A Plug For Michael Yon's New Book

A NEW BOOK DEDICATED TO THE MISSION & SOLDIERS’ ANGELS

I am currently at work on a new book called IRAQ: INSIDE THE INFERNO. It will cover my years reporting in the field from 2005-2008. It will tell, with words and pictures, the dramatic story of how we won the war in Iraq – not primarily with our overwhelming technology, not with shock and awe destruction, but with the far more important force of American values.

The book will assemble some two hundred of the most powerful, telling, and dramatic photographs I have taken in Iraq (many never before published). With my publisher, Richard Vigilante Books, we have enlisted an award-winning documentary producer from Discovery Channel, Karen Kraft, and her handpicked team to create the book. Pictures of American warriors at work, engaged in killing terrorists or rebuilding a school or a shattered neighborhood. My intent is to combine the best of my pictures with the best of my writing to create an entirely new type of experience. And for the final product to have the enduring memorial value of the most treasured, well-crafted volume in a great library.

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My Comment: I have always been a fan of Michael Yon ... looking forward to reading his book.

Michael Yon's War

From The Atlantic:

It began with a bridge. On the morning of March 1, a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device detonated on Tarnak River Bridge near Kandahar, Afghanistan, killing multiple civilians and one American soldier. While the destruction of a single bridge might ordinarily pose a mere inconvenience to the U.S. war machine, in the oppressive terrain of Afghanistan it became a logistical chokepoint, halting ground-based operations for days.

War correspondent Michael Yon sought the answer to an uncomfortable question: who was responsible for the security of that bridge?

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My Comment: Michael Yon has always been one of my favorite reporters in the field .... it is good to see the Atlantic giving him the recognition that he deserves.

Afghanistan: The Forgotten War

WNU Editor: In one email, Michael Yon has summarized what I have been trying to say for the past few years .... we are losing the war in Afghanistan, and no one back home cares .... and worse, our leaders are trying their best to cover it up. I have reprinted his email below.

Greetings,

A new dispatch on Afghanistan is up: PENGUINS OF AFGHANISTAN

My intentions were to write several more dispatches about missions, yet there seems to be so little interest in Afghanistan that it hardly seems worth the time to write about real missions.

There is little embedded work coming from Afghanistan. McChrystal's censorship seems to be working. (For now.) He's losing the war and covering it up. The deception is easy when so few people are paying attention. We are losing the war. At this rate it will be lost.

--
Very Respectfully,

Michael Yon

Another Must Read Dispatch From Michael Yon In Afghanistan

Battle For Kandahar -- Michael Yon

The counteroffensive has begun. More accurately, it might be called a counter-counteroffensive. Close to a decade ago, we beat the Taliban and al Qaeda here. The Taliban regrew and waged an increasingly successful counteroffensive. And so our ninth year at war is the year of our counter-counteroffensive.

The most remarkable feature of our counter-counteroffensive likely will be the Battle for Kandahar, or BfK. Kandahar was the birthplace of the Taliban and Kandahar City is the provincial capital. The Taliban is succesfully wresting Kandahar back into their control. The BfK is likely our last effort to halt and reverse Taliban influence from spreading. The winner in the BfK will be set to eventually take most or all of the chips off the table, and so BfK is crucial to the outcome of the war.

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My Comment: You can follow Michael Yon on his Facebook page here.

A Discussion On Michael Yon And His Coverage Of The War In Afghanistan

Photo: Michael Yon

In Defense Of Michael Yon: An Open Letter To Milbloggers -- Captain's Journal

My friend Michael Yon has had some difficulties of late. From his Facebook page, an embed has been halted. He has also expressed deep reservations about the senior leadership in Afghanistan, weighing in with some fairly hard hitting prose (pieced together from Facebook and NRO):

Today, I do not trust McChrystal anymore than some people trust the New York Times, Obama or Bush. If McChrystal could be trusted, I would go back to my better life. McChrystal is a great killer but this war is above his head. He must be watched … Crazy Monkeys: Senior Public Affairs people often make me think of crazy monkeys. (Like some monkeys I’ve seen in India.) They break into the cockpit and start flipping switches with no idea what the switches do. They keep doing it until something breaks or you beat them back. And just when you think you’ve beaten …them all back, another monkey slips in. (This time by name of Admiral Smith.)

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My Comment: What is my take .... when I read up on Afghanistan every morning, I go through at least a dozen main stream media outlets, official military outlets and press releases, the major news outlets from Russia/China/Pakistan and India, and at least a 15-20 bloggers .... with Michael Yon (when he posts) being one of them.

I have been following Michael Yon's work for years (Instapundit was the first blog to give me a heads up on his work), and I have always found Michael's analysis and reporting to be an accurate assessment of what he sees on the ground. But .... his observations are just that .... an analysis of what he sees from the small corner of the world that he is reporting from. My respect for him is that even though he is operating in these dire situations, he is still able to post some of the most thoughtful and accurate reports on the war in his part of Afghanistan. I only wish there were 30 more Michael Yons reporting in Afghanistan .... but unfortunately we only have him and a few bloggers and news reporters who are brave enough to go beyond the wire.

Michael Yon's absence and/or limiting his reporting on the scene will punish all of us who are always starving for information on the war. I do not know why he is no longer being embedded (beyond the official reason), but I do know that we are all poorer for it.

Another Must Read Dispatch From Michael Yon In Afghanistan

Photo: Michael Yon.

A Whisper -- Michael Yon

A singular sentence in reply to a common, simple question. A whisper from Afghanistan has returned a loud echo from Laconia, New Hampshire, a small town of 12,000 (40,000 in the summer) nestled amongst the glacial lakes in the center of the state.

Dr. Sam Aldridge has practiced peripheral vascular surgery in Laconia, NH for the past 15 years based solely on a gentlemen’s handshake with Tom Clairmont, CEO of Lakes Region General Hospital, who has been a stalwart supporter of Aldridge’s military commitment.

On January 15th, 2010 LTC Aldridge left for his third active duty deployment since joining the Army Reserves Medical Corps. Before leaving, Danielle Mostoller, the hospital’s PR representative, had LTC Aldridge promise to write regular updates that would be placed in the hospital’s email newsletter, which reaches 1600 people.

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My Comment: You can follow Michael Yon on his Facebook page. The link is here.

A Photo Dispatch From Michael Yon In Afghanistan

Photo: Michael Yon

Under Cover of the Night -- Michael Yon

During a mission there is no “pause” button. It’s on until it’s over. Recently, Charlie Company 1-17th Infantry conducted a mission that included visiting villages in the Shah Wali Kot district of northern Kandahar Province.

The main threats in this area are bombs and mines. Many vehicles have “mine rollers” on the front that are designed to detonate the bomb before it gets under the vehicle. The bombs often are big enough to completely obliterate any tank or armored vehicle ever built. During the mission, a mine roller on a Stryker broke, causing Charlie Company to overnight in the desert.

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My Comment: For more updates from Michael Yon, follow him on Facebook here.

A Thank You Letter From Canada To US Service Members

Canadian soldiers on patrol in southern Afghanistan in June 2009. (Canadian Press)

From Canada: A Thank You to U.S. Service Members -- Michael Yon

Dear Michael Yon,

Today we were sent your story of February 14, 2010. The “unknown” Canadian is our son Danny. He is a 23-year-old soldier from Vancouver, Canada.

Your photographs were extraordinary and have impacted so many people here in Canada. There has been an outpouring of affection for the Americans who helped Danny in his moment of need. For that, we thank you for recording these acts of kindness into history.

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My Comment: As a Canadian who has good friends who are serving (or have served) in the Canadian Arm Forces, letters like the one sent to Michael Yon represent what we all feel towards our American friends and allies. By helping each other it makes the burden of this war easier to handle and manage .... we are not alone .... and that state of mind does wonders for all of our troops and their families.

Another Dispatch From Michael Yon In Afghanistan

From Michael Yon:

American troops are spread widely across Afghanistan. Some are remote and accessibility is difficult. In 2008, I was with six soldiers in Zabul Province who didn’t even get mail for three months. They had no email. They were on the moon. Six courageous men, in the middle of nowhere, and their nearest backup was a small Special Forces team about five hours away. Resupply to these small outposts is crucial, difficult, and would require major effort by ground. Enter the United States Air Force.

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My Comment: Another riveting read from Michael Yon. For more information, Michael Yon's Facebook page is a must read. The link is here.

The Travels Of Michael Yon

TSA Facepalm Of The Day -- CDR Salamander

Boxers or briefs? Michael Yon on twitter and facebook,

Got arrested at the Seattle airport for refusing to say how much money I make. (The uniformed ones say I was not "arrested", but they definitely handcuffed me.) Their videos and audios should show that I was polite, but simply refused questions that had nothing to do with national security. Port authority police eventually came -- they were professionals -- and rescued me from the border bullies

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My Comment: Michael Yon is probably the best reporter in the field. His coverage of the war in Iraq .... and now Afghanistan .... has always been riveting and a must read. As for his experience with customs .... I also agree with his comments about U.S. border security. I have traveled through 50 countries in the past 25 years .... take it from me .... U.S. Customs is in a league by itself.

Update: More here.