Working in teams of two, ETTs are tasked with training, leading in combat, and mentoring the Afghan Army to victory against the thriving and brutal Taliban insurgency. Writing and recording from a remote outpost, Benjamin Tupper's boots-on-the-ground dispatches were broadcast on NPR and posted on Doonesbury's milblog The Sandbox. Now he takes us inside the intricacies of the war, opening up a unique and multifaceted view of Afghan culture and war tactics. From the rush of gunfi re to surreal, euphoric moments of cross-cultural understanding, this emotional and thought-provoking narrative is rich with humor, eloquence and contradiction. Writing of danger and desire, confusion and camaraderie, outrage and inspiration, Tupper illuminates the challenges of the war, vividly bringing to life both the mundane and the extraordinary and seeking a way forward. Readers will take away an understanding of the Afghan people, from soldiers to interpreters to villagers, that is critical to shaping our policies in what will soon be America's longest war. His journey comes full circle; from direct involvement in fi ghting for Afghanistan's future he is suddenly transported back home, haunted by dreams and enduring the travails of PTSD. Welcome to Afghanistan offers new insight into America's eight-year mission, and takes readers to a place where our warriors need us to go.
Major Benjamin Tupper has been in the Army National Guard for sixteen years, serving first as an enlisted man and then as a commissioned officer. Prior to joining the National Guard, he earned his Bachelors and Masters Degrees at Syracuse University, where he focused on Political Science in the United States and abroad.
As a college student, he travelled and lived in war torn Central America, and from these experiences he developed a strong appreciation and attraction to the life of a soldier. Upon completion of his studies, he began his career in the United States military.
This interest in countries in turmoil would take him in 2004 to Afghanistan, as a civilian with an NGO focused on reconstruction and humanitarian aid projects (specifically school construction for young girls). He experienced first hand the lay of the Afghan landscape, and the basic human rights of artists, women, athletes, and free thinkers that were being threatened by the Taliban and Al Quaeda. As a result of this trip, he volunteered to deploy for a year long combat tour with a specialized small team of Advisors, known as "ETTs", who would be embedded into the Afghan National Army, and tasked with training, leading, and developing their combat abilities and capacities in the war against the Taliban.
Coming soon is the second of his books on Afghanistan, Dudes of War, which focuses not on combat but on the American soldier culture in modern warfare; the pranks, humor, lingo, vices, and heartbreaks of life down range.
Major Tupper has four children, two of which are adopted from Ethiopia. He is married and resides in Syracuse NY.
