Raymond James Raymond - Elite Souls: Portraits of Valor in Iraq and Afghanistan

ELITE SOULS

PORTRAITS OF VALOR IN IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN

RAYMOND JAMES RAYMOND

NAVAL INSTITUTE PRESS ANNAPOLIS, MARYLAND

Naval Institute Press

291 Wood Road

Annapolis, MD 21402

2022 by Raymond James Raymond

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

ISBN 978-1-68247-713-7 (hardcover)

ISBN 978-1-68247-788-5 (eBook)

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available.

Print editions meet the requirements of ANSI/NISO z39.48-1992 (Permanence of Paper).

Printed in the United States of America.

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First printing

To my beloved Kathy, without whose loving support this book would not have been written.

In writing this book I have accumulated many debts. The first is to the five elite souls: Maj. Nick Eslinger, Maj. Tony Fuscellaro, Maj. Ross Pixler, Maj. Bobby Sickler, and Maj. Stephen Tangen. By agreeing to cooperate with me on the book, they trusted me to tell their story accurately, objectively, respectfully, and with empathy. I hope I have done so and proven worthy of their trust.

I also owe an immense debt to my old friend, Col. Bob McClure, USA (Ret.), former president and CEO of West Points Association of Graduates, which bestows the Nininger Medal annually. Bob very kindly agreed to support my project and introduce me and it to Nick, Tony, Ross, Bobby, and Stephen, all Nininger Medal recipients. Without Bob and his generous support, I could never have begun the project.

That is equally true of my friend Col. Suzanne Nielsen, chair of the Social Science Department at West Point. Suzannes role was vital. She not only advised and encouraged me but also wrote a generous letter of recommendation for me to Nick, Tony, Ross, Bobby, and Stephen. I am forever in her debt. Not content with that, Suzanne recommended me and my project to Joe Craig, director of the Book Program at the Association of the United States Army (AUSA), when he visited the Social Science Department at West Point. In turn, Joe kindly took on a firsttime author and helped me revise my book proposal for the Naval Institute Press, with which he had developed a new partnership for AUSA authors. At the press, Glenn Griffith, acquisitions editor, showed similar kindness in offering me a publication contract. He has also responded to my numerous queries with patience. I owe a special debt to Yvonne Ramsey for her meticulous copyediting and for her patience with an author who struggles mightily with technology.

A number of good friends helped me define the project: Col. Jack Jacobs, USA (Ret.); Brig. Gen. Cindy Jebb, USA; Brig. Gen. Dan Kaufman, USA (Ret.); Col. Jay Parker, USA (Ret.); and Professor Doug Stuart. I am forever in debt to the friends who patiently read and reread parts of the manuscript and offered the kind of frank, unvarnished, and incisive comments I needed: Dr. Darryl Banks; Dr. Sky Foerster; Brig. Gen. Jim Golden, USA (Ret.); Brig. Gen. Dan Kaufman, USA (Ret.); Col. Jay Parker (Ret.); and Judge Al Rosenblatt, New York State Court of Appeals (Ret.). Five other friends offered constant encouragement and support: David Buckley, Khalil Habib, Mike Giglio, Dan Hottel, and Jonathan Weinstein.

I must also thank Jim Ludes, director of the Pell Center at Salve Regina University, for kindly arranging a Pell Honors Forum in which I could test some of the books main ideas with an invited audience.