Research Guides: CMC Professional Reading Program 2020: Profession of Arms

AFTER ACTION: THE TRUE STORY OF A COBRA PILOT'S JOURNEY by Dan Sheehan
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Dan Sheehan is a third-generation military flyer. He was eager to test his skills as a Cobra gunship pilot in the theatre of combat-and then he got his chance, first, in East Timor, then during two tours of duty in Iraq. After the adrenaline rush of combat, something inside Dan would not turn off. He was a warrior, willing and proud to serve his country and he was fortunate to come out of battle whole, time and again. But he had not escaped Iraq untouched.

BLACK HEARTS: ONE PLATOON'S DESCENT INTO MADNESS IN IRAQ'S TRIANGLE OF DEATH by Jim Frederick
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This is the story of a small group of soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division’s fabled 502nd Infantry Regiment -- “the Black Heart Brigade." Deployed in late 2005 to Iraq’s “Triangle of Death”, the Black Hearts found themselves in the country’s most dangerous location at its most dangerous time. This is a story about men in combat, the fragility of character in the savage crucible of warfare, and a warning of new dangers emerging in the way American soldiers are led on the battlefields of the twenty-first century.

FIRST TO FIGHT: AN INSIDE VIEW OF THE U.S. MARINE CORPS by Victor H. Krulak
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Download: Discussion Guide | Why Read This Book?
MarineNet: MCCEP GE Course
This book examines the foundation on which the Marine Corps is built. The author, LtGen Victor "Brute" Krulak (USMC), offers an insider’s chronicle of Marines, on the battlefield and off. He takes a close look at the Marine experience during WWII, Korea, and Vietnam -- wars in which he was a participant, and in doing so, helps answer the question of what it means to be a Marine, and how the Corps has maintained such an outstanding reputation. MarineNet course MCCEPGE002 requires CAC and enrollment.

FORGOTTEN WARRIORS: THE 1ST PROVISIONAL MARINE BRIGADE, THE CORPS ETHOS, AND THE KOREAN WAR by T. X. Hammes
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At the start of the Korean War, the Marine Corps was ordered to deploy an air-ground brigade in less than ten days, even though no such brigade existed at the time. Assembled from the woefully undermanned 1st Marine Division and 1st Marine Air Wing units, the Brigade shipped out 6 days after activation, sailed directly to Korea, and was in combat within 96 hours of landing. Despite these handicaps and numerically superior enemy forces, the 1st Provisional Marine Brigade won each of its engagements and helped secure the Pusan Perimeter.

HESITATION KILLS: A FEMALE MARINE OFFICER'S COMBAT EXPERIENCE IN IRAQ by Jane Blair
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This memoir is the first book written by a female Marine about the war in Iraq, and one of the only books written by a woman who has experienced combat firsthand. In 2003, Jane Blair's aerial reconnaissance unit was deployed during the initial phase of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Jane kept a journal of her experiences, which she draws on to convey the immediacy of life in the military, not just for a woman but for all Marines. Jane's stories highlight the drama and chaos of wartime Iraq along with the day-to-day challenges every soldier faced: from spicing up a "pasta with alfredo sauce" MRE to coping with a bullying superior officer while trying to connect with local civilians. She recounts the struggles specific to women, including being respected as a Marine rather than dismissed as "the weaker sex" and battling the prejudices of male soldiers who don't believe women belong in uniform.

THE LAST STAND OF FOX COMPANY: A TRUE STORY OF U.S. MARINES IN COMBAT by Bob Drury; Thomas Clavin
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MarineNet: MCCEP GE Course
During the Korean War, 234 heroic Marines from Fox Company, 1st Marine Division, held off a force of 10,000 Chinese soldiers in subzero weather to secure the Toktong Pass. This is their story. MarineNet course MCCEPGE005 requires CAC and enrollment.

MARINE SNIPER: 93 CONFIRMED KILLS by Charles Henderson
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The explosive true story of Sergeant Carlos Hathcock, a legendary Marine sniper in the Vietnam War. He stalked the Viet Cong behind enemy lines and on their own ground. Each time, he emerged from the jungle having done his duty. His record is one of the finest in military history, with ninety-three confirmed kills. This is the story of a simple man who endured incredible dangers and hardships for his country and his Corps.

THE MARINES OF MONTFORD POINT: AMERICA'S FIRST BLACK MARINES by Melton Alonza McLaurin
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Collection of interviews with members of the Montford Point Marines Association, organized by chronology and theme. This recognizes and honors the men who desegregated the Marine Corps and loyally served their country in three major wars. It is about the first black recruits who received Marine Corps basic training at the segregated Camp Montford Point (adjacent to Camp Lejeune). Between 1942 and 1949, more than 20,000 men trained at Montford Point, most of them going on to serve in the Pacific Theatre in World War II as members of support units.

NEPTUNE'S INFERNO: THE U.S. NAVY AT GUADALCANAL by James D. Hornfischer
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MarineNet: MCCEP GE Course
Neptune's Inferno is at once the most epic and the most intimate account ever written of the contest for control of the seaways of the Solomon Islands, America's first concerted offensive against the Imperial Japanese juggernaut and the true turning point of the Pacific conflict. MarineNet course MCCEPGE016 requires CAC and enrollment.
WE WERE ONE: SHOULDER TO SHOULDER WITH THE MARINES WHO TOOK FALLUJAH by Patrick K. O'Donnell
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A riveting first-hand account of the fierce battle for Fallujah during the Iraq War and the Marines who fought there -- a story of brotherhood and sacrifice in a platoon of heroes. Five months after being deployed to Iraq, Lima Company's 1st Platoon, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, found itself in Fallujah, embroiled in some of the most intense house-to-house, hand-to-hand urban combat since World War II. In the city's bloody streets, they came face-to-face with the enemy -- radical insurgents and suicide bombers approaching from every corner. Award-winning author and historian Patrick O'Donnell stood shoulder to shoulder with this modern band of brothers as they fought through the streets of Fallujah.

WOMEN AT WAR: IRAQ, AFGHANISTAN, AND OTHER CONFLICTS by James E. Wise; Scott Baron
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Today, women in all U.S. military services are involved in the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. They serve as pilots and crewmen of helicopters, bombers, fighters, and transport planes, and are frequently engaged in firefights with enemy insurgents while guarding convoys, traveling in hostile territory, or performing military police duties. The advent of the insurgency war, which has no rear or front lines, has made the debate regarding women in combat irrelevant. In such a war zone, anyone can be killed or injured at any moment. While the book's focus is on today's women in combat, it also reaches back to Vietnam, Korea, and World War II to offer selected stories of inspiring women who fought and died for their country.

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