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IT WAS THE BIGGEST YEAR, IN OUR LONGEST WAR ... Here, collected for the first time, are must-read stories of history-making missions, written and photographed by those who were in the fight themselves! Perfect for historians, military supporters and veterans, and family genealogists! At the height of the Afghan Surge, more than 100,000 U.S. and coalition troops were committed to a mission of clear, hold, and build on behalf of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan: CLEAR the countryside of insurgent fighters. HOLD the terrain, alongside Afghan security forces. BUILD infrastructure, commerce, and rule-of-law. As part of this wave, the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Red Bull Division deployed more than 3,000 citizen-soldiers to Eastern Afghanistan. It was the largest call-up of Iowa troops since World War II-and one of the only times a U.S. National Guard brigade was designated as a battlespace owner during Operation Enduring Freedom.Throughout the year-long mission, soldiers trained and tasked as journalists documented the hard days and off-duty activities of their brothers and sisters in arms. For the first time, Reporting for Duty collects these stories and photographs in one place. This is an unabridged, indexed, primary-source document for historians, educators, veterans, military family members, and other readers! More than 285 easy-to-read articles! More than 360 black & white news photos! Indexed by unit, place, soldier names, and more! Content includes 2010-2011 news coverage of units operating in Kapisa, Laghman, Nuristan, Paktya, Panjshir, and Parwan provinces. These include, but are not limited to: 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division; Task Force Red Bulls 1-113th Cavalry Regiment; Task Force Redhorse 1-133rd Infantry Regiment; Task Force Ironman 1-168th Infantry Regiment; Task Force Lethal 1-194th Field Artillery Regiment 2-34th Brigade Special Troops Battalion & 334th Brigade Support Battalion; Task Force Archer 832nd Engineer Company Agribusiness Development Teams from Kansas, Kentucky, and Oklahoma Provincial Reconstruction Teams from the United States and the Republic of Korea 86th Infantry Brigade Combat Team; Task Force Wolverine (preceded Task Force Red Bulls) 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team; Task Force Thunderbird (replaced Task Force Red Bulls)

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In 2010, Randy Brown was preparing for deployment to Eastern Afghanistan as a member of the Iowa Army National Guard's 2nd Brigade Combat Team (BCT), 34th Infantry Red Bull Division. Since its organization in 1917, the division has historically comprised citizen-soldiers from Minnesota, Iowa, North and South Dakota, and other Midwestern states. In news reports, the 2010 deployment of more than 3,000 was billed as the largest activation of Iowa troops since World War II. After a paperwork SNAFU dropped Brown from the deployment list only days before federal mobilization, he continued to serve until December 2010, when he retired with 20 years of military service. His military career included an overseas peacekeeping mission in 2003 with the Iowa National Guard's 1st Battalion, 133rd Infantry Regiment (1-133rd Inf.). He then went to Afghanistan anyway, embedding with Iowa's Red Bull units as a civilian journalist in May-June 2011. A former editor of Iowa community and metro newspapers, as well as national trade and consumer magazines, he is now a freelancer based in Central Iowa. He writes about military topics at: www.redbullrising.com. Brown is author of the poetry collection Welcome to FOB Haiku: War Poems from Inside the Wire (Middle West Press, 2015). For more information, visit: www.fobhaiku.com. Brown was the 2015 winner of the inaugural Madigan Award for humorous military-themed writing, presented by Negative Capability Press, Mobile, Ala. He was the 2012 winner of the Military Reporters and Editors' (M.R.E.) independent-blogging category, and was a finalist in the Milblogging.com awards' veteran (2011) and reporter (2012) categories. He is the current poetry editor at the literary journal As You Were, published twice a year by the non-profit Military Experience & the Arts. He is also a member of Military Reporters & Editors, the Military Writers Guild, and the Military Writers Society of America.

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