Small Wars Journal

Bing West

BIO

Bing West served as Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs in the Reagan administration. A graduate of Georgetown and Princeton Universities, he served in the Marine infantry. He was a member of the Force Recon team that initiated attacks behind North Vietnamese lines.

He wrote the counterinsurgency classic, The Village, that has been on the Commandant's Reading List for 40 years. His books have won the Marine Corps Heritage Prize, the Colby Award for Military History, the VFW Media Award and the General Goodpaster Soldier-scholar Award. He has been on hundreds of patrols and operations throughout Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan. Bing is a member of St. Crispin's Order of the Infantry and the Council on Foreign Relations.

Articles by this Author

Fast Rifles Tue, 06/26/2018 - 1:35am
Fast Rifles Wed, 01/31/2018 - 4:57am
Take the Gloves Off Against a Terrible Political and Military Strategy Sun, 05/22/2016 - 1:16am
Fast Rifles Sat, 11/28/2015 - 5:37am
The 2014 Counterinsurgency Field Manual Requires Pre-Publication Review Wed, 05/14/2014 - 3:03pm
Joint COIN Pub Ignores Reality Wed, 05/07/2014 - 2:03pm
Counterinsurgency: A New Doctrine's Fading Allure Sun, 02/05/2012 - 9:14am
Both Sides of the COIN Sat, 01/07/2012 - 3:33pm
Bigotry as Opportunism Tue, 12/21/2010 - 4:23pm
Korengal Valley Observations Thu, 04/15/2010 - 4:51pm
From Tal Afar to Marja: Applying COIN to Local Conditions Thu, 03/18/2010 - 1:25pm
Finishing Firefights Difficult in Afghanistan Wed, 11/04/2009 - 8:35pm
Tactics or Strategy? Sat, 08/15/2009 - 7:23pm
Not a Tactical Hurdle... Mon, 08/10/2009 - 7:06pm
War Fighting Factors in Iraq and Afghanistan Sat, 03/21/2009 - 5:50pm
An American Journalist Wed, 10/29/2008 - 8:12pm
War and Indecision Sun, 06/01/2008 - 12:15pm
Iraq's No. 1 Problem Mon, 01/28/2008 - 6:42pm
COIN Theory and Securing Iraq Wed, 12/26/2007 - 2:02am
Waterboarding: A Tool of Political Gotcha Sat, 11/03/2007 - 10:26am