She said, i would read that book. She said thats not the right this book. We sat and batted it around. Theres something about this phrase. Worried because it would come across as judgmental in almost bitterly ironic. That wasnt the intention. Meaning ch simpler which comes down to and this is what i got comfortable with the book f you read and you get to know the people inside the book and hear their stories, youll have a better if you save this ubiquitous phrase, thank you for your service. Clearer idea of who youre thanking and what for. E thanking them that seemed to be a good title at some point. How many of the people youre book were in the first book about iraq, the good soldiers. The others amed, were kind of circling around the edges and not named. These are all people i have gotten to know during the reporting of the first book, baghdad, during the surge. Infantry Army Battalion if i could fill it in quickly. These guys went to the part of the world called the surge. Months inthere for 15 a lousy neighborhood in east baghdad. I was with them to write about the first book. Not about me, but to live with and write about them. Got to know them all. With them when bad things happened. Stayed in touch, they became the book. People of the new where was their base . Ft. Riley, kansas. Think of the moment. I know it seems like history at this point. History. T is but the war had been through point. Versions at that and, you know, the common perception was the thing was all but lost. And it was edging up to what i described as the tragic moment war. E and into that moment went this battalion, 800 guys. Most deploying for the first time. And full of a young m mans invincibility. Off they went. That i had a tough time. Average age . He 19, 20 . Like i said, most hasnt been out of the country before, much deployed into a war before. Were they were they remarkable because if they werent filled with the perfect of what we might describe as patriotism, they certainly had a sense of Large Mission in mind. Going to win the thing. And, you know, what happened is happens in war. The war is bigger than anything. Came home time they and they had lost guys and they injuries and their psychological wounds were beginning to cement in to what turned into now, of course they were changed. Now they get to deal with it for a long, long time. How do you select the battalion that you was it a country or a battalion . It was a battalion. Now i know the difference when i started this thing. A military family. I didnt know a brigade from a battalion or a company. Were on the chart. These were the guys going into it. The Washington Post had been a roer and editor for 23 years report a story on this next group going to the next thing. The hile i was reporting post story, the Battalion Commander said, you know, you to visit us in some point in our deployment and see hat were doing and maybe, who knows, do another story at the us. To see what happened to out of that came the idea of taking a leave from the post, go guys and write a book about not the iraq war, but there had been so many books that point. R at not a policy book. But use the war, really, to intimate story about being such a in such a moment, what happens to a young man . Thats what i did. You have a photo thats used on the cover of this book. Seen it before. Where did it come from . Damon winters photo from the New York Times. Title e had selected a and decided to go with this, my wife recalled this image. S soon as she showed it to me on the computer, just knocked me out. Publisher, the creighton and she was fascinated. I look at this photo all the time. It in terms ook at of how much the same these guys look. You look closer and see how look. Rent they sometimes i look at it and think of where i was sitting on on hat kind of plane when i was leaving the war after my my time on the ground with them. At that i look photograph and it just seems to image, give me for the in rows of headstones arlington. How long do they sit in that position . On . Hey have their backpacks most of their gear is bundled the back on these pallets. Youre full kit. Body armor. All of your eye probe, youre supposed to wear in the war you wear on the plane as you exit it for the final time. What do you see . See six years i of what this story has felt like. Pursuing this thing since 2007. And ive gotten to know these gotten to know those planes and positions and, again, the transition from invincibility to to a in out weariness recognition of so this is how it turned out. Whats the difference between was ood soldier which published in 2009 and this new book, thank you for your service. The new book is volume two. These guys came home. The good soldiers came out. That was it. I had done my job as a journalist. I was proud of the book. I got it i got right. Here i paid attention to their corner, not just the big policy stuff, but their corner of the world. I told their story well. I thought i was done. In touch egan getting with me by email, by phone call and saying things arent going so hot. Feeling quite right. Not sleeping well. Some guys talked of anxiousness, epression, a couple of suicide attempts. And i had read widely enough war. The effects of and some of this is common sense that i thought i had done half lets get busy and do the second half, which is the new book. Guys at war. Is the second one is they come home families and trying to adjust to what life is after the war. Read it to know why i am asking this question. But you quote specifically throughout this entire book what are saying, soldiers, wives, all that stuff. Were you present for all of quotes . Well, yes. Almost all. Journalism i do is guess its emerging journalism. It doesnt depend so much on an interview after the fact to find out what happened. Depends on being present and being present enough so that the just into the type of reporting when youre just there. Questions. Have to ask you dont want to ask quells. You just want to see whats you. Ning in front of they have to say in advance or sign anything that anything you could use . At this point in the evolution of journalism, we used the benefit of the doubt when i started this kind of thing. But not so much anymore. Down with people. I explain what i want to do, style of reporting is. I might give them a couple of amples of previous works so they can make some kind of informed decision about whether they want to be involved. They say yes, off we go. Video from the washington voiced bsite that you over. Was this back in 2007 or 2008 . Have been when these guys, the 216 infantry attalion, this is one of the convoys. This is what they did. This is what the war was. Convoys going around this vicious neighborhood get to know the populous. Idea of the in counterinsurgency strategy. Ut basically they were driving around waiting to get blown up. At night, they would search for guys that were blowing them up. What does two dash 16 mean . Its the designation for this infantry battalion. Hey have numbers and identifiers. Its just what this one is called. Ts all part of the first infantry division. Then you go down the hill from there with more and more numbers the unit. Identify heres the video. Okay. Tourniquets, bandages, 240 rounds of ammunition and carry an all of them assault rifle, some carry good luck charms. Some sit in one foot in front of the other so if a roadside bomb went off, they might lose one two. Instead of sometimes they joke about what the last words would be. Would get in, they the humvees and off they would go. This day, it was from one base eastern baghdad to another. A long road. They drove at 10 miles per hour, increase chances of finding a bomb before it went off. Finally, almost there, the first turn right off of the main road. You can see it in the distance right now. Goes. It and then this might be a nonquestion, but why did we do that . Humvees wouldhese be blown up . Well, well they were trying to et from here to there carry out their corner of the war, right . And along the way, in this part baghdad forgive me, i avent seen that video in a little while. Its in that part of baghdad, shiite area a little south the weapon was an explosive device called an efp. Be simple, its known as a shape charge. Explosives d with and attached to one end, typically was some kind of disks, perhaps the size of a dinner plate. End wasng out the other a wire. Oing to some guy in the shadow waiting to hit the trigger when a convoy of soldiers reached a certain aiming point. If there was a broken light pole in the distance. Once the convoy hit that, boom, goes. It and what happens with these things is the copper plate is forward at such a high becomes semimolten. Its can see it, described as tadpole shaped. It burns through whatever it hits. If its aimed well, and it is often, it would burn through the armored door of an expensive humvee we were giving soldiers as at that point. It would burn inside and cause complete chaos. Did you shoot that . A helmet video. The soldiers recorded a lot of things. Lot of information about this war. A lot of documentation that comes from individual diaries, lot of photographs, from helmet cams, the whole deal. Available. Here and would you ride is that a humvee or an mrap . They came later. Those guys were waiting for him. Holese those had vshaped that might deflect these things a little better and did. Ut they were awfully slow in coming and they didnt reach these guys until the very end of their deployment. In hey were going around humvees. These were, what, 12,000 pound things . A lot of money. Would you ride in a convoy like that . Sure, sure. I mean, if im going to be honest about it, at first, you these i was with them on the ground for about eight months. Maybe a month, six weeks a it a time. And at first, i was going out all the time. By the end, i you know, forgive me, but i had become by the enough experience, by by the explosions and Everything Else on that i only went out when i knew there was a good chance of seeing something new. The perfect way to do journalism. You want to just always go out, available for the serendipity of what a day might bring. Enough days ng out and, yeah, i got a little reluctant toward the end. The middle of to your book. And one of the soldiers that you about fairly prominently, well show a photo on the screen, adam schuman. Why did you focus on him . And where is he today . Okay. Schuman, youre going to think im not capable of a short answer. Adam do need to explain schuman. One day while i was doing the reporting for the first book. Here was a relatively quiet time and i was asking around, who do you all regard as a great soldier . I need to meet . And somebody mentioned this guy, schuman. I hasnt heard of him, i hasnt met him. A few days passed and i went i went in search of him. Walked into a room and its this photograph is later. Another photograph in the book of what i saw when i walked into his room. Great soldier was man. Gaunt, hauntedlooking and i introduced myself. And he said, i guess i know why here. I said i want to write about you. Soldier, ure a great he laughed and he said he feels leaving the war that day, he was done. And what had happened was this guy this guy was on the third deployment. Little older so guys looked up to him. He was a leader. Great soldier. Three deployments. By his count, he had been in 1,000 days. T im in the middle of reading this Rick Atkinson book now world war ii. And that went through a passage where where even in that that great war where there was a sense of morality to it the mission. In that case, if guys had been in combat for 200 days, they them off of the front lines for a while. So heres a guy, 1,000 days, a things had happened. And he cracked open. He couldnt do it. See him ere did you when you first talked to him. In his room waiting to go to the helicopter to leave the room. Stayed with him. And we talked for a while. Helicopter and the guy was not thinking of all the how well he had done, performing someone elses policy. Done well. Who was he . He was just cloaked in shame he went to the hell copter . What was his ranked . Sergeant. A staff sergeant. There he went. You know, out of the war on a helicopter with a big red cross the side. He was embarrassed about it. He came home as i said with a guilt that he and ad to leave the war and that define once of his life since. Its not logical, brian. Done well. But in the conversation he feels having in his head about himself reason for whatever ashamed and came home and is busy trying to recover. Did you go back to him for this book. After the first book came him. I kept in touch with he said something one day im going to get the quote a little wrong. But it was Something Like, i was normal guy and i got sent to iraq where i became crazy so they sent me back to america to now its mal and america thats driving me crazy. And i didnt know what that the sound of iked it and i was curious about it. Nd then as i got more calls from more people who were having a difficult time, he became the centerpiece of the new book. You might jump in, ill read some of it back to you, fill in blanks, page 86. Over these are your words, me time, the war came to less and less until it meant nothing at all. Other n meanwhile, the soldiers meant more and more until they came to me until they came to mean everything. Right. Whats the point . The point is and anyone whos tell you the ll same thing over time, war oesnt become about policy or mission or really winning or losing. Its about the guy next to you. Taking care of the guy next to you. And i have to tell you, the between soldiers is if you ever need a definition of tenderness, there it is. These guys are taking care of each other. Is it golumbe . Yes. Who is he . One of schumans soldiers. And after a day in which another by one of these bombs i described and died, schuman was supposed to be along on that mission. But for various reasons, he was base. Back at the so he didnt go. Schumans the guy i described guys always found the bombs. He wasnt there that day. Bomb went off. A guy named james goccer died. Said to schuman, let me the hrase to keep out profanity. This wouldnt happen if you were there. As a compliment. Schuman in this degrading transition. Degrading l transition heard it one more guilty, ithould feel was an indictment. The guy would have been alive if there. Been it wasnt a compliment. His name was christopher gullanby. And in that soldiers way, just adam m loved doster, schuman, doster was killed, he had loved him. In soldier in combat was constantly. Ove and then doster was dead. Do . What did adam he flew away alone, came home alone, and even with how do pronounce his wifes name . Saskia. Zoey and zach are his children. They have felt alone every since. Adams wife who as adam was walking to the helicopter that day to come and he called d her and said he was on his way nd at one point in the conversation, she said, im a little afraid of what you might do to me. Assured her he wouldnt do anything and he hung up. And he said, i dont know whats going to happen. Do. Nt know what im going thats just one more mystery. Military wife, i think, at the end of a thisyment, well, actually, wasnt the end. He was coming home ill, she had set of expectations. She was going to come home, he safe, they would heal together. Everything would be as it was. Hats how it started out for her. But over time as the centerpiece f this family became this psychological wound, she very went from on, she pure compassion to irritation to anger to fury that they couldnt get better. So this is one example of a family trying to heal. Where do they live now . End of the book. So much of the book takes place n kansas, theyve moved to north dakota. The marriage didnt survive. The end of the book, its a rather, i think, a lovely kind hopeful moment as adam experiences his second omecoming from war, this time coming home from a treatment program. On and know, life went they realized there was just too raise children to raise them. Nt theyre separated divorced but live near each other. Us the moment l when she thought he feels going to commit suicide . There were several, and you know, you asked earlier, was i present for everything . I was not present for this scene nd how could i really be present . I had been in kansas and i came back to washington to do some reporting here. Started to get texts from the fan ying its hit now. What had happened in this so r war, things escalate quickly. Just a moment that can be so loving can turn and flip and be out of control. One of the days that it adam packing to leave and zaskia going through his and seeing a handgun and saying whats the deal . Saying im going to take this to sell it. To need some money. On top of all of the other pressures, they have no money. And she just held the gun and he went in the room and came out really tried and to jam it at her. Goate would and get her so much that she would pull the trigger and kill him. As i described in the book, what zaskia described it after, she wanted to she wanted it over. She wanted to not only pull the trigger once, shep wanted to pull it twice. Had come to. T instead she steps out on the screams Something Like just, just, be a man and she goes on the porch and in and a few minutes later, hes nowhere in sight. Searches all through the house. She goes down, stares into the asement of the horrible the worst room in the house, the furnace room where adam work. Imes would do some and there he was there in wa his chin. Ainst it went on for a while until she to lly finally got him put the gun away. One more day in their lives, right . I know im supposed to be a completely distanced from this. But i know these people. Care about them. I feel if you dont mind, the expression i feel privileged having written about them and glad, obviously, that hes still alive. A lot of stories about adam and zaskia. Were you present, were you in the car with them . Yeah, yeah. Thats one scene i wasnt there. I had to do back reporting. I was rything else present for. They let you write it down. Did you record it or write it down . To remind people what the relationship is here that yes, i want to see everything nd hear everything and be present. But its for a book. Im not their private confessor. And so, theres always a notebook or digital recording or visual representation of what the relationship is. But the credibility, brian, came from the first book. They had read it, they knew what i did. I knew these folks. Nd i said i wanted to do this, i was yards ahead. It wasnt an act of introducing myself. Credibility was established because of the first book. They they want people to know whats going on. I ask you to see the relevance of a bliek this. The first book do you know how many copies i sold in. Think maybe 150. It did pretty well. Its still selling. Its not been retired. An active book. Was that what you expected. I expected the book to disappear. I expected it to sell five copies. Nd those would be my five copies, right . Hese are not the most popular wars. But theres something about the first book, it found its place, resonate. It was a word of mouth thing and it spreads and sells well. Head of the the army, now the head of the administration. Right. Right. A speech of some of the things theyre talking about. Reaction t