Hunting the Caliphate: America's War on ISIS and the Dawn of the Strike Cell

"In describing a campaign that has been treated so far mostly from the top down and from a broad strategic perspective, Dana Pittard and Wes Bryant have provided us, for the first time, a detailed account of our most recent war against ISIS as they experienced it as assigned insiders from the ground up. They are unabashed in venting their frustration over the constraints imposed by Washington....xa0Most important, however, they effectively capture how the synergistic blend of precision U.S. and coalition air power, courageous and committed Iraqi and Syrian anti-ISIS foot soldiers, and supporting U.S. special operations teams and forward air controllers ultimately crushed the scourge of ISIS on the battlefield without any need to commit large numbers of American ground troops to the fight."Benjamin S. LambethNonresident Senior Fellow, Center for Strategic and Budgetary AssessmentsAuthor of The Unseen War: Allied Air Power and the Takedown of Saddam Hussein "Authors Dana Pittard and Wes Bryant do an outstanding job of illuminating all of the ins and outs of the war against ISIS in their new book Hunting the Caliphate: America's War on ISIS and the Dawn of the Strike Cell . Written from the wartime perspectives of a general officer in Pittard, and a JTAC, Wes Bryant, I thoroughly enjoyed and was enthralled in the way they traded off chapters to give their perspective on the events occurring during a major conflict. Their synopses, timelines and minute details captured me and my attention from the onset. Having deployed to the region a few times during my 25-year USAF career, I can attest to the accuracy of events portrayed in the book and appreciate their time and effort in bringing our war operation against ISIS to light. This book is written for all; however, it is a must read for any veteran who has served, especially those who have served in the past 20 years."Lieutenant Colonel Ken Murray (USAF Ret.)Author of On Parr: The Stunning Combat Missions of American Fighter Ace, Colonel Ralph Parr "With the complementary insights of a general and his senior enlisted man,xa0along with an insider's eye for detail and an unshakeable belief in their mission,xa0Pittard and Bryant expertly pull back the curtain on the front line fight againstxa0ISIS. From Iraq to Afghanistan and Syria, Pittard and Bryant describe the developmentxa0of a devastating air campaign waged from a distance, where rapid lifexa0or death decisions must be made with limited information and murky rules ofxa0engagement, and where ultimate success hinges on coordination between a stateof-the-art operations center with a small group of highly trained Americans ledxa0by Pittard and Bryant, and their indigenous allies battling ISIS on the ground.xa0Eye-opening, candid, and at times deeply human, Hunting the Caliphate is a mustxa0read for understanding a new kind of war told by two men who not only foughtxa0that war, but helped define it."xa0David BroylesFormer USAF Pararescueman (PJ)Co-creator of History Channel's combat drama SIX "From mass executions to pinpoint air strikes, political and military frustrationsxa0and the politics of coalition warfare, Hunting the Caliphate is a compelling blendxa0of military history and first-person memories of the war against terror--thexa0complex battlefield, the joys of victory, the tragedy of loss, and the sacrifice ofxa0the men and women who carried out the mission. An insider account from axa0senior Army ground commander and a front line battlefield airman, the book isxa0a gritty, compelling read for all who hope to understand America's longest war."xa0Deborah Lee James, 23rd Secretary of the Air ForceAuthor of Aim High: Chart Your Course and Find Success "Simply excellent. Hunting the Caliphate is the first account to give sustainedxa0insights into the events and personalities shaping the war on ISIS that academicsxa0and journalists have been unable to capture except in snapshots. Effectivelyxa0written, and with editing nothing short of first-rate, it is a descriptive and grippingxa0narrative from two contrasting yet intersecting perspectives that offersxa0readers a broader view of the US military campaign against ISIS. As a historianxa0of modern combat operations, I applaud the insightful observations appearingxa0throughout that serve to accurately convey an important history--and dispelxa0its myths."xa0Mark J. ReardonSenior Historian, US Army Center of Military History Dana J. H. Pittard retired from the U.S. Army in 2015 at the rank of Major General after 34 years of active duty service. He was a highly decorated combat leader and commanded units at every echelon from platoon to division, including multiple combat tours in Iraq and the Middle East. In 2014, he was picked to lead the initial U.S. response to halt the aggressive spread of ISIS in Iraq. Dana, a West Point graduate and Harvard fellow, is a vice president with a manufacturing company in Indiana. He currently lives with his wife Lucille in the Indianapolis area. Wes Bryant is a former Special Operations Forces Tactical Air Control Party - Joint Terminal Attack Controller (SOF TACP - JTAC), a member of the elite ground combat forces of the U.S. Air Force who serve as combat airpower specialists for America's special operations units. In 2014, as the senior enlisted JTAC to establish the Baghdad Strike Cell , he coordinated and controlled some of the first airstrikes of America’s war on ISIS. Later, he was the senior airpower expert for special operations task forces hunting ISIS throughout Syria and Afghanistan until his retirement in 2018. Wes holds a Bachelor’s in Asian Studies and currently pursues writing, editing, and consulting while teaching traditional Kung Fu. He lives with his wife and daughters in North Carolina.