Reporting for Duty: U.S. Citizen-Soldier Journalism from the Afghan Surge, 2010-2011

by Randy Brown (Editor)

IT WAS THE BIGGEST YEAR, IN OUR LONGEST WAR ... Here, collected for the first time, are must-read stories of history-making missions, written and photographed by those who were "in the fight" themselves! Perfect for historians, military supporters and veterans, and family genealogists!

At the height of the "Afghan Surge," more than 100,000 U.S. and coalition troops were committed to a mission of "clear, hold, and build" on behalf of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan: CLEAR the countryside of insurgent fighters. HOLD the terrain, alongside Afghan security forces. BUILD infrastructure, commerce, and rule-of-law.

As part of this wave, the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry "Red Bull" Division deployed more than 3,000 citizen-soldiers to Eastern Afghanistan. It was the largest call-up of Iowa troops since World War II-and one of the only times a U.S. National Guard brigade was designated as a "battlespace owner" during Operation Enduring Freedom.

Throughout the year-long mission, soldiers trained and tasked as journalists documented the hard days and off-duty activities of their brothers and sisters in arms. For the first time, Reporting for Duty collects these stories and photographs in one place.

This is an unabridged, indexed, primary-source document for historians, educators, veterans, military family members, and other readers! More than 285 easy-to-read articles! More than 360 black & white news photos! Indexed by unit, place, soldier names, and more! Content includes 2010-2011 news coverage of units operating in Kapisa, Laghman, Nuristan, Paktya, Panjshir, and Parwan provinces.

These include, but are not limited to:
- 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division; "Task Force Red Bulls"
- 1-113th Cavalry Regiment; "Task Force Redhorse"
- 1-133rd Infantry Regiment; "Task Force Ironman"
- 1-168th Infantry Regiment; "Task Force Lethal"
- 1-194th Field Artillery Regiment
- 2-34th Brigade Special Troops Battalion
- 334th Brigade Support Battalion; "Task Force Archer"
- 832nd Engineer Company
- Agribusiness Development Teams from Kansas, Kentucky, and Oklahoma
- Provincial Reconstruction Teams from the United States and the Republic of Korea
- 86th Infantry Brigade Combat Team; "Task Force Wolverine" (preceded Task Force Red Bulls)
- 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team; "Task Force Thunderbird" (replaced Task Force Red Bulls)

688 pages, Paperback

First published November 17, 2016

About the author

Freelance writer and citizen-soldier by day, and secret (writing as "Charlie Sherpa") blogger by night, Randy Brown was preparing in 2010 to deploy as the sole "knowledge manager" for an Iowa National Guard unit of 3,000 soldiers. ("Historian, librarian, lessons-learned reporter—it was sexier to say my job was 'Brigade Staff Jester,'" he jokes.) After a paperwork snafu dropped him off the list, he retired with 20 years of military service and a previous overseas deployment. He then went to Afghanistan anyway, embedding with his former colleagues as a civilian journalist.

Brown's often-humorous military-themed poetry and non-fiction have appeared widely in literary journals and anthologies. He was the 2015 winner of the inaugural Madigan Award for humorous military-themed writing, presented by Negative Capability Press, Mobile, Ala.

Brown was the 2012 winner of the Military Reporters and Editors' (M.R.E.) independent-blogging category, and a past finalist in the Milblogging.com awards' reporter (2011) and veteran (2012) categories.

He is the current poetry editor of Military Experience & the Arts’ literary journal As You Were.