Doing History Amidst History: An Army Historian’s Work to Document the War on Terror

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A trained historian and career officer, in 2009-10, Lt. Col and Dr. Brian DeToy served as the Command Historian for the main coalition warfighting element in Iraq, overseeing the collection, preservation and dissemination of historical documents and senior command interviews to “tell” the story of America’s military in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Adding historical perspective to command planning meetings, he also frequently served on the “Red Team” tasked with thinking like the enemy. Traveling the country, “doing” history while still in the process of “making” history, DeToy offers valuable first-hand insights into the war’s final years, and how they should be remembered by generations to come.