Being as I'm a former Jarhead who served in the first Bush/Gulf War, and that I now work almost exclusively with Dogs, My Sister-inLaw thought this would be the perfect gift for me. She was right on many levels. I think it's a fine story(For those of you not familiar with the book, it details the story of a Marine LtCol trying to get a stray Puppy out of Iraq against regs.) Beyond the Dog/Jarhead connection, there's a theme that goes much deeper- The basic daily Hell that is Iraq, from the grunt all the way up to the high-ranking REMF's(Mini synopsis-there are no true REMF's in that hole. basically, anyone with pale skin and an american flag is going to get sniped, mortared, fragged, IED'd or some other violent unpleasantness at some time incountry). I found it to be a well paced & quick read, & would like to reccomend it to all my Big A Brethren & Sistren.
To Wit, I have a proposal- (After wifey reads it) I'd like to pass on my copy of the book(Postpaid) to the next Armoramite interested. this person would then sign it & leave a small note or tape a short review into the Jacket, & then pass it on to the next interested party. It is my hope that enough of you will be interested that I will get this back in a year or 2 with comments from around the world included. What do you think-does this sound workable?

Also, anyone with a contrasting view or negative comment about the book should feel free to post to this Topic(Unless you're trying to start a flame war-I don't dig those.).

So- Who's first?

P.S.-Moderators-I wasn't sure of the approrpriate Forum for this post, so please evaluate & feel free to delete whichever ONE is superfluous...

Hey Robert. Happy New Year! I think it's a neat idea and would like to sign up. I remember reading something about this on the net a while back but didn't know there was a book about it.

Also, if this takes off, it might help if it was tacked to the top so we wouldn't have to go searching for the post to see who gets it next.

Sounds like a cool idea. I read an article on the web similair to this one about a group of marines who adopted a puppy while in Iraq. Accidentally, the puppy bit someone while playing, and the CO ordered the puppy to be put to sleep. The Marines were really distraught about this as this puppy was like their one little taste of home and something of a mascot, that they took up donations to try to get the puppy sent home. They in fact had to SNEAK the puppy out and have him sent back to the US through a civillian as it was against some BS policy. When I read the article, it hadnt been updated, and I was so sad for this puppy I was going to make a donation. they wrote me back that they had already managed to save this dog. It was a really great story. So, I would definitely be interested in reading this book. Sign me up!

Gary

I'm in! When I was over there, we had some strays at one of our check points. They had pups and all the guys just went to pieces over them. Anyway, the Brass were worried about disease and ordered us several times to shoot them or get rid of them. Never did happen though, no body could bring themselves to do it or allow someone else to do so. Those pups were like therapy for us all.

Allright! Looks like this is off to a good start. Let's keep it rolling.

Cary- Prosperous 2007 to you also, & thanks for the tip on making this a 'Sticky'. I never would have thought of that. (& you're first on the list, of course!)

Gary- Yep, fairly same situation as the one you describe. There's a general order on the books against the keeping of Mascots, livestock, etc.,as they can spread disease & other distractions. The military has to have a Policy...

Art- (btw, weren't you SFCSummit just a short while ago? Congrats on the Promo!) Considering you lived the situation, I'd say this would definitely interest you. Be warned, however ( SPOILER ALERT!!!) that there are some references in the book to examples in which some individuals carried out the orders to euthanize. Not pretty, & I wouldn't want you to have to get surprised by it.

Thank you gentlemen for your timely & enthusiastic replies. Hopefully this will take off & we'll soon have a large group discussion going...

Pax,
LD

Robert,
Yup, used to be SFCSummit....finally the Army saw fit to give me that third rocker.

I went ahead and made this topic a sticky topic to keep it at the top.

THX Dave!!!

BTW- How's the 'New' Leg?

Pax, LD

Your welcome. The new leg is great. Thanks for asking.

Glad to hear it Dave. Hope to see some pics of you up & runnin' soon! Nice to see some justice(delayed, but justice nonetheless...) come out of this mess. If anyone deserves a "Leg Up" ( Sorry, atrociously bad pun, but I couldn't stop myself...) in this life, it's You, Pal!

So- so far it looks like we'll start in MD, then to Joisey, thendown Kentucky way. So Cary, if you'll email or PM me your snail-mail addy I'll get it out to you as soon as Wifey's done. Then you can forward it to Gary, & then Gary to Art, etc.(I hope) & down the line.

Alright now-with 189 views, isn't there someone out there with some input or some interest? I welcome all comments & would like to invite a spirited dialouge from those with even a passing familiarity with the subject, positive or negative. So Sound off like ya got a pair!

Waitin' & hopin',

Pax,LD