Not Your Father’s War: In the Service of The Cold War

It’s all history now, but because they were there, always ready to make a stand and fight, the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment stood as a deterrent against an invasion into West Germany. It completed its mission of guarding 731 kilometers of the Iron Curtain. We did our part to help to win our nation’s longest war; The Cold War…at least for the time being anyway. Are the heavy war-fighting skills necessary for conventional tank warfare still needed and if they are, what shape are they in? The necessary skills take time to develop. What price will be paid to find this out? Are we still ready?

“Dennis Miner’s Not Your Father’s War:  In the Service of the Cold War is an entertaining and powerful memoir.  For those who served in the Army during this period, it is a reminder not just of times past, but of friends, sacrifice, and personal experience. It was a tough time as the Army struggled to reshape itself during and after the Vietnam War to preserve American freedom against a powerful Soviet challenge. For those who did not live through those times, it is a wonderful first-hand account of how many of that generation secured the future of those who followed.  The Cold War was a protracted ideological conflict that demanded vigilance.  Dennis Miner’s brief account is a personal touch recounting how that vigilance was achieved.  Highly recommended.

                                                                                                        Michael R. Matheny, Ph.D.

COL, U.S. Army Retired