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Below are Pat's recent press releases, interviews, and news stories, beginning with the most recent.
Click on the picture to see associated materials for each news release.
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Coming
in 2020:
Lessons Unlearned: The U.S. Army's Role in Creating
the Forever Wars in Afghanistan and Iraq
5 August
2018 (Updated 2020)
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Author Pat Proctor's newest offering,
Lessons Unlearned:
The U.S. Army's Role in Creating
the Forever Wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, is coming
to bookshelves in early 2020.
Lessons Unlearned is based on exhaustive archival research and
numerous interviews with former senior leaders of the Army,
including two former Chiefs of Staff of the Army. The book
examines the question of why--on the eve of the War on
Terror--the Army ignored the lessons of its 1990s
low-intensity conflict interventions--most notably in
Somalia, Haiti, Bosnia, and Kosovo--and instead continued
its transformation toward an ever greater capacity to fight
high-intensity conflicts. But Lessons Unlearned also asks why the
U.S. Army is making the same mistake again--ignoring the
lessons of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq as it returns to
its "core competencies" of large scale combat operations.
Lessons Unlearned will be published by the
University of Missouri Press. |
-
Author
Pat Proctor talks about
Containment
and Credibility at AUSA
16 March 2017
- Containment
and Credibility reviewed in Library Journal
5 November 2016
- Containment
and Credibility reviewed in Publishers Weekly
14 October 2016
- Containment
and Credibility delayed until Novemeber 2016
15
July 2016
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Carrel Books (an imprint of
Skyhorse
Publishing) announced today that the release of
Pat Proctor's third book, Containment and Credibility:
The Ideology and Deception that Plunged America into the
Vietnam War, has been delayed until November 2016 to
give reviewers time to publish advance reviews of the book.
Containment and Credibility is a compelling account of the domestic
political debate over the Vietnam War. It follows the
evolution of the argument between successive
administrations, the press, academia, the Congress, and
antiwar activists as they struggled to move public opinion
about the war. To learn more about Containment and Credibility,
click here. |
- Containment
and Credibility to be published in summer 2016
14
December 2015
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Pat Proctor's third book, Containment and Credibility:
The Ideology and Deception that Plunged America into the
Vietnam War, is a compelling account of the domestic
political debate over the Vietnam War. It follows the
evolution of the argument between successive
administrations, the press, academia, the Congress, and
antiwar activists as they struggled to move public opinion
about the war. To learn more about Containment and Credibility,
click here.
Containment and Credibility, published by
Carrel Books (an imprint of
Skyhorse
Publishing),
will be released in summer 2016.
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- Pat
Proctor Receives his PhD
12 December 2014
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It's official! Pat Proctor received his
doctorate in history from Kansas State University today. You can
see photo's and leave comments
here. |
- Pat Proctor Returns from Deployment
8 December
2014
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Pat Proctor deployed his battalion, Task Force
Gunner (4th
Battalion, 1st Field Artillery), to the Hashemite Kingdom of
Jordan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and the
growing U.S. campaign against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria
(ISIS) in June 2014. The battalion returned today, just in
time for Christmas!
To welcome back the Gunners,
click here. |
- Pat
Proctor Returns from Afghanistan!
15 December 2012
Pat has just returned from his deployment with the 1st Infantry Division
(the storied "Big Red One") to eastern Afghanistan.
In Spring 2013, Pat will be moving to Fort Bliss, Texas to take command
of the 4th Battalion, 1st Field Artillery.
To post "welcome home," messages or see pictures from Pat's deployment
click here.
To see the series articles Pat wrote for Armchair General magazine during
his deployment, his "Special Reports from Afghanistan,"
click here.
- Pat
Deploys to Afghanistan
3 April 2012
 |
Pat will deploy this week with the 1st Infantry Division
(the storied "Big Red One"). The division will assume
responsibility for eastern Afghanistan during this critical
period in America's decade long war. See the full story at
FoxNews.com. An excerpt... “The
headquarters spent a year in southern Iraq, returning to Fort
Riley in January 2011, but has never deployed to Afghanistan.
‘We had to wrap our heads around a different country, a
different people,’ said Lt. Col. Patrick Proctor, the division's
chief of plans. As part of that effort, key officers on the
division headquarters staff visited Afghanistan in September,
October and December to be briefed by U.S. and Afghan officers
and get a better lay of the land. Proctor and [division
commander, Major General] Mayville made a final visit last
week.”
To read more about the deployment, see the
1st Infantry Division Post, 16 March 2012.
To post a message for Pat as he leaves and keep up with the
latest developments in eastern Afghanistan, go to Pat's
FaceBook page. Also check out
Armchair General magazine beginning in May 2012.
Pat will be writing a series of “Dispatches from the Front” over
the course of his deployment. |
- Pat Proctor Appears on
WGN Midday News
11 February 2012
- Pat Proctor Appears on
Lou Dobbs Show
22 December 2011
- Pat Proctor Appears on
WOR's Joan Hamburg Show
20 December 2011
- Pat Proctor Appears on NPR's Tell Me More
15 December 2011
- Task Force Patriot
Now Available in Stores!
15 December 2011
- Task Force Patriot
Available for Pre-Order at Amazon.com
8 October 2011
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Pat's new book, Task Force Patriot and the End of Combat
Operations in Iraq is now available for pre-order at
Amazon.com. The
book is slated for release on 15 December 2011 (the Amazon website
erroneously lists 31 December 11).
To see the Task Force Patriot page at Amazon,
click here.
Task Force Patriot will be publish by
Government Institutes Press,
an imprint of
Scarecrow Press.
For more, click
here |
- Pat
Proctor Appears at 2011 Global Studies Conference
8
October 2011
Pat was invited to speak at the 2011 Global Studies Conference at the
University of Nebraska, Omaha on 7 October 2011. Pat talked about President
Obama's Afghanistan "surge" in the context of both the Iraq surge and dramatic
changes in strategy during the Vietnam War.
To see video of his appearance,
click here.
- New
Website launched for
Task Force Patriot
and the End of Combat Operations in Iraq
6 August 2011
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We have just launched the website for Task Force Patriot and
the End of Combat Operations in Iraq. You can see it at:
taskforcepatriot/
At this Website you will find additional resources related to the
book, including multimedia content such as pictures and video taken
during Task Force Patriot's historic last tour in Iraq, as the
last combat force to occupy Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit. You
will also find the latest reviews and news related to the book and
Pat's appearances around the country to promote it.
Task Force Patriot will be publish by
Government
Institutes Press, an imprint of
Scarecrow
Press. The expected release date is in December
2011.
For more, click here.
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- Government
Institutes Press deal to publish Task Force Patriot
and the End of Combat Operations in Iraq
1 July 2011
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“Iraq in 2009 was a strange
netherworld, not quite war but not yet peace. The country teetered on the
threshold of great change--the impending national elections and the promised
withdrawal of all US combat forces. These changes would usher in either an
era of irreversible stability or a return to the sectarian carnage that
nearly destroyed Iraq in 2006. It was during this period of uncertainty that
Task Force Patriot arrived to take over as the last US combat force to
occupy Saddam Hussein’s hometown of Tikrit.”
Government
Institutes Press, an imprint of
Scarecrow
Press, will publish Task Force Patriot. The expected release date is in December
2011.
For more, click here.
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- "Message
versus Perception" published in
The Historian
12 March 2011
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“Over the forty years
since the beginning of the Vietnam War, a historical narrative has
developed in the United States to explain the substantial support
the Johnson administration enjoyed during the escalation. According
to this narrative, Johnson deceived the American people into
war...Virtually nothing has been written about this period from the
perspective it was seen by the American people, in the media of the
day. Through an examination of contemporary media, this article will
clearly show that, again and again, despite aggressive
administration efforts to downplay the growing American commitment,
the American press had a very clear picture of the escalation and
clearly communicated this picture to the American people.”
For more, click here.
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- "Fighting
to Understand" published in
Military Review
12 March 2011
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“The city of ad Dawr
did not seem to be responding as we expected. Security was always
good in the city—until U.S. forces entered. When the Proud American
Soldiers entered the city of ad Dawr, they encountered uniform
animosity from the populace. The unit that preceded us in ad Dawr,
Bravo Company, 2d Battalion, 35th Infantry Regiment, received small
arms fire nearly every time they entered the city. Despite Task
Force Patriot’s heavy engagement with the leadership and a
significant surge of Commander’s Emergency Relief Program (CERP)
money, it was not long before our battalion met with the same
reception. This violence finally culminated in tragedy when Corporal
Tony Carrasco was shot and killed in ad Dawr on 4 November 2009.”
For more, click here.
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- Armchair
General reviews Media War
24 January 2011
- ProSIM
announces the publication of Media War
as a Google eBook
18 January 2011
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ISBN: 978-0-615-43267-0 |
“In
Operation Iraqi Freedom, insurgent and terrorist groups have
demonstrated the capability to use small, relatively insignificant
tactical attacks, amplified through the megaphone of the media, to
dramatic effect on the will of the American public to prosecute the
war. This capability has neutralized the overwhelming advantage the US
military has in firepower in Iraq by bypassing it completely. Recent
trends (including Israel’s abortive war in Lebanon in 2006) suggest that
this capability is proliferating and will characterize every enemy the
US military faces for the foreseeable future. Left unchecked, this
capability will weaken the United States’ ability to project military
power for all but the most finite, decisive future conflicts.”
ProSIM
Company is now a
Google Books partner! Its first entry at the Google
ebookstore is Pat's first full-length
book, Media War. This book is the culmination of over two and a half
years of study of the US military, the insurgency, and the
media in Iraq, including lessons learned from Pat's first
six-month tour in Iraq working on the front lines of the
media war. To get Media War: The
Media-Enabled Insurgency in Iraq,
click here. |
- Read about Pat Proctor's deployment to Iraq in
The Atlantic Magazine
20 December 2010
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The Atlantic's Sarah Stillman published
this story about her travels with Task Force Patriot (2nd
Battalion, 32nd Field Artillery Regiment) in Iraq in early 2010.
These events are also discussed in Pat's new book,
Task Force Patriot and
the End of Combat Operations in Iraq. “'It's
the Beverly Hills of our A.O. [area of operations],' explains
Major Pat Proctor of our destination, the neighborhood of Al
Alam. 'They were the first ones in Sunni Iraq to get in on the
ground floor of the Coalition presence, and they're rolling in
dough because of it.'”
To read the full story,
click here. |
"Tea and Politics: Scenes From Our New, Awkward War in Iraq"
- ProSIM
announces the publication of Media War
as a Kindle-exclusive title
20 December 2010
|
ISBN: 978-0-615-43267-0 |
“In
Operation Iraqi Freedom, insurgent and terrorist groups have
demonstrated the capability to use small, relatively insignificant
tactical attacks, amplified through the megaphone of the media, to
dramatic effect on the will of the American public to prosecute the
war. This capability has neutralized the overwhelming advantage the US
military has in firepower in Iraq by bypassing it completely. Recent
trends (including Israel’s abortive war in Lebanon in 2006) suggest that
this capability is proliferating and will characterize every enemy the
US military faces for the foreseeable future. Left unchecked, this
capability will weaken the United States’ ability to project military
power for all but the most finite, decisive future conflicts.” This is
ProSIM's first
Kindle-exclusive title and Pat's first full-length
book. This book is the culmination of over two and a half
years of study of the US military, the insurgency, and the
media in Iraq, including lessons learned from Pat's first
six-month tour in Iraq working on the front lines of the
media war. To get Media War: The
Media-Enabled Insurgency in Iraq,
click here. |
- Pat
Returns from Iraq!
22 October 2010
- Wiley
announces the publication of ASVAB
AFQT Cram Plan
14 July 2010
|
ISBN: 978-0-470-59889-4 |
“So,
you’ve decided to serve your country. Before you can raise your
hand and swear an oath to support and defend the Constitution,
there is one big hurdle in your path, the Armed Services
Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB). You must especially do well
on the Armed Forces Qualifying Test (AFQT), the four key
subtests of the ASVAB that the services use to measure you
against your fellow recruits.” Pat wrote the introduction to the CliffsNotes book,
ASVAB AFQT Cram Plan.
To buy it, click here! |
- Interview
with Stars and Stripes
26 May 2010
 |
“'On
the one hand, [Naqshabandi is] a religious order, and on the
other it's kind of a Ponzi scheme,' said U.S. Army Maj. Pat
Proctor, the operations officer for 2nd Battalion, 32nd Field
Artillery Regiment, based in Tikrit. 'They Attack us--it's not
really effective--but then they post a video of it on the
Internet and they get donations from all over the country.'” Pat Proctor talked to embedded reporter Michael Gisick of
Stars and
Stripes during Operation Vigilant Patriot, a combined
US/Iraqi Police/Iraqi Army operation in Tikrit in April 2010.
To see the online version of this article (Middle-East edition,
26 May 2010, Page 3),
click here. |
- Pat
Deploys to Iraq
27 August 2009
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Pat will deploy this week with the 4th Infantry
Brigade Combat Team (IBCT), 1st Infantry Division. Pat's
unit will conduct security force assistance in Northern Iraq. To
see the full story in the
1st Infantry Division
Post,
click here. If you would like to post a message for Pat as he leaves, you
can do so at his
FaceBook page. |
Interview
with 1st Infantry Division
Post.
15 June 2009
“At every level and with
everything that we're doing...we're partnering with the Iraqi Army, who
is using a different language and tactics that we're not used to,” said
Maj. Proctor He also said the Soldiers have to learn how to interact
with a force they can't always coordinate and talk to due to language
barriers, but at the same time learn how to integrate themselves with an
army of a completely different culture.
During his deployment to the National Training Center at Fort Irwin,
Pat sat down for an interview with Shantelle J. Campbell for the 1st
Infantry Division Post. In the article, Pat shares his thoughts on the
training and his unit's upcoming mission in Iraq. To see the online version,
click here.
"'Proud Americans'
partner with security forces at NTC"
- Interview
with High Desert Warrior.
12 June 2009
"Realistic training prepares 4th Brigade combat team of the
1st Infantry Division"
- Pat's new page at
PublishersMarketplace.com.
29 December 2008
Pat now maintains a page with his recent and current projects at
PublishersMarketplace.com! Check out
Pat's
PublishersMarketplace page.
-
The Other Napoleonic Wars published at
ArmchairGeneral.com.
18 November 2008
“As
the US military fights two grueling counterinsurgencies in Iraq and
Afghanistan, these other Napoleonic Wars, in Italy and Spain, deserve
new attention. Though they happened two centuries ago, they can
tell us much about why normal people take up arms and oppose powerful,
modern armies. The lessons the French learned through success in
Italy and failure in Spain are as relevant today as they were in the age
of Napoleon.”
For more, click here.
- The Mythical Shia Crescent published in
Parameters.
25 April 2008
“Sometime in late 2006,
America awoke to the realization that, by deposing Saddam Hussein and
toppling his Ba’athist regime, it had inadvertently removed a major
obstacle to Iranian dominance in the Middle East. Assessments of the
associated events reached hyperbolic levels. Dire warnings of a growing
Iranian hegemony began to surface. Sunni leaders such as Jordan’s King
Abdullah II began to warn theWest of an emerging “Shia Crescent,” led by
Iran and encompassing Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq.1 The idea caught fire in
American media and became the dominant narrative in discourse on Middle
East policy”
For more, click here.
- Pat's new page at FaceBook.com.
15 April 2008
Pat now maintains a page with calendar events and updates at FaceBook.com! Check out
Pat's
FaceBook page.
- Pat's new page at MySpace.com.
1 December 2007
Pat now maintains a 'blog and community at MySpace.com! Check out
Pat's
MySpace page.
- Interview with Elisabeth Bumiller of the
New York Times.
13 October 2007
“Another major said that
young officers were engaged in their own revisionist history, and that
many had believed the war could be won with Mr. Rumsfeld’s initial
invasion force of about 170,000. 'Everybody now claims, oh, I knew we
were going to be there for five years and it was going to take 400,000
people,' said Maj. Patrick Proctor, 36. 'Nobody wants to be the guy who
said, ‘Yeah, I thought we could do it.’ But a lot of us did.'”
Pat recently participated
in an interview with Elisabeth Bumiller of the New York Times
during her trip to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. The article
focuses on the critical thinking going on at the Command and General
Staff College and School of Advanced Military Studies concerning the
planning for and conduct of the Iraq War. The article is available
both online and on the front page of the Sunday, 14 October 2007 edition
of the New York Times. To see the online version,
click here.
"Blunt Talk About Iraq at Army School"
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