Life on Post

I picked this book up from the post library at the same time I checked out In the Company of Soldiers for a re-read. I had seen this one on the shelves at Borders, and had been interested in reading it, so when I saw it at the library I had to pick it up.

It is a compelling read.

The Heart of a Soldier. Blaise, CPT Kate, with Dana White. December 2005. 368pp. Gotham Books, hardcover. ISBN 1-592-40177-5.

“The stress of combat was indeed a revealer of character, and I had watched him grapple with his doubts, then steel himself and soldier on. He had taken care of his troops and executed his mission, the two essentials of command, while asking no more of subordinates than he asked of himself. If others found him hard to love — his intensity, competitiveness, and serrated intellect made adoration difficult — he was nevertheless broadly respected and instantly obeyed.”

When the Iraq war began in 2003, Rick Atkinson was a journalist embedded with the 101st Airborne Division based out of Fort Campbell, Kentucky. He was assigned to shadow the division’s commanding general, Major General David Petraeus.

This book is an important read, not only because I feel it is critical to have some understanding of just what’s going on in the Middle East, to have some compassion for what our country’s defenders are being asked to do - but also because it gives a candid glance at the man who is now the commander of Multi-National Force - Iraq.

In the Company of Soldiers: A Chronicle of Combat. Atkinson, Rick. March 2004. 336p. Henry Holt and Company, hardcover. ISBN 0-8050-7561-5.

But for wives who marry into the military — “muggles,” as J. K. Rowling might call them — there is a curious round of new protocols and regulations to internalize: Men are no longer referred to by first names or by “Mr.” but must be called “Colonel Weasley” or “Major Granger” …

I picked up this book on my visit to Borders this week. I’d originally gone in to find the book that the new show Army Wives is based on, but discovered that it hadn’t reached my local shop’s shelves yet. I could reserve my copy, or order one of her other books on the subject, but instead I wandered over to the military history section to see what I could find.

I found Home Fires Burning, which tells the stories of a number of “waiting wives” — those of us who are holding up the fort while our spouses are away doing interesting things with interesting people. Ms. Houppert, a journalist and former military brat, profiled a variety of military families, and I found the tales compelling and the author’s writing style very engaging.

And she made an apropos Harry Potter reference, which is worth bonus points in my estimation.

Home Fires Burning: Married to the Military — for Better or Worse. Houppert, Karen. March 2005. 272p. Ballantine, hardcover. ISBN 0-345-46169-X.