[First Marine Expeditionary Force-Iraq 01] • The Al Anbar Chronicles

Iraq imploded in 2006 after the bombing of the Golden Mosque in Samarra. The province of Al Anbar, in particular, became a hotbed of attacks on Coalition forces and sectarian violence. The First Marine Expeditionary Force was in charge of defeating the foreign Al Qaeda in Iraq and the local muhajideen.

I MEF was not just Marines, though. Units from the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard as well from Coalition partners such as the UK also took part in the fighting.

THE CHRONICLES OF AL ANBAR is a compilation of three separate volumes which follow two Marines and a Navy Corpsman as they deploy in Fallujah and Ramadi. Their paths cross, but each story is distinct from the others, each a stand-alone volume.

BOOK 1: PRISONER OF FALLUJAH

Cpl Nicholas Xenakis made two tours to Iraq as a grunt, something he was born to do. When his wife gave him the “me or the Corps” ultimatum, he chose her, but not before he joined the local reserve battery for one last pump. The battery was assigned as a provisional MP company with the mission of convoy duty, something Nick figured would not be as exciting as his grunt tours, but at least he was back in the fight. Convoys from Fallujah to Ramadi and the Green Zone, however, gave him his adrenaline rush and a view of the war he hadn’t had before. But when his convoy was hit in Fallujah, Nick faced the most life-threatening and dangerous situation a Marine in Iraq could face, and he would have to face it alone.

Warning: Prisoner of Fallujah contains some vulgar language and some extremely graphic and disturbing descriptions of torture and violence. Some of the views expressed by characters in the book are not “politically correct” and do not necessarily reflect the views of the author and/or follow Marine Corps policy.

BOOK 2: COMBAT CORPSMAN

Zachary Cannon joined the Navy to get trained as a radiology tech, a skill he could use to get a job and support his family after his enlistment. But the needs of the Navy take priority, and much to his surprise, he was given orders to the Fleet Marine Force as a corpsman to an infantry battalion deploying to Iraq.

As part of a rifle squad in Ramadi, Zach joins the Marines on patrol, in assaults, and on security duty, facing the same dangers and hardships. Ramadi is a hotbed of insurgent activity in 2006, and Zach’s medical skills are put to the test as he witnesses death and injuries. Faced with snipers, full insurgent attacks, IEDs, rockets and mortars, and the never-ending heat, he cannot be a simple observer, there to treat his Marines. Navy or not, he quickly realizes that he is expected to be a full member of his squad, a combat corpsman.

Book 3: SNIPER

Noah Lindt heard the call of duty after the tragic events of 9/11. Despite a hampering medical condition that kept him on the outskirts of his high school class, he was accepted into the Marines where he found out he had a singular skill. He could outshoot almost anyone.

Marksmanship alone is not enough to be a successful scout sniper. Teamwork and mental discipline are paramount, and the self-professed loner has problems adjusting to his spotter as well as the rest of his platoon when they deploy to Ramadi, “the most dangerous city on earth.”

As a HOG, a “Hunter of Gunmen,” Corporal Lindt has to break through his personal barriers and become not only a marksman, but an NCO of Marines if his team will make it through numerous engagements with an enemy who has put a bounty on all American snipers.