ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY

The artillery power used to breach enemy defenses in the first Gulf War was a “decisive contribution” to the coalition victory that has received scant attention in history books, according to a retired Army officer who witnessed firsthand the performance of field artillery in the conflict.

In his new book, Desert Redleg: Artillery Warfare in the First Gulf War, retired Col. L. Scott Lingamfelter chronicles his time in the 1st Infantry Division’s 1st Division Artillery Brigade and the combat prowess of coalition field artillery units in securing a decisive victory.

A new book sheds light on the somewhat overshadowed Battle of Manila in the Philippines, a monthlong conflict near the end of World War II that resulted in the destruction of the city and a brutalization of the civilian population by Japanese forces.

“American Gen. Douglas MacArthur, driven from the Philippines at the start of World War II, famously vowed to return. This is the untold story of his homecoming,” author James Scott said of his book Rampage: MacArthur, Yamashita, and the Battle of Manila.

For more than a decade, America’s “secret war” in Laos involved U.S. Army special operations forces, false IDs and cover stories—and the secrecy surrounding it has remained relatively intact until now. 

Retired Army Col. Joseph D. Celeski, author of The Green Berets in the Land of a Million Elephants: U.S. Army Special Warfare and the Secret War in Laos 1959–74, described the secret war as one of the first “long wars” for special operations.

In today’s tough recruiting environment, the Army should be “taking people in lateral entry at every rank” in its bid to attract the right talent, said retired Gen. Stanley McChrystal, who acknowledged his view is at odds with military tradition.

A breakfast with Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark A. Milley and evening lectures with the current U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command commander and a retired four-star who led the Joint Special Operations Command are on tap in January at events hosted by the Association of the U.S. Army’s Institute of Land Warfare.

Online registration is open for all three events.

A discussion about the 1973 Yom Kippur War and the lessons it holds for future conflicts was held June 5 at the Association of the U.S. Army’s Gen. Gordon R. Sullivan Conference and Event Center.

The experiences of the generation that went to war in Vietnam were largely unknown to the American public at the time, says historian and author James Wright. And, he says, not that much has changed.