Brief Summary Of Two Wars By Nate Self

War is a conflict carried on by force of arms, as between nations or between parties within a nation; warfare, as by land, sea, or air.1 Two Wars, a book by Nate self describes two types of wars, which most soldiers fight mentally, physically during and after war. The first war focuses on the first few years of his military career, CPT Self decided to attend West Point to become an Infantry officer.2 He led a platoon of Rangers during Operation Anaconda in order to destroy enemy strongholds in the Shahi-Kot Valley of Afghanistan. The second war is based on his fight with PTSD and the struggle of returning home after a consequent deployment to Iraq. Two wars discusses the realities of war and the effects on all soldiers either at home

The challenge of not knowing if he was capable of completing such training, which great leaders like Eisenhower, Bradley and Patton had completed, made it irresistible for CPT Self to avoid. Terrorist attacks on the Twin Tower made it easy for CPT Self to elect West Point as his college of choice. At West Point a key thing that he realized for several years to come, was that the tedium of memorizing and reciting seemingly useless details was a skill that he would need while leading soldiers into battle.3 Once CPT Self graduated from Ranger School, he was given an opportunity to lead an Infantry platoon in Germany that led to his first deployment to Kosovo. The nature of the mission in Kosovo led to the platoon shouldering the spectrum of responsibility for ashkali people due to the lack of involvement of the United Nations or the local police force. The responsibilities that were passed on to CPT Self during this mission prepared him to make decisions that would be needed in Operation Anaconda, as he will be faced with life and death

The aircraft cockpit was hit by and RPG and the pilot had half his hand ripped apart, the door gunner was killed instantly, more RPG’s hit the aircraft throwing the Rangers to the floor as the only sounds heard were those of the enemy and the wounded. Three Rangers were killed instantly as enemy fire continued to hit the aircraft and CPT Self realized that he had lost soldiers. In the confusion CPT Self realized that he needed to provide guidance and lead the men as enemy forces surrounded them. Security was established around the aircraft while attempting to communicate with any friendly forces. Countless hours passed as they continue conducting Infantry battle drills through muscle memory and returned fire toward the