Black Flag Journals: One Soldier's Experience in America's Longest War
by Dennis Woods
GENRE: Memoir
BLURB:
The story of America’s longest war is complicated and difficult to convey, unless you were there. Dennis Woods was there. By following his stories in Iraq and Afghanistan, we can sense the enormity of his combat experiences. Originally written for his daughter, Black Flag Journals is taken from the author’s nine battle book journals. It covers his time from the fall of the Twin Towers through his last combat tour.
Black Flag Journals contains not just stories from the first war of the new century, but a day-by-day record of events that other veterans may use to relate their own experiences. All who enjoy real life stories, and followers of history will connect with this first person account of America’s longest war.
Excerpt:
Taking into account the time required to clear the mission, plus the time required for the projectiles to fly the 4.25 miles to the target, the first round impacted on the enemy positions as they arrived at the last fire. The result was that 36-armed insurgents were killed on the Pakistan/Afghan border. (Count provided by the SF raid tower.) On this occasion, they literally ran into our impacting rounds as they exploded. They in fact died in exhausted heaps after conducting a series of sprints down a mountain.
Interview with Dennis Woods
What is something you’ve lied about?
As this interview concerns my war diaries, I’ll confine my comments to this manuscript. Once when asked by a service member's family if their soldier passed quickly, I lied about it. At the moment, I just could not do it. Later we reconciled when she heard different accounts.
Who is the last person you hugged?
My wife, I cannot wait for this pandemic to pass so I can hug my daughter and mother.
What are you reading now?
Believe it or not, I’ve read so much data on Covid 19 that it’s something I keep on google alerts for new articles. It is not all bad though as the amount of data consumed allowed me to become a COVID compliance officer for TV and Movie production.
How do you come up with the titles to your books?
The title of my book is based on our primary opponent. I chose the title Black Flag as in Islam, black is the color for jihad. I added the title Journals as the book was based on 9 journals that I kept for my daughter, so Black Flag Journals. The subtitles are more derivative of the Judge Advocates Corps assessment when informed that my manuscript could only represent myself.… so, the subtitle is, One Soldier's experience in America’s Longest War.
Share your dream cast for your book.
The main fighter in this work would present attributes of the two main characters in the movie titled Platoon with the caveat that they follow the international rules of engagement.
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
CSM Woods combat tours include;
Operation Urgent Fury, Grenada, 82d Airborne Division.
Operation Desert Shield / Desert Storm, Saudi Arabia – Iraq, 82d Airborne Division.
Operation Desert Fox 1998, Qatar, 5th Group Special Forces.
OEF 2 Afghanistan, 82d Airborne Division.
OIF 1 Iraq, First Armored Division.
OIF 6 Iraq, First Armored Division.
OEF X Afghanistan, 173D Airborne Brigade Combat Team.
OEF XIII Afghanistan, 191st Infantry Brigade
CSM Woods civilian education includes a Master of Education, (training & leadership) from North Central University, Prescott AZ, and a Bachelor of Science from Excelsior, Albany, New York.
Military education includes the United States Sergeants Majors Academy class # 58, Army force management course, Jump Master, Drill Sergeant, US Army Recruiter, Infantry Small Arms Master Gunner, Artillery Master Gunner, Amphibious Warfare leaders’ course (USMC), Anti-Armor Leaders course, Machine Gun Leaders course, Artillery Mechanics repair course, Small Arms repair course, Nuclear Biological Chemical defense, and all levels of air load planning and hazmat certification USAF.
CSM Woods awards include; one Distinguished Service medal, one Legion Of Merit,( 5) Bronze Star Medals, 5 Meritorious Service Medals, 4 ARCOM, 4 AAM, 1 Humanitarian service medal, 2 Armed Forces Expeditionary medals, Afghanistan and Iraq service medals. German Jump Master Wings, Qatar Jump wings as part of 5th Group, Netherlands Jumpmaster wings. Other awards include; Department of Defense “Inventor of the year” (2003) with 45 separate inventions. CSM Woods saved the United States Government over one Billion Dollars through cost avoidance. He is also the first recipient of the GRUBER award for an outstanding field artillery professional.
CSM Woods is credited by the US Army Smart Ideas program as the inventor of;
• The 105mm Howitzer night direct fire sight system M913 GELON.
• The 155mm towed Howitzer night sight system.
• The dual use day/ night direct fire sight reticule.
• The Dual optic MILES Laser trainer.
• The Urban Assault kit (PALADIN) improved crew protection, 155mm system.
On his most recent tour to Afghanistan, CSM Woods pioneered the first use of artillery training rounds in combat as a form of scalable fire support designed to limit civilian death and collateral damage. He is the author of, ‘Black Flag Journals One Soldiers Experience in America’s Longest War’, and numerous magazine, newspaper articles, including training pamphlets concerning Artillery, night vision, and combat operations.
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Buy Link:
BOOK WILL BE $2.99 DURING THE TOUR
6 comments:
Thank you for hosting Black Flag Journals, my name is Dennis Woods. I'm currently on a CBS reality TV production set and will check in through out the next few days to answer questions concerning my book.
Thanks for hosting!
Sounds like a good book.
Thank you for the comment Rita. It's based on my time in battle from the fall of the Twin Towers to my last combat tour. I recorded these events in a series of 9 journals that I kept for my daughter. On 9/11, 2001 she was an Elementary School aged student so my intention was to use the Journals as a means of explaining my absence when she was young. However, this war took us from Elementary School to Grad School and resulted in America's Longest War. As this year is the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks please share on social media.
Sounds like a great book.
Thank you for the comment Sherry. It proved cathartic for myself and others to have our shared experiences published. Please sign up for the raffle and share on social media.
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