Battlefield Fallujah Contributor: Bing West, USMC
Author and Marine Combat Veteran
Episode 12
Interviewer: Laura Cross, Rebel Seed Studio
Los Angeles, CA (via telephone) - September 2014
Extended Interview
Bing West is an author, Marine combat veteran and former Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs during the Reagan Administration.
He has written numerous books on national security. A graduate of Georgetown and Princeton Universities, in Vietnam West was a member of the Marine Force Reconnaissance team that initiated Operation Stingray – small unit attacks behind enemy lines in the jungles. He also saw action with the Combined Action Platoons in the villages.
While serving as Assistant Secretary of Defense under President Reagan, he chaired the United States Security Commissions with El Salvador, Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan, Oman, Pakistan, South Korea and Japan.
His books include The Village, a narrative of 485 days of combat in Vietnam that has been on the Marine Commandant’s Reading List for 40 years; The Strongest Tribe, a history of the Iraq war that was a New York Times Bestseller; The Wrong War, a history of the Afghanistan war; The March Up: Taking Baghdad with the United States Marines; No True Glory: A Frontline Account of the Battle for Fallujah; Into the Fire co-written with Medal of Honor recipient Marine Corporal Dakota Meyer, One Million Steps: A Marine Platoon at War, and Call Sign Chaos: Learning to Lead with General James Mattis.
He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Infantry Order of St. Crispin He is the recipient of the Marine Corps Heritage Award, the Colby Military History Award, the General Goodpaster Prize for Military Scholarship, the Free Press Award, the Marine Corps Russell Award for Leadership, and the Veterans of Foreign Wars National Media Award.
His articles appear in The Wall St. Journal, The New York Times, The Atlantic, The National Review, Slate, and The Washington Post.
Learn More: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bing_West
