≫ [PDF] A Soldier Dream Captain Travis Patriquin and the Awakening of Iraq William Doyle Books

A Soldier Dream Captain Travis Patriquin and the Awakening of Iraq William Doyle Books

Download As PDF : A Soldier Dream Captain Travis Patriquin and the Awakening of Iraq William Doyle Books

A Soldier Dream Captain Travis Patriquin and the Awakening of Iraq William Doyle Books

There is no doubt that Travis Patriquin was an impressive man. The way he engaged the Iraqi people and embraced the culture is a model for truly "winning the hearts and minds," embodying the concept instead of using it as a catch phrase to throw out with other buzzwords. While I didn't know Travis Patriquin, I believe he was important in the Awakening process and was heavily involved in negotiations with the tribes in Ramadi. What I don't know, however, is whether or not the Awakening would have happened without him, and despite the author's claims, he does not make a convincing case one way or another.

The problems I have with the book are varied. While the author claims that the Awakening might not have happened without Patriquin, he goes on to claim several events as the tipping point in Anbar, some of which Patriquin wasn't involved in. While he writes of many different events Patriquin was involved in, the author never really proves the thesis that Patriquin single handed caused the Awakening. The book borders on hero worship and is full of quotes about how great of a soldier Patriquin was, which seems to be true, but there are many other great soldiers that were involved in the process as well. The author attempts to prove how instrumental Patruquin was by showing what a great guy he was. Additionally, the book has numerous errors on some of the military aspects, which show how the author does not understand a great deal of what he is writing about. I don't intend to nitpick the book, but simple mistakes like calling a Marine a "soldier" or not capitalizing "Marine" just show a lack of understanding or sloppy editing.

Another aspect of the book I find troublesome is the way the author implies that if someone wasn't a part of the Ready First Combat Team, they didn't know what was going on and didn't contribute to and in fact hampered the Awakening process. To a causal reader, it appears that the MEF was staffed by idiots and they were out to stop all progress, and all the other Army units had no clue either.

The book could have been great if it was written from a slightly different angle. Like how Patriquin is a model of how counter insurgencies should be fought. Or how he was very important and gave momentum to the Awakening. Or that he was the catalyst for the Awakening, and then prove it by making the writing more clear and concise and not point to different events as tipping points or the last straw.

I feel bad writing a less than stellar review and in no way mean to disrespect Travis Patriquin or his accomplishments. My qualms are with the book and the way it was written.


Tags : Amazon.com: A Soldier's Dream: Captain Travis Patriquin and the Awakening of Iraq (9780451230003): William Doyle: Books,William Doyle,A Soldier's Dream: Captain Travis Patriquin and the Awakening of Iraq,NAL,0451230000,Counterinsurgency;Iraq;Anbr (Province).,Iraq War, 2003-2011;Biography.,Iraq War, 2003-2011;Campaigns;Iraq;Anbr (Province).,Anbåar (Province),Biography,Biography Autobiography,Campaigns,Counterinsurgency,History,History Military Iraq War (2003-2011),Iraq,Iraq War, 2003-2011,Military,Military - Iraq War (2003-2011),Military - United States,Military History - 1990-

A Soldier Dream Captain Travis Patriquin and the Awakening of Iraq William Doyle Books Reviews

Great book and a true hero's journey that is not a myth! It has some many facets - leadership, against all odds theme, counterinsurgency, cultural mis-understandings and honoring one's path/mission.

I agree with Bill Doyle that "Travis' work and the men and women who served with him give us a window of what these men and women are doing as a result "I am proud to be an American".

My gratitude goes out to Lt. Col. John Church who encouraged me to read your book on Travis. I heard Lt. Col. Church first speak about Travis at a leadership class at Penn State.

Please pass my condolecences and prayers along to his family, friends and the brave men and women who served along with him.
Based on my military experience and having read my share of Iraqi-conflict books, I fail to understand a few unduly negative reviews of this book. They say more about the reviewers than they do the competency of the author and the merits of this book. William Doyle acknowledges that he is not a military expert but that he took on the mission of writing this book because he thought the story of Captain Travis Patriquin "required telling" because of the significance of his contributions to the Sunni "Awakening", the recognized turning point in the Iraqi conflict. Who doubts that other military and civilian officials may have played roles more significant in this historic turnaround? Doyle simply makes the case that this young officer played "a" significant role because of the unique relationship of trust he established with a Sunni Sheik (Sattar abu Risha), a key leader who convinced other tribal leaders in Anbar province to join the coalition to expel al-Qaeda. Based on the testimony of reliable witnesses at all levels of the military Doyle established that young Captain Patriquin developed and possessed a set of talents that made him uniquely qualified to gain Sheik Sattar's trust sufficient language skills to read and converse in Arabic; a knowledge of Arabic literature and the Koran; a knowledge of the Arab/Iraqi culture (all the way down to the street level); and a sincere respect and love for the Iraqis and their culture. Moreover, the Arabs were drawn to his his buoyant and endearing personality. While it may seem pretentious to compare, these were the same talents and traits to which the success of T.E. Lawrence (of Arabia) was attributed. At any rate, after Patriquin's special talents were recognized he was assigned the task of establishing a working relationship with Sheik Sattar. And he performed that task far beyond expectations, convincing Sheik Sattar that he would get the full backing of the U.S. military and that he should take a leadership role in convincing other Sheiks to join the movement. The end results were a dramatic turnaround of Ramadi and Anbar province from al-Qaeda dominated to Sunni/U.S. controlled, and a ripple effect throughout Iraq that, combined with "the surge", dramatically turned the entire conflict around. Captain Patriquin's story was clearly worth telling. He was a remarkable young officer whose unique abilities and the fortuity of events gave him a historically important role (his dream) and he performed it honorably and heroically, to his last breath. Highly recommended.
There is no doubt that Travis Patriquin was an impressive man. The way he engaged the Iraqi people and embraced the culture is a model for truly "winning the hearts and minds," embodying the concept instead of using it as a catch phrase to throw out with other buzzwords. While I didn't know Travis Patriquin, I believe he was important in the Awakening process and was heavily involved in negotiations with the tribes in Ramadi. What I don't know, however, is whether or not the Awakening would have happened without him, and despite the author's claims, he does not make a convincing case one way or another.

The problems I have with the book are varied. While the author claims that the Awakening might not have happened without Patriquin, he goes on to claim several events as the tipping point in Anbar, some of which Patriquin wasn't involved in. While he writes of many different events Patriquin was involved in, the author never really proves the thesis that Patriquin single handed caused the Awakening. The book borders on hero worship and is full of quotes about how great of a soldier Patriquin was, which seems to be true, but there are many other great soldiers that were involved in the process as well. The author attempts to prove how instrumental Patruquin was by showing what a great guy he was. Additionally, the book has numerous errors on some of the military aspects, which show how the author does not understand a great deal of what he is writing about. I don't intend to nitpick the book, but simple mistakes like calling a Marine a "soldier" or not capitalizing "Marine" just show a lack of understanding or sloppy editing.

Another aspect of the book I find troublesome is the way the author implies that if someone wasn't a part of the Ready First Combat Team, they didn't know what was going on and didn't contribute to and in fact hampered the Awakening process. To a causal reader, it appears that the MEF was staffed by idiots and they were out to stop all progress, and all the other Army units had no clue either.

The book could have been great if it was written from a slightly different angle. Like how Patriquin is a model of how counter insurgencies should be fought. Or how he was very important and gave momentum to the Awakening. Or that he was the catalyst for the Awakening, and then prove it by making the writing more clear and concise and not point to different events as tipping points or the last straw.

I feel bad writing a less than stellar review and in no way mean to disrespect Travis Patriquin or his accomplishments. My qualms are with the book and the way it was written.