Three years onto the Iraq War, the country is in flames and American support for the war is waning.  Jocko leads Task Unit Bruiser into Ramadi, the capital of the al Qaeda caliphate, as a part of an effort to engage with local leaders and prove that a counter-insurgency strategy can turn things around

With many political and military leaders pronouncing the Iraq War a failure, Jocko prepares to lead his SEAL Task Unit into a battle that will change the course of the conflict.

Jocko completes his first tour and heads back to the US as Iraq begins to come apart at the sectarian seams.

After the fall of Saddam’s regime, US forces struggle to provide security as an insurgency takes shape. Jocko’s first tour is action-packed, but ends as Iraq spirals out of control.

The traumatic experience of Vietnam shapes the US approach to the Gulf War. The easy victory in Kuwait shapes expectations of the Global War on Terror.

The Cold War and the Islamic revolutions of 1979 raises false hope among US policymakers for Saddam Hussein, whose blood-soaked reign would begin and end in war.