the losing game
how to lose a war and fail veterans
By Eric W. Hommel, Lt Col USAF (ret.)
debut memoir out now
debut memoir out now
About
The only first-person account to take ownership of and explore our failed mission in Afghanistan, where misguided leadership snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.
asks…
Why can’t military and civilian leaders explain or take any responsibility for our failings?
explains…
The mission, and uncovers the realities of modern warfare where the truth of what it takes to win is often ignored.
illustrates…
A method of prosecuting modern wars through a lens of respect, empathy, humility, and accountability. Presents the reader to an innovative method of taking care of our veterans scarred with PTSD by giving them a “do over” using newly discovered Immersive Prolonged Exposure therapy.
Exposes…
How we’ve continued to fall short in prosecuting war, securing the peace, caring for veterans, and the realities of modern warfare where the truth of what it takes to win is often ignored.
… and then…
Takes responsibility.
Advance praise:
"[Lieutenant Colonel] Hommel's The Losing Game is an honest, unsparing and vivid memoir about one man's determination to serve and defend his country – despite obstacles placed in his way by the military bureaucracy and mediocre leaders who cared more about their careers than the mission at hand. If you want to understand the United States' failures in Afghanistan, Hommel provides the ground truth about his experiences in the countryside, a stark contrast from the insulated bubbles that existed at higher headquarters."
— Craig Whitlock, The Washington Post (author of The Afghanistan Papers: A Secret History of War)
About Eric
Born and raised in New York City, Eric W. Hommel is a prior-enlisted U.S. Navy Cold War submariner, and retired U.S. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel (with a fine arts degree). He is a veteran of the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars (as a ground battle-space commander, and commander of the Provincial Reconstruction Team in Afghanistan’s Panjshir province). In Iraq and Afghanistan he worked under U.S. Army command. He spent ten years attached to the Pentagon, with three of those years working and traveling with Congressional Representatives as a military Legislative Liaison. Post-military, he is recognized as a stability operations expert, having trained government officials to go to war for over a decade. Eric’s previous post-9/11 writing is published in Unity of Mission, chapter 9—“Hope Doesn’t Live Here Anymore” (Air University Press, 2016).
You can find Eric currently giving personalized tours of Arlington National Cemetery. Visit vigilancetours.com for further information.
Service in the Cold War
USS SUNFISH (SSN-649)
Service in Afghanistan (Commander, PRT Panjshir)
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tour arlington national cemetery with eric
As a former Officer In Charge of U.S. Air Force Ceremonies conducting high-level funerals and repatriations, Eric is honored to share his knowledge and insight of Arlington National Cemetery by providing small group personalized walking tours. Please visit us at vigilancetours.com or by clicking the link below.
