Not in the Wind, Earthquake, or Fire

by Philip Sharp

The body armor and equipment weigh down your fatigued body. Just the day prior you argued with your wife on your first 10 minute call you had in a month. Your nose no longer detects the horrid stench of your comrades who haven't showered in weeks. Everyone's ripped uniforms are barely held together by tape and pathetic sewing jobs. You just want the patrol to be over so you can finish the hours of guard sure to follow and hopefully get some sleep. If only…BOOM! Suddenly your exhausting, boring, and very monotonous world is interrupted by a swift burst of unwanted violence. Welcome to the Triangle of Death, what the Iraqis called the Graveyard of the Americans. Peer closely into an Infantryman's first-hand accounts based on the journal that the author kept during his deployment to Iraq from 2006-2007. He does not hide the ugliness of war, but tells of the worst things it brings out in us, as well as our best. When all Hell breaks loose it is easy to wonder where God is. Often He is not in the wind, earthquake, or fire raging around us, but in the gentle whisper that follows.

260 pages, Paperback

First published July 23, 2012

About the author

Served for 20 years in the US Army Infantry during which he graduated from Ranger School, completed 22 parachute jumps, and served as a Drill Sergeant. He has worked in a variety of locations to include South Korea and the jungles of Panama. He deployed to Iraq three separate times from 2003 until 2010. He has published articles and war game simulations in Strategy & Tactics magazine and currently is a contributing columnist for Modern War magazine. Philip is retired from active duty service and now lives in West Virginia with his wife Heather and four children were they are creating an all-natural farm and serving in church ministries.

Reviews

[Robert Medak · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review is from a pre-pub copy of Not in the Wind, Earthquake, or Fire. The story is a memoir of a soldier’s stay in Iraq written in a journal his wife gave him.

How would you react to being in the middle of a war zone, where you can’t trust the people living around you? What are the living conditions, and what kind of a mindset would you have in such a place?

Not in the Wind, Earthquake, or Fire is a book that will give you a first-hand look through the eyes of a soldier in a war zone with IEDs, and infiltration of fighters who don't what non-Muslims in their country living at all.

Not in the Wind, Earthquake, or Fire also contains photographs of troupes in camp trying to make as normal a live as possible in unusual conditions.

If readers are at all interested in finding out more about where U.S. dollars are going and how our troupes are coping, reading Not in the Wind, Earthquake, or Fire will give you some idea

[Darrell E. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a tough book to get through due to Sharp's heavy use of passive voice and lack of an editor. However, it is a good look into the mind of squad leader and he perceived the actions of those above him. A good reference for Iraq.

[Randy Woolford]

Can't wait to read it........its in the mail...thanks Sergeant Sharpe got keeping the story Alive!