Embedded: A Marine Corps Adviser Inside the Iraqi Army [Hardcover]

Wesley Gray (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2009

In 2006, 1st Lt. Wesley Gray was deployed as a U.S. Marine Corps military adviser to an Iraqi Army battalion in the Haditha Triad. For 210 days, he lived and fought beside Iraqi soldiers in the most dangerous and austere province of western Iraq. Al-Anbar was filled with an insurgent population traumatized by a recent massacre of twenty-four men, women, and children shot at close range by U.S. Marines in retaliation for the death of one of their comrades in a roadside bombing. Despite the high tensions created by the shootings, Gray was able to form a bond with the Iraqis because he had an edge that very few U.S. service members possess -the ability to communicate in Iraqi Arabic. His language skills and his understanding of the culture led the Iraqi soldiers to call him a brother and fondly name him Jamal. By the end of his tour he was a legend within the Iraqi Army. Gray draws on the brutally honest and detailed record he kept during his tour, including extensive interviews with Iraqi soldiers and citizens. He offers a comprehensive portrait of the struggles of the Iraqi people to make their country a nation once again and includes a compelling report on the status and prospects of the U.S. government's strategy for success in Iraq.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. In this illuminating memoir, Marine Corps 2nd Lt. Gray recounts his eight-month tour as part of a Military Transition Team, working as an advisor to the Iraqi Army on location. Gray was fluent in Arabic prior to deployment, giving him enormous insight into the culture and worldview of Iraqis as citizens and soldiers and obvious advantages over colleagues (and competing memoirists) relying on translantors On many occasions, Gray encounters an Insh' Allah philosophy, a mantra of "If God wills it" or "God willing" can strike Americans as lazy or unmotivated. Among other startling lessons, Gray discovered that loyalty to tribe supersedes duty to the state; the Iraqi Army soldiers he was training were spending their monthly leave in the ranks of local tribal militias. Gray details the cultural nuances and interpersonal relationships of occupied Iraq with such care and clarity, it's a must-read for anyone interested in the the reconstruction, especially those set to deploy. 20 b&w photos.

Review

This is an insightful work about the most important part of the war in Iraq. If we are ever going to get out of there, it will be because we listen to people like Wesley Gray. --Thomas Ricks, author of Fiasco

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Naval Institute Press; First Edition edition (April 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1591143403
• ISBN-13: 978-1591143406
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,015,438 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

As a Division I track athlete and a magna cum laude graduate of the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, Wes had many offers to work on Wall Street after college; however, he decided to pursue his genuine love, the academic study of finance. He was accepted and given a full scholarship to the Ph.D. program in finance at the University of Chicago.

While at Chicago, Wes successfully passed his comprehensive exams and began writing his dissertation. When not working on his research, Wes prepared final dealings for the launch of a hedge fund he had been working on for several years. Months before the official launch, Wes had an epiphany: the right thing to do before taking on the challenges of the business world was to serve his nation and fulfill a lifelong dream of becoming a United States Marine.

While in the Marines, Wes served as a division-level Marine intelligence officer during the 2006 Leyte mudslide disaster in the Philippines, filled various intelligence officer positions throughout Japan, and was a battalion-level military advisor in Iraq. After deployment, while at 3rd Marine Division Headquarters in Okinawa, Japan, Wes became the division's culture and language expert. In this role, he developed and taught a curriculum on Iraqi culture and language that provided crucial training for over four hundred Marines leaving for Operation Iraqi Freedom. Because of his success developing the Iraq culture and language program, Wes was given the task to develop a specialized four-week culture and language-training program for the United States Marine Corps' embedded advisor program in Afghanistan. His military awards include the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, Combat Action Ribbon, National Defense Service Medal, Iraqi Campaign Medal, Sea Service Deployment Ribbon (with bronze star), and the Global War on Terror Service Medal.

After a four-year "sabbatical" as an active-duty U.S. Marine officer, Wes has returned to the University of Chicago's Graduate School of Business to finish his Ph.D. dissertation. He also serves as a portfolio manager and managing member of Empirical Finance, LLC.

In his spare time, Wes enjoys his family, sports, and manual labor.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Where the rubber meets the road., April 22, 2009

By 

Daniel Spiteri (Palo Alto, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Embedded: A Marine Corps Adviser Inside the Iraqi Army (Hardcover)

The clash between political ideology in Washington and thousands of years of history in Iraq meet head-on in this Marine Corp Lieutenant's account of the Iraq War. The fuzzy gray areas that permeate war, marginalized by media and politicians, and funded by American tax payers become strikingly clear as insurgents wreck havoc and Arabic culture pulls downward on Iraq's attempts to lift itself up as a nation.

Landing in Iraq as an embedded advisor to an Iraqi army unit, Gray falls into a rabbit-hole and ends up in a modern-day Wonderland where down is up, up is down, and the Iraqi army is supposed to find it's way out. Assigned with the outwardly simple task of military adviser, Gray quickly learns how difficult his task (and the United States Military's) would be. Aside from the daily threats from insurgent attacks and IEDS, the moral struggles and pursuit to maintain professionalism in helping a society where it is okay and expected to beat your wife, resolve most issues with violence, be corrupt and always show up late are played-out in Gray's first-hand accounts. Nevertheless, Gray carries on in the face of adversity and the Iraqi solidiers (jundis) befriend him; teaching him their ways of life and the reasons for doing some of the strange things that they do. The tragedies and sadness that the Iraqis have had to endure make the drive for their success more than just a job, and Gray fights whole-heartedly for the cause. Just as things are looking hopeful for this Iraqi unit, tragedy strikes, and overcoming the obstacles for installing a democracy in a third-world country seems like a pipe-dream.

This book really reflects the differences between what you think you know about the Iraq war, it's people, the military and what is really going on in Iraq. There are many great quotes from the book to exemplify this, I laughed out loud at many of them. If you want to learn about Iraqi culture, military culture, enjoy war stories or adventure, then this book is for you.

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Withdrawal? Dream on!, April 6, 2009

By 

B. Katz - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Embedded: A Marine Corps Adviser Inside the Iraqi Army (Hardcover)

1st Lt. Gray provides an insider's view of his experience training the Iraqi army. His stories range from hilarious to tear inducing. But one thing in his message is clear: the insurgency is going to be a difficult issue as America (Team Obama) looks forward to winding down our military presence in Iraq.

Marine Veteran Gray outlines Iraqi history, attitudes about leadership, and outlook for the future of a unified State in the absence of American troops. Most of his prognosis is fairly grim, but if the government heeds his warnings they stand a chance to make the best of a pretty cruddy situation.

This book was the most fun of ALL the books on Iraq I've read (a lot) and was written from the viewpoint of someone who is obviously very highly educated but without an ego or a chip on his shoulder. Highly recommended.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Should be mandatory reading for anyone working with the Iraqi Army, August 10, 2009

By 

J. Rudy "Major, USAF" (Fairfax, VA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Embedded: A Marine Corps Adviser Inside the Iraqi Army (Hardcover)

Wesley Gray provides brutally honest insights into coalition building in the book "Embedded: A Marine Corps Adviser Inside the Iraqi Army". This book is a compilation of his experiences during his 210-day deployment with the Iraqi 7th Division. While limited in scope, his observations and insights are indicative of the cultural divide between American and Iraqi philosophy.

Gray differed from most advisors in that he could actually speak Arabic. This linguistic connection provided him a rather unique perspective on Iraqi life. Unlike most Americans who rely heavily on interpreters (with varying degrees of effectiveness), Gray was able to capture many of the seemingly mundane aspects of life. In Middle Eastern societies, everything revolves around interpersonal relationships. It was Gray's abilty to communicate that gave him unprecendented glimpses into Iraqi life.

The anecdotes in the book cover expected topics such as convoy and combat operations. Not surprisingly, it even covers Iraqi staff functions like personnel reporting (aka "how to lie and ensure your friends get an extra 10 days of leave"). The real treasures are the insights into how American failures in 2003 are directly related to the issues in 2009 -- (disbanding the Iraqi army & police forces; leaving the Iraqi military bases unguarded; etc). It was fascinating to read how the average Iraqi citizen perceives the motives of current American policy in Iraq.

Gray's brutally honest insights also show the Marine mentality of life -- "there is the Marine way and the wrong way." I'm certain that Iraqis will not appreciate being called a society of lazy thieves who beat women. Gray's honesty could have been tempered with a touch of maturity.

All criticisms aside, "Embedded" is an excellent book. The critical perspectives offered far exceed any training one would receive as part of 'cultural awareness' training offered by the military. This book is a must read for any Soldier, Sailor, Marine, or Airman who will be serving as an advisor, trainer, or attache to our newest allies in the middle east. This was one of the more fascinating books I have read on Iraq -- I highly recommend it.