Military Officer - April 2006 - (Page 18)

rapidfire In Review The Boys of Pointe Du Hoc: Ronald Reagan, DDay, and the U.S. Army 2nd Ranger Battalion By Douglas Brinkley. William Morrow, 2005. $22.95. ISBN 0-06-056527-6. Military Careers on Film H ow can those interested in the military learn about an exciting life of service? DoD hopes a new documentary will help educate the American public about military service. The one-hour ﬁlm, Today’s Military: Extraordinary People; Extraordinary Opportunities, takes viewers around the country and overseas and features 11 active and reserve servicemembers who talk about opportunities in the military. The featured servicemembers represent all branches of service and showcase jobs many people don’t associate with military service, including a journalist, a motionpicture liaison, a musician, an animal-care specialist, and a language instructor. Other participants show the excitement of some military careers, including a combat helicopter pilot, a joint terminal attack controller, and instructors who teach aviation pararescue skills. DoD will use the ﬁlm to help educate “adult inﬂuencers” — parents, teachers, guidance counselors, and coaches — about opportunities in the military. Today’s Military will be broadcast through April in syndication in many major markets throughout the country. DoD will mail 40,000 DVDs to guidance counselors, and a 13-minute version of the ﬁlm will be shown in April during inﬂight programming on domestic United Airlines ﬂights. ON THE WEB ■ For more information on Today’s Military, including one-minute On June 6, 1984, the 40th anniversary of D-Day, President Reagan spoke on the cliffs of Pointe du Hoc, the site of a ferocious battle between soldiers of the U.S. Army’s vaunted 2nd Ranger Battalion and entrenched German infantry. In a clever blend of history and politics, Douglas Brinkley describes that bloody ﬁght on D-Day and the political maneuvering in the White House 40 years later, resulting in a brilliant policy speech that praised veterans, wiped out the national malaise of the 1970s, and began a proud era called the “New Patriotism.” The Last Shot: The Incredible Story of the CSS Shenandoah and the True Conclusion of the American Civil War By Lynn Schooler. Harper Collins, 2005. $25.95. ISBN 0-06-052333-6. clips from the film, visit www.todaysmilitary.com. 18 MILITARY OFFICER APRIL 2006 In a ﬁrst-rate Civil War naval history, Lynn Schooler tells the little-known story of the rebel cruiser Shenandoah, “the only Confederate vessel to circumnavigate the globe and the last Southern military force to lay down its arms.” This is high-seas adventure about an ill-equipped, short-handed warship burning half the Union whaling ﬂeet in the stormy North Paciﬁc, evading Yankee pursuit, and barely avoiding mutiny, all the while not knowing the war was already over. From October 1864 to November 1865, the Britishbuilt raider ﬂummoxed Union patrols as she sailed around the world on her mission of economic warfare. Schooler vividly describes the poor shipboard conditions, the captain’s erratic behavior, and the extraordinary luck that allowed the Shenandoah to survive. She also skillfully tells of espionage and spies and of the twisted diplomatic and legal maneuvering over the Shenandoah’s “piracy” that ended in a landmark lawsuit and court decision in 1871. — William D. Bushnell IMAGES: TOP LEFT, PUNCHSTOCK; INSET PHOTOS, COURTESY JAMRS; ABOVE, STEVE BARRETT http://www.todaysmilitary.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Military Officer - April 2006

Military Officer - April 2006 Contents From the Editor President’s Page Your Views MOAA Directory Rapid Fire Washington Scene Financial Forum Ask the Doctor Chapter Activities Lap of Luxury Magic Carpet of the Rails Blue Ridge Wonderland Salud, Santé, Cin Cin! Cover Story: Wounded Warriors On Duty MOAA Scholarship Donors MOAA Member Services Pages of History Information Exchange Member Books MOAA Calendar Advertising Index Sounding Taps Encore

Military Officer - April 2006

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.