maps depict settings where crucial battles were fought in both the European and Pacific theaters. The book often focuses on the individual warrior who fought alone against a determined and brutal enemy. The book delineates strategy dictated by the most senior command, guiding battle action of friend and foe alike. "Making John A Soldier" provides a view of the uncelebrated sacrifices and bravery of the ordinary American GI during World War II. It recounts the heroic exploits of a special group-seven Nebraskans awarded the Medal of Honor. For more information go to: www.makingjohnasoldier.com

" ... the story of the all-volunteer force, from the draft protests and policy proposals of the 1960s through the Iraq War"--Jacket.

Oh God! Help us to keep ourselves physically strong, mentally awake and morally straight So that in doing our duties to thee and to the nation we may keep the honor of our country untarnished. Strengthen us to guard our nation against external aggression and internal disorder. Jai Hind

"A hell of a gift, an opportunity." "Magnanimous." "One of the greatest advantages I ever experienced." These are the voices of World War II veterans, lavishing praise on their beloved G.I. Bill. Transcending boundaries of class and race, the Bill enabled a sizable portion of the hallowed "greatest generation" to gain vocational training or to attend college or graduate school at government expense. Its beneficiaries had grown up during the Depression, living in tenements and cold-water flats, on farms and in small towns across the nation, most of them expecting that they would one day work in the same kinds of jobs as their fathers. Then the G.I. Bill came along, and changed everything. They experienced its provisions as inclusive, fair, and tremendously effective in providing the deeply held American value of social opportunity, the chance to improve one's circumstances. They become chefs and custom builders, teachers and electricians, engineers and college professors. But the G.I. Bill fueled not only the development of the middle class: it also revitalized American democracy. Americans who came of age during World War II joined fraternal groups and neighborhood and community organizations and took part in politics at rates that made the postwar era the twentieth century's civic "golden age." Drawing on extensive interviews and surveys with hundreds of members of the "greatest generation," Suzanne Mettler finds that by treating veterans as first-class citizens and in granting advanced education, the Bill inspired them to become the active participants thanks to whom memberships in civic organizations soared and levels of political activity peaked. Mettler probes how this landmark law produced such a civic renaissance. Most fundamentally, she discovers, it communicated to veterans that government was for and about people like them, and they responded in turn. In our current age of rising inequality and declining civic engagement, Soldiers to Citizens offers critical lessons about how public programs can make a difference.