Surviving the United Nations
by Robert Bruce Adolph
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GENRE: Non-Fiction
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BOOK BLURB:
This is the astonishing true story of a US Army Special Forces soldier who became a warrior for peace. In his humanitarian and peacekeeping missions for the United Nations he dealt with child-soldiers, blood diamonds, a double hostage-taking, an invasion by brutal guerrillas, an emergency aerial evacuation, a desperate hostage recover mission, tribal gunfights, refugee camp violence, suicide bombings, and institutional corruption. His UN career brought him face to face with the best and worst of human nature and he shares it all here.
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EXCERPT TWO:
I had accomplished an area study on the country before departing Sarajevo—an old habit instilled in me by military training. You see, if time permits prior to the deployment of a Special Forces team on mission, the unit would enter isolation for as much as a week prior in preparation. During that period an area study would be developed among the twelve members of the team. Essentially, an area study examines all aspects of a country or region that might impact mission accomplishment. Knowing the history of a country is often key to understanding its future.
Sierra Leone had been established on the west coast of the African continent in 1787 by Great Britain as a home for freed slaves. It is about half the size of the American state of Illinois and became a crown colony in 1808. From that time until 1961, when it became an independent nation-state, the country was ruled by the British. In retrospect, the native population was not well prepared for self-rule.
There was a succession of coups. Government changed hands several times. In 1991, Corporal Foday Sankoh, a former soldier of the Sierra Leone Army, began a military campaign (insurgency) against the national warlord of the moment, Major General Saidu Momoh. Sankoh led what came to be known as the Revolutionary United Front (RUF). The RUF generally focused its attentions on the inland—controlling diamond-producing areas, and the Sierra Leone/Liberia border area in the east and south.
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GUEST POST:
My Favorite Scene in Surviving the United Nations:
My favorite scene, and the hardest to write, is the bloody aftermath of the suicide bombing. The jihadist bombing of the UN Headquarters in Baghdad in 2003, which claimed 22 lives, was the most devastating terrorist attack you could imagine. The sights, sounds, and feelings of that day are burned into me. It was important for me to try to share striking details to illuminate the event. Not just the blast but the chaos and confusion after the Baghdad attack. Every detail mattered: the cries of the wounded to the weather. I wanted to put you there.
“The sound was an indescribably low-pitched yet outrageously loud multi-tiered rumbling. I have never or since heard anything quite like it. I could not tell initially what it was, only that it seemed to last for several seconds. I felt the air move inside my lungs and then all around me. For the briefest of moments, there was no air to breathe. The sound was an indescribably low-pitched yet outrageously loud multi-tiered rumbling. I have never or since heard anything quite like it. I could not tell initially what it was, only that it seemed to last for several seconds. I felt the air move inside my lungs and then all around me. For the briefest of moments, there was no air to breathe.”
I was deeply angry and hurt. It took me a while to accept that I was an actual victim of terrorism. The attack resulted in twenty-two dead and more than one-hundred fifty wounded, including my wife. I was lucky and only lost some hearing. The suicide bomber sat on top of approximately a ton of explosive material. The explosion was deafening.
What may make my book a page-turner is that every word is real. Every emotion is raw. Every mistake has consequences. Contrary to popular belief, death seldom has meaning. Violence is often proven stupid. And, finally, justice is not always served. Reality, when reading it, cannot be denied, and is recognized by readers. The lessons learned are invaluable.
I am an ordinary man who has lived an extraordinary life, and grateful to still be alive.
As the author, I make this promise - the book will not bore you.
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AUTHOR BIO & LINKS:
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Robert Bruce Adolph is a retired UN Chief Security Advisor & US Army Special Forces Lieutenant Colonel. He holds master’s degrees in both International Affairs (Middle East Studies) from American University’s School of International Service and National Security Studies and Strategy from the US Army’s Command and General Staff College.
Adolph served nearly 26-years in multiple Special Forces, Counterterrorism, Psychological Operations, Civil Affairs, Foreign Area Officer, and Military Intelligence command and staff assignments in the US and overseas. He also volunteered to serve on UN peacekeeping missions in Egypt, Israel, Cambodia, Iraq and Kuwait.
After he retired from active military service in 1997, he began a second career as a senior UN Security Advisor. Among his positions he served as the Chief of the Middle East and North Africa in the UN Department of Safety and Security.
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Thank you for featuring SURVIVING THE UNITED NATIONS.
ReplyDeleteSounds like an interesting read.
ReplyDeleteThe book sounds very interesting. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteLooks like an inside look at a powerful true event!! What must it feel like to write such a book?
ReplyDeleteThis so sounds like a great read.
ReplyDelete