Overview

Citizen soldiers have played a unique role in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan - and their extended deployment and role in the wars battles have changed the towns, cities, and states they hail from as well. The Devil's Sandbox - a nickname for Iraq - is the story of the 2nd Battalion of Oregon's 162nd Infantry Regiment (2/162), and provides readers an intimate look at the reality of National Guardsmen at war. Follow the 2/162 from their call-up in the summer of 2003 to their return home in the spring of 2005. Witness some of the fiercest fighting of the Iraq War and some of the most rewarding and forward-looking civil affairs projects aimed at rebuilding the broken nation of Iraq. Read how the town in Oregon struggles to do without the people - the accountants, lawyers, mechanics, et. al. - who went to serve in the war. The Devil's Sandbox offers a rare insight into what this war means for the citizen-soldier at home and abroad, and chronicles a battalion that earned the respect of the regular Army soldiers who fought alongside them in some of the toughest battles in the Iraq war.

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9780760323946

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Reviews

With a gritty flair for storytelling and blunt style, this work is not just another story about the Iraq War ... More than a war story about an infantry battalion, The Devil's Sandbox represents an intimate reality for thousands of Army National Guard soldiers fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan ... Bruning does not neglect the sacrifices and bravery families and friends of the deployed soldiers exhibited during the deployment. He explains the hardships and stress on those that remained at home as their loved ones went to war ... John Bruning's work is the best book written about the Army National Guard since 11 September 2001 ... The nation's citizen-soldiers have been an integral part in the War on Terror, and their sacrifice, as well as their families', is vividly brought to life in this new work. <br> On Point: The Journal of Army History

"""With a gritty flair for storytelling and blunt style, this work is not just another story about the Iraq War ... More than a war story about an infantry battalion, The Devil's Sandbox represents an intimate reality for thousands of Army National Guard soldiers fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan ... Bruning does not neglect the sacrifices and bravery families and friends of the deployed soldiers exhibited during the deployment. He explains the hardships and stress on those that remained at home as their loved ones went to war ... John Bruning's work is the best book written about the Army National Guard since 11 September 2001 ... The nation's citizen-soldiers have been an integral part in the War on Terror, and their sacrifice, as well as their families', is vividly brought to life in this new work."" On Point: The Journal of Army History ""Beside the fact that we absolutely love the book's title, The Devil's Sandbox strikes us as one of the more powerful unit histories from the Iraq War ... One thing's for sure, no one can ever refer to the men and women of the 2/126 as 'weekend warriors'again."" Military Book Club"

With a gritty flair for storytelling and blunt style, this work is not just another story about the Iraq War ... More than a war story about an infantry battalion, The Devil's Sandbox represents an intimate reality for thousands of Army National Guard soldiers fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan ... Bruning does not neglect the sacrifices and bravery families and friends of the deployed soldiers exhibited during the deployment. He explains the hardships and stress on those that remained at home as their loved ones went to war ... John Bruning's work is the best book written about the Army National Guard since 11 September 2001 ... The nation's citizen-soldiers have been an integral part in the War on Terror, and their sacrifice, as well as their families', is vividly brought to life in this new work. <br> On Point: The Journal of Army History

With a gritty flair for storytelling and blunt style, this work is not just another story about the Iraq War ... More than a war story about an infantry battalion, The Devil's Sandbox represents an intimate reality for thousands of Army National Guard soldiers fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan ... Bruning does not neglect the sacrifices and bravery families and friends of the deployed soldiers exhibited during the deployment. He explains the hardships and stress on those that remained at home as their loved ones went to war ... John Bruning's work is the best book written about the Army National Guard since 11 September 2001 ... The nation's citizen-soldiers have been an integral part in the War on Terror, and their sacrifice, as well as their families', is vividly brought to life in this new work. On Point: The Journal of Army History

Beside the fact that we absolutely love the book s title, The Devil s Sandbox strikes us as one of the more powerful unit histories from the Iraq War ... One thing's for sure, no one can ever refer to the men and women of the 2/126 as weekend warriors again. Military Book Club

Author Information

John R. Bruning has been a professional military historian and writer since 1990. He is the author of Crimson Sky: the Air Battle for Korea; Jungle Ace; Elusive Glory; Ship Strike Pacific; Luck of the Draw; and The Devils Sandbox: With the 2nd Battalion, 162nd Infantry at War in Iraq. He served as an embedded civilian historian with the 2-162 Infantry during Operation Southern Comfort, the post-Hurricane Katrina relief operation in New Orleans. Bruning also has numerous articles, documentaries, multi-media CD-Rom programs, flight simulators and museum displays to his credit. He lives in Independence, Oregon, the heart of 2-162 country.

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