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Ed Darack is a prolific writer who wrote a book about his experiences embedded with a Marine unit in Iraq. We spoke about his experiences there and the Marines he wrote about. Check out the book here.
1:02 – Ed talks about how he got into writing this book.
5:52 – Ed talks about how he logistically managed being embedded with the unit in Iraq.
10:02 – Ed talks about the time period the book covers – 2006 to 2007.
11:14 – Ed talks about what he wanted to focus the book on. He focused on the individuals.
18:50 – Ed talks about the size of the Marine battalion versus the population of the area they were operating in.
22:23 – Ed talks about the artillery, tank, and air support the battalion had.
24:26 – Ed talks about the support this battalion had in theater.
26:30 – Ed talks about the morale of the unit.
27:54 – Ed talks about relations between the Marines and other units operating in the area.
29:18 – Ed talks about what he focused on in the book.
30:18 – Ed talks about how he approaches the analysis in the book.
32:14 – Ed wanted to paint a clear picture of modern war.
33:13 – Ed talks about what it was like to interview the Marines and their family.
34:40 – Ed talks about the Marine Corps birthday.
35:24 – Ed talks about how he did the research for the book.
37:26 – Ed talks about Iraqi reactions to the Marines.
38:13 – Ed talks about what he enjoyed about doing the book.
40:35 – Ed talks about what he found most surprising.
41:20 – Ed talks about some friction at the RCT level.
43:55 – Ed talks about awards that the unit received.
45:34 – Ed talks about his hope that the book will help people understand the job that the Marines do.
47:11 – Ed talks about the information that couldn’t get into the book.
48:19 – Ed talks about getting the book published.
49:24 – Ed talks about his next writing project on Operation Redwings and articles for Smithsonian Air & Space magazine.
50:13 – Ed is on darack.com and has various social media accounts.
51:12 – Ed thanks the battalion for letting him on board.
Links of interest
https://www.dacapopress.com/titles/ed-darack/the-warriors-of-anbar/9780306922664/
For more “Military History Inside Out” please follow me at www.warscholar.org, on Facebook at warscholar, on twitter at Warscholar, on youtube at warscholar1945 and on Instagram @crisalvarezswarscholar. Or subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify
Guests: Ed Darack
Host: Cris Alvarez
Tags: military, history, military history, conflict, war, interview, non-fiction book, hawaii, marines, mountain warfare training center, afghanistan, kunar, nangahar, battalion, 3/3, 2/3, iraq, embedded, haditha triad, al-anbar, operation redwings, al-qaeda, hachette books, navy, fleet marine, female marines, lionesses, air wing, air and space, smithsonian, whiskey company, deployment, beirut bombings, baghdad, fallujah, ramadi, AQI, islamic state, colonel farouk, ODA, fireteam, squad, platoon, company, MEU, rct2, rct7, harriers, isr, blackhawk, information operations, IED, wagu beef
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