He is married to Christa Parravani. [1][7], Swofford committed himself to writing in 1995, at the age of 24,[2][5] and built on the encouragement he received at college to write Jarhead, which documents his time spent in the Gulf. The visual artist was married, and his wife and children were staying twenty kilometers away in the only affordable summer rental he could find. 205 Colson Hall Faculty Directory. Her first memoir Her was published in 2013. . The political and military intrigues of the old men tended to go nowhere fast, as the decades continually tell us. But then I heard the old Spanish guy say something to his wife, and I didnt know exactly what he said, but I knew that the rough English translation was: That fat man is being beaten at tennis by that classy young Cuban woman wearing Chanel sunglasses. He has taught at the University of Iowa and Lewis and Clark College. He was not a joe six-pack kind of guy. Refer to each styles convention regarding the best way to format page numbers and retrieval dates. His first novel, Exit A, was published in January 2007. You can take a virtual tour to explore our facilities. If Mr Feis had been properly trained, the only carnage and confusion he would have brought to bear is on the gun man. However, Virginia has joined a Japanese robbery gang. This memoir was the basis of the 2005 film of the same name, directed by Sam Mendes. ", Swofford turns from fact to fiction with his debut novel, Exit A. Even if the coach had been able to draw his weapon from where? In fact, he was conceived in Honolulu while his father was on a five-day break from fighting in the Vietnam War. "A bitch is a bitch and a lady is a lady." [1] These are the two types into which women can be classificated in the eyes of a Marine. A few days ago, the lunacy of the suggestion to arm teachers was driven home to me as I prepared to teach my undergraduate creative writing class. But I won the match through grit, determination, hatred of the old rich Spanish dude, and fumes of scotch and Bierzo. Graduate Admissions Quicklinks Transcripts WVU Portal WVUToday The WVU Experience " In the wake of school shootings,. Exit A chronicles the life of a boy who grows up on an American Air Force Base in Japan and falls in love with the base general's daughter. C. Eugene Bennett Department of Chemistry 217 Clark Hall West Virginia University Morgantown, WV 26506. The author added that the memoir "was simply the book I needed to write at that time." Teachers in Utah at a training session that would allow them to get a permit to carry a concealed weapon. I Was a Marine. We decided on a three set match. Dr. Swofford practices full-scope family medicine, including acute, chronic and preventive services. Look, I get that you hate Navy folks ever since that weekend your mom came back from Port Hueneme with half the Acey-Ducey Club, but dont hate the playa, hate the game! > waynesville, mo police reports > anthony swofford west virginia university. The history speaks for itself and beyond that, I dont feel any need to punch down at someone posting from ignorance. Maybe he got stiffed on a customer wearing a Sailor Suit costume one night behind The Blue Oyster? [1], Following the war, Swofford was promoted to corporal. A lot. He is from United States. Some reviewers commented that the author handled the first half of his story depicting the teenager years ably but felt that he was less successful with the second half of the book dealing with his protagonists' adult lives. Anthony Swofford is the author of the memoirs Jarhead and Hotels, Hospitals, and Jails and the novel Exit A. Houston Chronicle Onlinehttp://www.chron.com/ (February 28, 2003), Fritz Lanham, review of Jarhead. [4], In his own words, Swofford describes his younger self, before and during his tenure in the U.S. Marine Corps, as "a reader and a loner". The novel then jumps ahead fifteen years. finishing a biography of Carlos Arredondo, a Gold Star father and hero of the 2013 He's adapting that book for HBO Films. I fried four fresh farm eggs in a small cast iron skillet on the fire, and I placed the eggs atop the mess of meat, and I ate it all. where is the serial number on vera bradley luggage. Fellow: American Institute of Architects. Anthony Swofford Professor in the English department at West Virginia University 0% Would take again 2 Level of Difficulty Rate Professor Swofford I'm Professor Swofford Submit a Correction Check out Similar Professors in the English Department 5.00 Anna Elfenbein 5.00 Anna Schles 5.00 Bryan Alukonis 2 Student Ratings All courses Quality 1.0 Kirkus Reviews, December 15, 2002, review of Jarhead, p. 1822; October 15, 2006, review of Exit A, p. 1043. Start your day off right, with a Dayspring Coffee I had to do this blindfolded. Nonnie Maxine Myers, 96, of Orange, Virginia, went to be with the Lord and join her beloved husband, Harold W. Myers, on February 13, 2023. Writing. "[1] Reviewing Jarhead for The New York Times, Michiko Kakutani said the book combined "the black humor of Catch-22 with the savagery of Full Metal Jacket and the visceral detail of The Things They Carried. Todays example is Anthony Swofford, an assistant professor of English and creative writing at West Virginia University who writes in the pages of the New York Times. Contemporary Authors. It was late, and we kept drinking bourbon. Everybody loves a winner; everybody except Ava. ." Education: Atten, Nelson, Kadir In my opinion, unlike the post-war silence during the 1990s about the Persian Gulf, many now focus on a . Texas Agricultural and Mechanical University. I could not read the smile then but now I know that the smile said: I went to private school in Coral Gables and then I graduated Cum Laude at Columbia and in the fall I am starting a PhD in Clinical Psychology at CUNY: I will fuck my married thesis adviser, who is upstate neighbors with David Bowie, and for many years before you discover this I will Rorschach you like a motherfucker. [15], Surveillance and Target Acquisition (STA) Platoon, "Unscrewing 'Jarhead': Interview with Anthony Swofford", "Interview With Anthony Swofford; originally published in issue 12/03 of Das Magazin", "The killing machine who never actually killed; Book Review", "Martha Albrand Award for the Art of the Memoir Winners", "Nancy Pelosi Told House Democrats to "Embrace the Suck." By Anthony Swofford Feb. 24, 2018 Give this article Teachers in Utah at a training session that would allow them to get a permit to carry a concealed weapon. He might drink a few cheap beers at a neighborhood BBQ, or Mom would splurge for Corona minis on Taco Tuesday. And I had very little of it, so I figured, hey, I will probably get my ass kicked in tennis by this hot girl I am falling in love with, but then we will go to the terrace, drink some spiked lemonade or what the fuck ever it is you drink after getting your ass kicked at tennis at a Parador, and then well go back to our suite and fuckuntil dinner time, when I will bloat myself again. I walked down Sepulveda to Johnnies Pastrami and I ordered a full pastrami and a pitcher of beer. This would prohibit colleges and universities from designating their campuses as gun-free zones. U.S. Catholic, November, 2003, Peter Gilmour, review of Jarhead, p. 32. Exit A (novel), Scribner (New York, NY), 2007. BookPage,http://www.bookpage.com/ (April 25, 2007), Jay MacDonald, "Jarhead Author Takes a New Direction in Debut Novel," interview with Anthony Swofford. In addition to the MLA, Chicago, and APA styles, your school, university, publication, or institution may have its own requirements for citations. The first time I was called a fat fuck by someone I loved I was staying at a five star Spanish hotel, a Parador, which had once been a nunnery or a castle; but now, this place was a five-star hotel offering five star gastronomic experiences at a restaurant just off of the lobby. [12] Exit A chronicles the life of a boy who grows up on an American Air Force Base in Japan and falls in love with the base general's daughter. Findlaw's Writ,http://writ.news.findlaw.com/ (April 18, 2003), Sam Williamson, review of Jarhead. University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, teaching-writing fellow; Yaddo, Saratoga Springs, NY, writer in residence, 2002. Encyclopedia.com. Anthony Swofford Assistant Professor Anthony Swofford teaches graduate and undergraduate creative writing and literary He writes nonfiction, novels, television, film, and poems. John Swofford succeeded Corrigan in 1997. Nevertheless, Swofford and another Marine sniper are sent out on a mission to kill enemy officers only to have the mission halted when they get their targets in their sights. Anthony Swofford (born August 12, 1970) is an American writer and former U.S. Marine, best known for his 2003 book Jarhead, based heavily on his accounts of various situations encountered in the Persian Gulf War. Publishers Weekly, December 2, 2002, review of Jarhead, p. 41; March 31, 2003, Edward Nawotka, "On the Hells of Jarhead: What Does Anthony Swofford's Breakout Memoir Suggest about Wartime Reading Tastes?," p. 20; October 2, 2006, review of Exit A, p. 37; October 2, 2006, "This Will All End in Tears," p. 46; November 20, 2006, Rachel Deahl, "Beating the Literary Drums of War," interview with Anthony Swofford, p. 29. Following his time at the University of Iowa, Swofford served as an English professor at Lewis and Clark College, where he taught a class in the school's "Inventing America" program,[2] and St. Mary's College of California,[10] until he sold the film rights to Jarhead. An important aspect of my life and identity, my monogamy, had been decided on while I was not in the room. In addition, no one is forcing YOU to show up here. For weeks, I carried an M-16 without a magazine a dummy weapon, basically. Follow to get new release updates, special offers (including promotional offers) and improved recommendations. They had heard my story of tennis and Ava in Spain. "[8] In 2004, he received the PEN/Martha Albrand Award for the Art of the Memoir for Jarhead.[9]. One night a few years after the residency I met the scholar poet in LA at one of my favorite bars, Cinema Bar on Sepulveda. She was born December 8, 1926, in Jonesboro, Tennessee . [1] Early life and education [ edit] Contemporary Authors. Many critics praised Swofford's memoir. And scoring at tennis seemed so aggressive. Even though she was officially now my wifes friend, I still liked the poet scholars company. If you'd like us to expand this Plot Summary into a Study . IMHO its obvious that lily LOVES getting slapped around for being stupid! But no one should be asked to put his life on the line for it. 24 Feb. 2023 . Anthony Swofford's net worth Powell's Web site,http://www.powells.com/ (July 11, 2003), Dave Weich, "Anthony Swofford Opens His Jar: Buzz Spreads Far and Wide.". by Anthony Swofford. Transform this Plot Summary into a Study Guide. Assailants in such cases arent typically worried about losing their lives in the process. His next book, a biography of Carlos Arredondo, a Gold Star father and peace activist, will be published by Knopf in 2019. One of them couldnt show up to work without smelling like alcohol. The scholar poet had a video gamer boyfriend in LA, and she wrote about obscure poets and tried to finish her first novel, a book about an impoverished poet living and temping among obscenely rich Manhattan bankers and brokers in 2007. Reviewing Jarhead for The New York Times, Michiko Kakutani said the book combined "the black humor of Catch-22 with the savagery of Full Metal Jacket and the visceral detail of The Things They Carried." The Morgantown campus has 245 buildings (11 on the National Register of Historic Places) on 1,892 acres. Personal 1-800-995-4682 (GO UC) Visit Author Central to update your books, profile picture, and biography. And afterwards he comes home, and he sees that whatever else he may do with his life - build a house, love a woman, change his son's diaper - he will always remain a jarhead. When I lived in Manhattan and dated Ava, I paid a trainer an obscene amount of money to work out with me. Anthony Swofford (born August 12, 1970) is an American writer and former U.S. Marine, best known for his 2003 book Jarhead, based heavily on his accounts of various situations encountered in the Persian Gulf War. Surveillance and Target Acquisition Platoon, http://viaf.org/viaf/sourceID/LC%7Cn+2002061003#skos:Concept. I apologized to my fellow residents for not making more breakfast. Must be some sort of projecting going on with the you people thing and disparaging the service of others, and stereotyping as a backup. Discover today's celebrity birthdays and explore famous people who share your birthday. One morning in Provence, at eight a.m., I started a charcoal fire out on the terrace and I grilled Merguez sausage and crosscut pork shoulder rubbed with Herbes de Provence. She threw the sunglasses up in the air and she bashed them with a vicious forehand, and the sunglasses, now in pieces, flew out of the court and down into the field of wine grapes. I will not work in an environment where professors and students pack heat. Usually, losing their lives is part of the plan. Professor and Vice Chair, Director of Anatomy Division, Pathology, Anatomy and Laboratory Medicine Phone 304-293-0610 View Profile Send an Email Valerie Moore Position Program Asst. Contents 1 Contents 2 Early life and education Its funny how they desperately try to label me a liberal and other things. I was athletic, trim, I could bench press 275 pounds for ten reps. Therefore, its best to use Encyclopedia.com citations as a starting point before checking the style against your school or publications requirements and the most-recent information available at these sites: http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html. If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to receive more just like it. Want to learn even more? Her: A Memoir. USA Today Online,http://www.usatoday.com/ (March 12, 2003), J. Ford Huffman, review of Jarhead. Are you an author? Henry Holt, 2013. We recommend you to check the complete list of Famous People born on 12 August. Bachelor of Architecture, Texas Agricultural and Mechanical University, 1969. Of course, it didnt dawn on me that he had four children who, once you counted church shoes, school shoes, and athletic shoes, collectively required seventy-five or so pairs of shoes a year. But still I criticized him for being fat. U.S. News & World Report, March 24, 2003, Justin Ewers, review of Jarhead, p. 52. A fancy residency before my first book was even published! But still, I own a beer belly: visceral fat, the most dangerous kind of fat, a family curse. While attending American River College, a community college in Sacramento, Swofford was published in and was the-editor-in-chief of the American River Review, an award-winning literary magazine. They either got fired for not being able to simply show up to work on time or worse. Winter, Jeanette 1939- According to others I am merely overweight. Anthony Swofford Anthony Swofford at West Virginia University Foto: Kellyjeanne9 / CC BY-SA 4.0 American writer and United States Marine - Anthony Swofford was born in Fairfield (city in and county seat of Solano County, California, United States) on August 12th, 1970 and is 51 years old today. By Anthony Swofford (Twelve; 276 pages; $26.99) Cronus, the ancient Greek progenitor of the Oedipus complex, ate his children until the survivors rose up against him in war. )- Jarhead: A Marine's Chronicle of the Gulf War and Other Battles, 1996-2023, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. Swofford's father had said, "I know some things about the military that they don't show you in the brochures.". Sabretache, September, 2003, Syd Wigzell, review of Jarhead, p. 50. Keir Graff stated in Booklist: "The book starts off strongly, setting Severin's dilemma against the uneasy, and vividly depicted, symbiosis between base and city." It made Swofford famous and wealthy. Jarhead is a first-person account of Cpl. A man fires a rifle for many years. 2,483 (22%) 4,039 (36%) 3,163 (28%) 369 (3%) Filters [5] His first job upon his return to civilian life was as a bank teller; however, after only a few months he was robbed at gunpoint, which led him to quit. "Content dictates form for me, and also genre, and the story of my time in the Marine Corps and at war needed to be told as nonfiction," Swofford explained. "Swofford, Anthony 1970(? OpenPayrolls Toggle navigation. [3] As far as he was concerned, he had simply done his job and wanted to forget it. Youre mostly correct, but youd need to review everything I said to see the whole picture. But TV money would afford me more hamburgers and tacos, so I was interested. Then the students relaxed again. I arrived uncharacteristically early and sat down with a few students to banter about this and that. The scholar poet knew French, and she asked me what exactly the maids had said. He said himself, "I could have written a flattering portrait of myself as a young Marine, but it would have been a much lesser book. The old Spanish man chuckled, and said to me, in perfect English, Nice win, young man. Lewis & Clark College, Portland, OR, adjunct professor of humanities, until 2003; St. Mary's College, Moraga, CA, assistant professor of English, 2003-04. )- Even if the coach had been able to draw his weapon from where? I had to do this while a drill instructor hurried me, yelling that enemies were at the gate. But in Provence, this was out of the question for me: I loved my wife and our family. Filters Get help and learn more about the design. I weigh two hundred and thirty-four (six, eight?) You are a West Virginia resident age 65 and older. Anthony Swofford follows his international best-seller Jarhead with an unforgettable first novel a powerful story about a youth spent on a U.S. air base in Japan and the gritty neon streets just outside it, where the Japanese underworld lurks and a rebellious young girl finds herself in great danger Seventeen-year-old Severin Boxx, an earnest, muscular high-school-football star, lives . Bookseller, September 13, 2002, Nicolette Jones, "The Philosophical Detective: Nicolette Jones on an Unusual Crime Series, A Novel from Pile and Other Recent Acquisitions," p. 28. Business Week Online, April 1, 2003, Thane Peterson, review of Jarhead. Assailants in such cases arent typically worried about losing their lives in the process. PERSONAL: Patrons looked at us and the vials of pheromones and watched us smell each others forearms, but it probably wasnt anything they hadnt seen before. In 1984 the Ivan Lendl Competition shoe from Adidas was released. She sees pediatrics, adolescents, and adults. Swofford has had articles, both fiction and non-fiction, published in The New York Times, Harper's, Men's Journal, The Iowa Review, and other publications. I will immodestly state that among professors in the United States, I am almost certainly one of the best shooters. Im not sure who started this utter bullshit about how someone with a pistol is automatically outgunned by an adversary with a rifle, but thats just wrong. Writer: Jarhead. Swofford also found work in warehouses. She had with her multiple vials of pheromones. Anthony Swofford, Jarhead: A Marine's Chronicle of the Gulf War and Other Battles (Scribner 2003) The reviews for Anthony Swofford's book Jarhead, a memoir about his service in the Marine Corps in the first Gulf War, have been almost universally positive; in fact, I haven't read a single negative one.As a result, I was looking forward to reading it. I sensed she thought about this too. By Anthony Swofford. I can immediately think of seven Navy veterans who were complete retards. This memoir was the basis of the 2005 film of the same name, directed by Sam Mendes. Entertainment Weekly, March 14, 2003, Chris Nashawaty, review of Jarhead, p. 70; December 19, 2003, review of Jarhead, p. 83; January 12, 2007, Gregory Kirschling, review of Exit A, p. 83. Her beautiful doe eyes were no longer beautiful and soft and deeply fuckable sad doe eyes; they were now the volcanic cauldron eyes of a girl whose dad had served multiple years in federal prison for running automatic weapons from his fishing boat out of Bimini; they were the eyes of a girl who hated to lose and whose father had possibly killed a man or two, on a boat in the Caribbean, in the Eighties, or on an airplane bound for Havana from Caracas. I strutted out with the Lendls on and jumped in the cab of his truck. Commonweal, December 1, 2006, Keith C. Burris, review of Jarhead, p. 23. It is one thing to be accused of cheating when you are cheating because it is very easy to lie about actually cheating: you just say, I am not cheating. Your lie grounds you in the safety of your cheating experience and your obfuscation. She reared back her racket as if it were a tomahawk, and she yelled, I cant believe you beat me, you fat fuck!, And she threw the racket at me. CIP t.p. I couldnt remember. New York Times, February 19, 2003, review of Jarhead, p. E1; March 17, 2003, Dinitia Smith, review of Jarhead, p. E1. His fiction and nonfiction have appeared in The New York Times, Harper's, Men's Journal, The Iowa Review, and other publications. More likely, had Mr. Feis been armed, he would not have been able to draw his weapon (a side arm, presumably) quickly enough to stop the shooter, who with an AR-15 would have had the coach outgunned. The book, which was also adapted as a major motion picture, begins with Swofford's basic training, describing the usual tough drill instructor and soldiers' escapades drinking, fighting, and hunting for prostitutes. He grew up living on a military base. Miami: where her mother was a doctor who worked for the coroner and her father tried to overthrow Castro from the comfort of his favored seat at Versailles, where once I did eat the finest ropa-vieja on the planet; however, we all agreed the flan was subpar. Anthony Swofford | Essays The first time I was called a fat fuck by someone I loved I was staying at a five star Spanish hotel, a Parador, which had once been a nunnery or a castle; but now, this place was a five-star hotel offering five star gastronomic experiences at a restaurant just off of the lobby. This memoir was the basis of the 2005 film of the same name, directed by Sam Mendes. Battalion, 2nd. We don't yet have a full-length Study Guide for this book. Armor, July-August, 2004, Kevin Benson, review of Jarhead, p. 83. Born 1946, in New York, NY; married Richard D. Schotter (an English professor, playwright, and lyricist); children: Jesse. After writing Jarhead, a memoir about his time as a Marine fighting in the first Gulf War, Swofford found other ways to test himself as a man. Los Angeles Times, March 30, 2003, Gloria Emerson, review of Jarhead, p. R8; January 14, 2007, Art Winslow, review of Exit A. When I was sixteen my fathers beer belly caused me great shame. She was so sexy when she was happy that I truly wanted her to keep kicking my ass, and she had a beautiful and wide smile. My mentality right this second is youre off your meds. Anthony Swofford served in a U.S. Marine Corps Surveillance and Target Acquisition/Scout-Sniper platoon during the Gulf War. Times Literary Supplement, August 22, 2003, Christopher Coker, review of Jarhead, p. 22. HomeNew York, NY. Now she was happy. Step Afrika! Within the Cite this article tool, pick a style to see how all available information looks when formatted according to that style. Well, its sort of about the fucking. But I would never bring a weapon into a classroom. Across the street from Cinema Bar is a skeezy hotel where people rent rooms for the night but only use them for an hour or however long it takes. Not even any drunken Marine vets. View popular celebrities life details, birth signs and real ages. Exit A chronicles the life of a boy who grows up on an American Air Force Base in Japan and falls in love with the base general's daughter. He is a Michener-Copernicus Fellowship recipient and currently teaches creative writing at West Virginia University. My wife and the scholar poet became friends after my residency, and sometimes they hung out in LA without me, and texted, and communicated via social media. Classroom sessions devoted to nomenclature, maintenance and basic operation accounted for more than two weeks of study before I even set eyes on ammunition. We paused outside the bar, drunk on pheromones, on bourbon, on music, on family history. His father had served in the Vietnam War, and before that his grandfather had fought in World War II. In . Born in Washington, DC; son of Emily-Diane Gunter (a motivational speaker and author); married; children: two da, https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational-magazines/swofford-anthony-1970. In the morning I surfed Venice. In 2014 he served as the judge of TIR's Jeff Sharlet Memorial Award for Veterans, naming Katherine Schifani the first-place winner and awarding second place to Brian Van Reet. Dr. Swofford performs minor office . Personal You are a WVU employee wanting to take a course for personal enrichment. [4], He was a lance corporal[6] while serving as a Scout Sniper Trainee with the Surveillance and Target Acquisition (STA) Platoon of 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines. Contemporary Authors. The twenty-dollar cap meant that if I wanted Vans or Adidas I would have to kick in for the cost beyond twenty dollars. After the war, he was educated at American River College; the University of California, Davis; and the University of Iowa Writers' Workshop. During that month I worked on a book, but also I streamed American TV dramas and European pornography, and I drank a daily barrel of wine and enjoyed French butchery, and I read nearly all of Patricia Highsmith. Born 1960, in Nyack, NY; son of a teacher and an artist; married June, 2002; wife's name, Audrey. At writers residencies writers often cheat on their partners. The bet today, I understood once she started doing warm-up exercisesjumping jacks and burpeeson the opposite side of the court, the bet today would be: Pride. Anthony Swofford served in a U.S. Marine Corps Surveillance and Target Acquisition/Scout-Sniper platoon during the Gulf War. Reviewing Jarhead for The New York Times, Michiko Kakutani said the book combined "the black humor of Catch-22 with the savagery of Full Metal Jacket and the visceral detail of The Things They Carried." The scholar poet had not been able to sell her novel, and her new project had to do with pheromones. At the time I thought this was obvious further indication of his tyranny and psychological abuse. Anthony Swofford, fils et petit-fils de militaires, vient tout juste de fter son vingtime anniversaire lorsqu'il est envoy dans le dsert saoudien. Folks who are not on the range, firing their weapons, are disarmed their weapons are locked up in an arms room and the ammo is stored in a secured ammo storage facility guarded by other armed personnel charged with keeping the ammunition locked up. It's been determined that taxi drivers have the most dangerous job in Iraq, and if the Iraq Veterans Against the War Winter Soldier event this past . The Swofford belly: my father owned one. West Virginia State University President Anthony Jenkins delivers the annual State of the University address in September 2017. Anthony Swofford (born August 12, 1970) is an American writer and former U.S. Marine, best known for his 2003 book Jarhead, based heavily on his accounts of various situations encountered in the Persian Gulf War. Or smelled. Swofford was born on August 12, 1970, in Fairfield, California, into a military family. Marine Corps. I am 47. Harper's, November, 2005, Lawrence Weschler, "Valkyries over Iraq," p. 65. Located in Charleston, West Virginia with a location in Beckley, West Virginia. The crowd at Cinema Bar can get rowdy after ten p.m., and there is always live music. Encyclopedia.com. Following his time at the University of Iowa, Swofford served as an English professor at Lewis and Clark College, where he taught a class in the school's "Inventing America" program, and St. Mary's College of California, until he sold the film rights to Jarhead. He will adapt this book for HBO Films. View and manage who you follow on Amazon. Anthony Swofford (born August 12, 1970) is an American writer and former U.S. Marine, best known for his 2003 book Jarhead, based heavily on his accounts of various situations encountered in the Persian Gulf War.