Long Hard Road
Long Hard Road: NCO Experiences in Afghanistan and Iraq – Published by the US Army Sergeants Major Academy.
The call to war is often met by young Soldiers who lack an understanding of what they are about to encounter. These young Soldiers must be trained, prepared, and then led in battle by those with experience and understanding—the Noncommissioned Officer Corps. In an effort to preserve the history of the US Army Noncommissioned Officer and to provide future noncommissioned officers with an understanding of the actions necessary to prepare Soldiers and to lead them in war, the US Army Sergeants Major Academy undertook a program to gather and publish the stories of NCOs who had served in both Afghanistan and Iraq. Most of the papers received were from students of the US Army Sergeants Major Course who had already deployed to either Operation Enduring Freedom or Operation Iraqi Freedom. This work highlights a few of those stories. A wide range of topics have been chosen to allow the reader to understand the preparations, training, and actions needed for NCOs to accomplish their missions.
The work is prepared in two sections: the first we call Stories from Afghanistan and the second, Stories from Iraq. Stories from Iraq is further broken down into “Fighting the Iraqi Army” and “Fighting the Insurgency.” Each story has a brief introduction to provide the reader with a background and setting for the story. Timelines are also provided to assist the reader in following the stories in relation to other events that are taking place during the same time frame. In addition, maps provide the reader with an understanding of where in Afghanistan or Iraq those events occurred.
To help readers understand many of the acronyms used by the US Army and specific units, a Glossary is made available as well; it is by no means inclusive of all Army acronyms.
Colonel David J. Abramowitz and Command Sergeant Major James E. Dale charged three members of the US Army Sergeants Major Academy staff to put this work together: Jesse McKinney (SGM Retired), School Secretariat Director; MSG Eric Pilgrim, Editor-in-Chief of the NCO Journal and a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom; and L.R. Arms, Curator of the NCO Museum and a Marine Corps Vietnam veteran. They were assisted in their efforts by Ms. Melissa Cooper, Museum Specialist, Ms. Jeannie Tapia, Academic Records Technician, and SPC Joseph Edmondson, Graphic Artist. Together they reviewed more then 683 papers to determine which papers would be included in this work. Many of the selected stories were shortened and edited for clarity; however, every attempt was made to remain true to the author’s original intent. In the future, the Sergeants Major Academy will hopefully continue to produce works of this nature, ultimately retaining the knowledge and experiences gained in warfare by noncommissioned officers.
L.R. Arms
Curator
US Army Museum of the Noncommissioned Officer
