Praise for
Black Flag Journals
I found Black Flag Journals fascinating, captivating and intriguing. As a civilian physical therapist working with wounded warriors and wives of wounded warriors Im curious about what actually goes on in our countrys longest war. Anyone who has a loved one who served or is interested in the war our nation has participated in will find this book an interesting read. Thank you for sharing, to help our nation heal and make educated decisions going forward.
BARBARA MCNALLY
licensed physical therapist, author of Unbridled : member of San Diego Writers Ink, and an active blog contributor to the Huffington Post .
In his first foray into a full length manuscript, Dennis Woods, manages to pull off what many veteran writers cannot. War journals typically relay the myopic view of an individual from their singular perch. Woods manages to provide us with a holistic description that covers multiple domains, the cultural, the personal, as well as the interpersonal. Operations and engagements are described from the perspective of all three levels of war; the strategic, operational, and tactical, providing the reader a robust understanding of the environment and the conditions that are within the Soldiers control and those that are not. Every Service member should add this to their library of professional reading. Every American should read this to provide them an understanding of the commitment and dedication applied to fighting Americas wars.
COMMAND SERGEANT MAJOR EDWARD RODERIQUES, JR.
Black Flag Journals brings a dedicated Soldiers story of war home for us all to experience. The author captures the true human emotion embedded in detailed descriptions of the tragedies of war. Dennis anecdotes and eyewitness accounts of his time at war reminds us to be grateful to all those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for their country. He outlines scenes of chaos, countless memorial services, and the pain of leaving loved ones behind time and time again while also providing a glimpse into the bonds forged between solders during times of extreme stress and the camaraderie among brothers in arms.
DR. UNISZKIEWICZ,
Naval Officer and Physician who focuses on Public Health: author of The Bucket List Chronicles.
An interesting and insightful perspective from a true leader, warrior and father. You get to watch him develop as he mentors everyone around him. Based on his keen observations, practices were established that saved lives on a daily basis. A great read!
CSM FRANK GILLIAND,
CSM of the John F Kennedy Special Warfare Center
Black Flag Journals:
One Soldiers Experience
in Americas Longest War
by Dennis John Woods
Copyright 2016 Dennis John Woods
ISBN 978-1-63393-299-9
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior written permission of the author.
Published by
An imprint of
210 60th Street
Virginia Beach, VA 23451
800-435-4811
www.koehlerbooks.com
INTRODUCTION
SEPTEMBER 11, 2001, STARTED FOR me like most days on Fort Bragg with physical training. But this wasnt like most days. It was the day an attack was executed on Americas homeland. This attack played out against the backdrop of a pristine, clear-blue sky and ended with ash, dust, fire, and the death of approximately 3,000 innocent citizens in a single day.
I first heard of the attack from a young captain working in the 82nd Airborne Division. We had just finished the mornings run when he approached with a message. He simply stated that a plane had struck the World Trade Center. My initial thoughts upon hearing this were that some clown had flown a single-engine aircraft into the city. Standing there soaked in sweat, I needed to change and start the day. I also needed to learn more of this plane crash. After all, hitting the World Trade Center had to be a mistake. I needed to see this for myself on the TV.
We collectively moved inside to view the operations centers television screens. There I observed one of the smoking towers with a large, gaping hole in it. Then we learned that it wasnt a small aircraft, but a jet airliner that hit. As the reporter described the scene, in the background was another aircraft that looked far too low in the skies over New York City. When that second plane struck the building, I knew we were at war!
My name is Dennis J. Woods. Following the attacks of 9/11, I volunteered and served as a soldier, inventor, and educator. In the great COVID pandemic, I volunteered and served as an original vaccine test subject looking for a cure. In combat, my worst 48 hours resulted in 36 deceased soldiers, in the pandemic the loss of family. My battle experiences recorded in this journal include numerous deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. In this war I experienced 8-hour gunfights, 14-day battles, and mass killings. Throughout this experience I developed innovative civilian death and collateral damage reduction techniques. I then shared these techniques with our allies. What I describe herein are some of my personal thoughts and experiences following that landmark day. I recorded these events in a series of nine battle-book journals for Iraq and Afghanistan. I make no attempt at retelling the history of any unit or individual I served with. I also make no attempt to define the war or identify participants, except in instances where its necessary to tell the story.
This book is an amalgamation of journal entries and recollections from my days in the war. These anecdotes are based on personal experience and eyewitness accounts. I have thousands of stories, far too many to tell here. So I have culled those events I find most compelling. Some show the shear danger of fighting war. Other anecdotes reflect the culture we experienced or the circumstances we encountered. Nearly everything we saw or did had consequences.
I did not know that this would be Americas longest war. I certainly never thought that my service would be so long and continuous that my daughter would learn of my deeds from the soldiers I served with. I now want to provide my daughter and generations of my family to come with an accounting of my experience and service. Perhaps that will provide understanding of what I endured and the grueling nature of war. I hope my family and those of the people with whom I served may sense the enormity of our experience.
During this war, the Army operated as a learning organization. Therefore, after various events, an informal review was conducted. Some of the lessons learned from that review will appear within this journal. I hope serving soldiers and interested civilians will take them to heart.
Shortly after the attack of 9/11, my elementary school aged daughter made two drawings. One depicted the acts of this attack from her perspective. The other depicted life before the attack. Together, they signaled the beginning of an era of persistent conflict that would define our lives. It is the reason I missed so much of my daughters life in the defense of others. Other veterans may have different points of view and opinions concerning my recollection of events. I invite them to record their own experiences and tell their side of the story.
