God Willing: My Wild Ride With the New Iraqi Army - Hardcover

Navarro, Eric

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1597971693 ISBN 13: 9781597971690

Publisher: Potomac Books Inc, 2008

Synopsis

Ten U.S. Marines are assigned to live, train, and go into battle with more than five hundred raw and undisciplined Iraqi soldiers. A member of this Adviser Support Team, Capt. Eric Navarro, recounts their tour in vivid and brutally honest detail. Their deployment comes at a particularly important time in the war. The Battle of Fallujah is raging, and President Bush has proclaimed training the Iraqi forces is the key to winning the war. Once they stand up, we can stand down, or so the theory goes. Navarro’s team, nicknamed The Drifters, faces countless roadblocks—no interpreters initially, limited supplies, little contact with other U.S. forces, and a vast cultural gulf with the Iraqis. One hackneyed and fatalistic Arabic phrase seems to sum up the mission, “Insha Allah,” which translates as “God willing” or “if God wills it.” Whether riding into downtown Fallujah in an unarmored Nissan pick-up truck, living in squalor in abandoned buildings, dodging trigger-happy troops, sharingFHM magazine with Iraqi soldiers to boost morale, or getting attacked by insurgent rockets less than an hour after arriving, life is never easy and more often surreal. The Drifters’ trials and tribulations help shed light on this most under-reported aspect of the war: What is wrong with the new Iraqi Army? The answer is not as pretty as the politicians would like.

About this title

About the Author

Capt. Eric Navarro was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1975, and received a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts with a specialty in writing at The New School University. He was living in Manhattan during the events of September 11th and set out to join the Marines the next day. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife, Dorothy, and remains in the reserves. Following his most recent tour in Iraq, Navarro will attend the NYU Stern Business School.

Review

“This is a fast-paced, well written, highly readable and candid firsthand account of life with the new Iraqi Army. This book needs to be read widely, from the halls of Congress to the corner coffee shop.”

“In his book, God Willing, [Navarro] offers a raucous and lively tale as only can be told from the ground up.”

“Captain Eric Navarro vividly describes the challenges we face in Iraq as we nation-build a stable republic atop the wreckage of the Saddam Hussein era. During his tour, Captain Navarro and his Marines served at ground zero of this effort, living and working right alongside our allies while standing-up the New Iraqi Army. Navarro’s story is full of heart-stopping action, head-shaking mistakes and ultimately, words of warning over the future of our effort in the Middle East. This book is a must-read for every American.”

“Bravo to Navarro! A fast-paced, honest, insightful, and funny description of what it’s like to train an Iraqi battalion.”

Edition details

• Publisher: Potomac Books Inc
• Publication date: 2008
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1597971693
• ISBN 13: 9781597971690
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 271