Crisis in Baghdad: Leadership in a Risk Adverse Environment (Paperback) by Gregory L Marston

This book is about providing combat leadership in an environment of risk aversion, which characterized the atmosphere in Baghdad, Iraq in September, 2006. This was a time of great adversity in Iraq and certainly was a tipping point for the war there. This is a primer in how to provide proper leadership when the stakes are high and the far easier path would be to maintain the status quo. It centers around an experienced, hard-charging and hot-blooded commander who solved dangerous problems, moved forward toward winning the war and protecting his people from harm - while costing himself an upcoming promotion. This exciting and true tale is about making critical decisions that would reduce the potential for casualties or loss. These issues often had not been raised or addressed in over three and a half years of prior commanders. Situations existed there previously that could have caused harm or death to hundreds of Americans. The only reason that no American servicemen hadn't been killed previously, due to these unidentified problems, was just blind luck and/or the grace of God. It's a race against time to keep the enemy from discovering the weaknesses at his base and winning an easy propaganda victory that could turn the war. While this book focuses on combat leadership issues, its intent is to demonstrate that one person can make a difference, especially when the path of least resistance would have been to do only the minimum required to make it through the tour and get a medal. This book exposes many aspects of the Iraq War, warts and all, and shows the good and bad things a leader of a military unit or company can do while in charge of hundreds of personnel in a dangerous arena.