SURVIVING THE UNITED NATIONS
Robert Bruce Adolph
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GENRE: NonFiction
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BLURB:
This is the astonishing true story of a US Army Special Forces soldier who became a warrior for peace. In his humanitarian and peacekeeping missions for the United Nations he dealt with child-soldiers, blood diamonds, a double hostage-taking, an invasion by brutal guerrillas, an emergency aerial evacuation, a desperate hostage recovery mission, tribal gunfights, refugee camp violence, suicide bombings, and institutional corruption. His UN career brought him face to face with the best and worst of human nature and he shares it all here.
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Excerpt:
The unarmed variety of peacekeeping is a different sort of military mission. UN member states provide officers to serve as military observers. The most common term is UNMO, short for UN Military Observer. The general mission statement is to “observe and report.” UNMOs observe the status of the peace and write reports for the gratification of the UN Security Council that establishes the mandate under which the mission operates. Essentially, unarmed UNMOs are placed on the ground between former belligerents. Their lives are then held hostage to the peace process. Although little-reported, it is not uncommon for military observers to die in the performance of their duties. I found this type of peacekeeping service, in the abstract, to be an honorable endeavor. The reality, though, was sometimes something else entirely. As a matter of historical import, approximately three thousand eight hundred peacekeepers have died in the performance of their duties around the globe.
Another type of peacekeeping involves the use of armed battalions. I had seen this permutation in 1990 while serving with UN Observer Group-Lebanon in the form of the UN Interim Forces in Lebanon, and two years later with the UN Transitional Authority in Cambodia. My future mission would combine elements of both UNMOs and armed battalions.
The key assumption on the part of the UN Security Council when establishing a peacekeeping mission is that there is a genuine peace to keep. That assumption proved false in several countries.
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Interview with Robert Bruce Adolph
Tell me about yourself. Where are you from?
RBA: I was born in Massachusetts, but because my dad was in the military, I was raised all over the US - the eldest of nine children. At last count, and due to my Army and United Nations assignments, I have lived and worked in 17 different countries in Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, many of which were in crisis. These varied assignments inform much of my writing. I think it is fair to say that my perspective might not be mainstream.
What genre do you read? Who's an author you read? Name your top 5 authors.
RBA: My reading is all nonfiction and quite eclectic. I read cultural anthropology, histories, biographies, international affairs, military, mass psychology, and more. I like Ralph Peters, Robert Kaplan, Steven Pinker, Eric Hoffer, Andrew Bacevich, and Jared Diamond.
What book are you reading right now, and what do you like about it?
RBA: Right now I’m busy working on my own next effort and when I’m in that space I don’t read other people’s work for a little while. My current project is a book for people who may be interested in improving themselves via writing. Writing is now and has always been the most rigorous form of thought. There is no better exercise for the mind than writing. If your readers hope to be one day better, they should write. If they hope to influence others, they should write. If your readers hope one day to build a legacy, they should write. Bottom line – of all the things that I have accomplished in my many years, and aside from saving lives, I am most proud of my writing history.
4. Favorite sports.
I don’t really follow any particular sports. I do break that trend for the Army Navy game. I’ll never stop being a soldier or rooting for my team.
Favorite thing about your state you live in.
RBA: I am blessed to be a nomad and technically, don’t live in any state. I do live in Washington DC which I love because it is the home of the world’s most far-reaching government. I also live in Cancun Mexico which offers amazing beaches. And I also have a home in Rome, which is the center of an entirely different kind of power, but a slower and more relaxed lifestyle.
Writing
How long have you been writing?
RBA: In 1982, I wrote and published his first article in Military Intelligence Magazine while serving in the Army as a young captain. I wrote that piece because I had never done so before. Trying new things is something of a passion for me. I liked the responses to my first article, so I wrote another, and another, and I am still at it over four decades later. At last count, I have published over three hundred articles, commentaries and book reviews. My works have appeared in over fifty newspapers, magazines, and journals, in the US, Europe, and Asia.
What is your writing process like? Are you more of a plotter or a pantser?
RBA: I think that as a nonfiction writer I am neither. At first I thought it was just a matter of writing the facts and in the case of this book, what I remember. But you deal with facts AND analysis. Real life can be far more frightening than fiction and real people have real emotions. . Do not expect warmth from those you might choose to place under the magnifying glass. And it is prudent to acquire confirmation from multiple sources that what you believe happened, actually happened. If you seek truth, ensure that you can gather the facts and witnesses to validate what you write. Once it is on the published page, true or not, you must own it.
How do you celebrate finishing a book?
RBA: My wife and I celebrated with a bottle of champagne. Then I immediately began to consider what to write next. Now I’m driven.
What would you tell a writer who is just starting out? What program do you use for writing? What advice would you give to a writer working on their first book? What’s your writing software of choice?
RBA: The only software involved in my writing is Microsoft Word. For new writers I’d share five quick points:
1. Read - the best writers are often voracious readers.
2. Write every day - perspiration leads to inspiration.
3. Work - there is no such thing as writer’s block.
4. Believe in yourself - writing is lonely work.
5. Focus on your audience - forget them at your peril.
How do you organize everything and finding the time to sit down and write?
RBA: As I am now twice retired, writing is my only job so finding time is not an issue. Organization is a different matter. Tragically, organization and inspiration are mirror opposites in my world..
As an author, what would you choose as your spirit animal?
RBA: I would have to choose the wolf. My last name, Adolph, means noble wolf in the old high German language.
Who has been the biggest supporter of your writing?
RBA: My wife has always been my biggest supporter, and as a victim of the worst terrorist attack I was present for, the book is partially her story too. My book is dedicated to her and our grandchildren.
Can you describe a typical day in your writing life?
RBA: For me, almost every day is atypical. I write when I can. I write when I don’t feel like it. I write when I am ill. I write when I’m angry. I write when I’m sad. I write when time permits. I write when time doesn’t permit. I believe the more you write, the better you will get.
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AUTHOR Bio and Links:Robert Bruce Adolph is a retired UN Chief Security Advisor & US Army Special Forces Lieutenant Colonel. He holds master’s degrees in both International Affairs (Middle East Studies) from American University’s School of International Service and National Security Studies and Strategy from the US Army’s Command and General Staff College.
Adolph served nearly 26-years in multiple Special Forces, Counterterrorism, Psychological Operations, Civil Affairs, Foreign Area Officer, and Military Intelligence command and staff assignments in the US and overseas. He also volunteered to serve on UN peacekeeping missions in Egypt, Israel, Cambodia, Iraq and Kuwait.
After he retired from active military service in 1997, he began a second career as a senior UN Security Advisor. Among his positions he served as the Chief of the Middle East and North Africa in the UN Department of Safety and Security.
Website: https://robertbruceadolph.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-bruce-adolph-904597a/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/robert.adolph
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4 comments:
Thank you for hosting today.
I liked the excerpt.
This sounds like an interesting book.
The book sounds very interesting. Thanks!
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