Donovan Campbell
Page 35
To a man, though, every one of my men who has contacted me has been thrilled that their story has been told. They say that they appreciate the honesty and the reality, although I never set out be particularly good at either. Indeed, some have told me that they remember their roles in some incidents a bit differently than I do, and their points are fair. It’s a nearly impossible thing, to put together a single firefight completely and accurately. It’s even harder to string together a whole series of them; I have no doubt that I left out some notable deeds that should have been included, and that I included some things that should have been left out. When it comes to the overall story, though, everyone who’s talked to me is in agreement: Joker One faithfully represents what happened to us during our bloody 2004 deployment, for better and for worse.
As for me, well, I like to think that I’ve come out of war a better young man than I was when I went into it. There are some things I’ll struggle with for a long time, like why Bolding died, and why a lot of my men got hurt, and why I came through unscathed. But I’ve got life in front of me when so many don’t, and it’s my responsibility to live as best as I can for all of those who cannot. Every time I’m tempted to quit something worth doing because it’s hard, or every time that I begin to feel sorry for myself and my circumstances, I think of all of my friends who are dead and how they’d love to have my problems. I think of everyone I know who’s come out so wounded that just getting out of bed is a supreme obstacle, and I get instant perspective on my own problems.
Every time my daughter asks the same question for the fourteenth time, I remind myself of how painful life was separated from her, how I would have given anything for her to drive me batty with repeated “Why?” questions. Every time work goes poorly, I remind myself that no one died today. I’m more patient with my wife because I no longer take her for granted (as much), and I’m more patient with the small inconveniences of life in America because I no longer take her for granted, either.
So, one day at a time, I shoulder my load and do my small part to fight to keep our country great. I’m no longer in the service, but that doesn’t mean I can’t serve. I owe it to Bolding, to Wroblowski, to Winchester, and to everyone else who never came home to do my best every day. In so doing, I hope that I can bring honor to my God, my country, and my Corps. Life is good, and I now know that I don’t live it for myself. And I finally understand why the “always” is so important in our motto.
Semper Fidelis.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
First, I would like to thank my wife, undoubtedly my better half (as everyone who has ever met both of us says), for her courage, strength, and unfailing support throughout three combat deployments, one involuntary recall, and six years of marriage. I could never have written a short story, let alone this book, without her. Throughout the entire process, she served as my editor, cheerleader, confidante, and counselor. I am a blessed man.
I must also thank Professor Nitin Nohria and Scott Snook of Harvard Business School for 1) their friendship, 2) their insight, and 3) making my dream a reality. They took the time out of their busy schedules to sponsor a veteran’s writing project as a full-credit business school class. This book is the result of them pushing me to turn my chapters in on time. I also owe a great deal of thanks to my Harvard classmates, all of whom gave very generously of their time and advice in order to help a rough-around-the-edges infantryman adapt to the business world. I could not have asked for better friends and better people to help ease the reintegration into civilian life.
My agent, first editor, and dear friend Eve Bridburg also deserves more than I can give her. She took a bet on a complete unknown and then worked amazingly hard to turn a loose collection of war stories into a coherent narrative fit to give to publishing-house editors. Though she’s been wonderful as an agent, it’s her friendship that I value most of all. And speaking of friends, Craig Perry, one of my closest friends on this earth, took his very limited time to read all of my earliest work and give invaluable insight and advice.
Nate Fick—writer, friend, and Marine officer extraordinaire—helped make this book possible. Not only did he give excellent advice along the way, but he also read the entire finished product and gave indispensable critical insight. After I was recalled (and before this book caught the attention of any editors), Phil Kapusta, my boss at Special Operations Command, Central, did the same thing Nate did, only Phil did it from an active-duty SEAL’s perspective. He didn’t have the time, but somehow he made it because he is a terrific leader.
Of course, my editor at Random House, Tim Bartlett, warrants great thanks for all the hard work he put into making this book as good as it could possibly be. Any shortcomings in the work have everything to do with me and nothing to do with him. Lindsey Schwoeri, Tim’s assistant, has been wonderful as well.
PepsiCo as an organization also gets special mention. Without its unflinching support for my family and me, my third combat deployment would have been much more difficult than it was. I am very lucky to work for such a terrific company staffed by such terrific people.
My amazing parents, Polly and Donovan Jr., are responsible for all of my success and none of my shortcomings. They have sacrificed quite a bit and done a wonderful job raising my four brothers and me. My greatest hope is that I can make them proud all of the days of their lives.
Others who deserve special mention are Brendan O’Donohoe, David Perpich, Arthur Golden, Ayan Mandal, Michael Stern, and Luke Eddinger, for all their help, wisdom, and friendship.
I thank all the men of Joker One. You taught me more than I can put into words. Hopefully, by the time you get to this part of the book, you know how much you mean to me.
Finally, I thank God, from whom all blessings flow.
GLOSSARY OF MILITARY TERMS
AK-47 — A gas-operated assault rifle used in many Eastern Bloc and Arab countries. Cheap and easy to maintain, this rifle was used by Iraqi security forces, private contractors, and insurgents alike.
Battalion — A Marine infantry unit composed of three rifle companies, one weapons company, one headquarters company, and a small company staff. Usually around 1,200 men in total.
Call sign — The name a person uses when talking over the radio. For security reasons, the call sign is never the same as the person’s real name.
Cammies — Marine slang for camouflage utility uniforms.
CO — Commanding officer.
Company — A Marine infantry unit composed of three rifle platoons and one light weapons platoon. Usually around 170 men.
Company gunnery sergeant — The enlisted Marine responsible for all of the company’s training and logistical support. Called “company gunny” for short, this person is usually one of the two most senior enlisted Marines in the company.
Corporal — The lowest-ranking Marine noncommissioned officer. Usually has between three and five years of enlistment in the Marine Corps.
Enlisted — Any Marine who has not received a formal commission into the officer ranks. Usually, but not always, these Marines do not have a college degree.
EOD — Explosive Ordnance Disposal. Experts in the defusing and disposing of bombs, these men are called in every time a unit discovers an explosive device.
Fire team — A four-man unit consisting of a team leader, a SAW gunner, an assistant SAW gunner, and a grenadier armed with an M-203 attached below his M-16. Three fire teams make up a squad.
Flak — The Marine term for Kevlar vests that we wear in combat. With a pair of ceramic small-arms protective insert (SAPI) plates inside, the vest is capable of stopping AK-47 bullets. Without the plates, the vest will stop only shrapnel. Together, the plates and vest weigh almost seventeen pounds.
HQ — Headquarters.
IED — Improvised explosive device. The signature weapon of the Iraq war, the IED is a homemade bomb consisting of an explosive component—usually an old artillery shell or mortar round—and a remote detonating device, which can be anything from a length o
f communication wire to a cellphone receiver.
Kevlar — The Marine term for the Kevlar helmets that we wear in combat.
M-16 — Short for M-16A4. The brand-new version of the assault rifle used by U.S. Marines in Iraq. Unlike the previous version, the M-16A2, the M-16A4 features a rail system that runs the length of the rifle’s handgrips and upper receiver.
M-203 — A tubular attachment to the M-16A4 that enables the weapon to launch 40mm grenades, which closely resemble large, fat, stubby bullets. It can be found just underneath the M-16’s barrel.
M-249 SAW — Squad automatic weapon. A light machine gun carried by three Marines in every infantry squad.
NCO — Noncommissioned officer. The enlisted Marine leaders, the NCO corps is often referred to as “the backbone of the Marine Corps.”
OCS — Officer Candidate School. A ten-week program that screens college students for commissioning as Marine officers.
Officer — A Marine formally commissioned into the officer ranks. All officers must pass a screening board and must have a college degree.
Platoon — A forty-three-man Marine infantry unit composed of three infantry squads, a platoon sergeant (usually a staff sergeant), and a platoon commander (usually a lieutenant).
Platoon commander — A Marine platoon’s only officer and the man responsible for everything his men do or fail to do. He is the platoon’s formal leader.
Platoon sergeant — A Marine platoon’s senior enlisted leader and the platoon commander’s right-hand man. He is usually responsible for the platoon’s logistic and administrative issues, and he often advises the platoon commander before, during, and after operations.
PT — Physical training. The civilian version of the term is “workout.”
ROTC — Reserve Officers’ Training Corps. A program that offers college scholarships in return for military training during college and a military commitment thereafter.
RPG — Rocket-propelled grenade. The most common system is the RPG-7, a man-portable, shoulder-fired, muzzle-loaded antitank grenade launcher. A favorite of the insurgents, the RPG-7 consists of two pieces: the rocket warhead and a reusable launch tube. The warhead looks much like a half-sized American football with a finned cylinder protruding about a foot and a half out of one end.
SAPI — Small-arms protective insert. Ceramic plates inserted into specially designed pouches on the front and back of our Kevlar vests. Roughly as big as a man’s chest and stomach, these plates are capable of stopping most rifle bullets.
SMAW — Shoulder-launched multipurpose assault weapon. The U.S. version of the RPG-7, this system consists of a man-portable, reloadable firing tube and the rockets themselves. Much more cumbersome to carry than the RPG-7.
Squad — A thirteen-man infantry unit. Consisting of three four-man fire teams and one leader, the squad is usually the smallest unit that is deployed independently in the USMC infantry in Iraq.
2/4 — 2d Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment.
USMC — United States Marine Corps.
XO — Executive officer. Usually the right-hand man of a unit’s commanding officer and the person responsible for the training and logistical resupply of the company.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
DONOVAN CAMPBELL graduated with honors from Princeton University and Harvard Business School, finished first in his class at the Marines’ Basic Officer Course, and served three combat deployments—two in Iraq and one in Afghanistan. He was awarded the Combat Action Ribbon and a Bronze Star with Valor for his time in Iraq. He presently lives in Dallas, Texas, with his wife and daughter.
This is a work of nonfiction. In an effort to disguise the identities of some of the individuals depicted, certain names and personal characteristics have been changed. Any resulting resemblance to any individuals either living or dead is purely coincidental and unintentional.
Copyright © 2009 by Donovan Campbell
Map copyright © 2009 by Anita Karl and Jim Kemp
All rights reserved.
RANDOM HOUSE and colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA
Campbell, Donovan.
Joker one: a Marine platoon’s story of courage, leadership, and brotherhood / Donovan Campbell.
p. cm.
eISBN: 978-1-58836-778-5
1. Iraq War, 2003—Campaigns—Iraq—Ramadi. 2. Iraq War, 2003—
Personal narratives, American. 3. Campbell, Donovan. I. Title.
DS79.76.C355 2009 956.7044’345—dc22 008023896
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