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Saber's Edge: A Combat Medic in Ramadi, Iraq |  | Author: Thomas A. Middleton
Publisher: UPNE
Category: Book
List Price: $29.95
Buy New: $18.51
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Rating:  3 reviews
Sales Rank: 195230
Media: Hardcover
Edition: First Edition
Pages: 252
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.3 x 1.1
ISBN: 1584657472
Dewey Decimal Number: 956.704437
EAN: 9781584657477
ASIN: 1584657472
Publication Date: July 1, 2009
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
The National Guardsman, the citizen soldier called upon to fight for this nation in a time of war, is one of the least understood -- and perhaps one of the most compelling -- figures of the Iraq War. Saber's Edge is the story of a middle-aged Vermont firefighter called upon to be a soldier in the worst place on earth -- Ramadi, Iraq. In a few short weeks Thomas A. Middleton went from being a suburban dad to a combat medic traveling between platoons, filling in for other medics and engaging in some of the fiercest and most crucial fighting of the war.
This is the war as experienced from the ground level: days of tedium interspersed with the adrenalin of combat; moments of lighthearted laughter broken by the sorrow of loss. This is also the story of the unique wartime perspective of our guardsmen. Unlike the raw, unformed young recruit, the mature guardsman often comes with the burdens of family, experience, and a developed sense of self. Accordingly, Sgt. Middleton's story chronicles the inner conflict created by his long-time professional role as a healer and his newfound life as a warrior in the urban battlefields of Iraq. Thrust into a culture and theater of war that he is little equipped or trained for, the author tries to make sense of his actions. Coarsened by combat and increasingly disdainful of the local population, he receives solace and insight from his life-long faith and ultimately emerges as a man who understands his role in the world.
Saber's Edge is also the story of the Green Mountain Boys of Task Force Saber: a story of comradeship and communion amid fierce street fighting in a crucial theater of the Iraq War (the eventual site of the "Al Anbar Awakening"). Based on the author's first-hand experiences and interviews with other soldiers, Saber's Edge presents a riveting account of modern urban warfare and the inspiring story of one man reconciling his actions in warfare.
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| Customer Reviews:
 Taking the Fight to the Enemy January 9, 2010
G. Friese (Plover, WI USA)
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
Saber's edge is Tom Middleton's chronicle of his experiences as a Firefighter/Paramedic/Nurse National Guardsman from Vermont taking the fight to the enemy in the chaotic and violent city of Ramadi Iraq in 2005. Tom gives a detailed account of day-to-day activities as well as the pivotal battles and encounters with the enemy where he was forced to reconcile his role as a combat medic with an infantry platoon.
As a paramedic I appreciated Tom's detailed accounts of how he applied his lifesaving skills to friends and foes. I also appreciated his sharing the turmoil he faced healing those that had just been attempting to harm him and his companions, but the importance to the greater mission to show compassion.
Tom also explores how his spirituality and catholic religious beliefs were strengthened as he prayed and discussed the justness of war, killing combatants, death and injury to non-combatants, and the importance of staying true to a strong set of moral principles to avoid the urges of vengeance and evil.
Taking the fight to the enemy was a frequently used phrase used throughout the book to both express the frustration of the mission as well as the reward of getting out of the forward operating base and seeking out the enemy before more harm was caused.
Listen to an interview with Tom Middleton on the Medical Author Chat podcast, [...]
 In a few weeks Thomas Middleton changed from a suburban father to a combat medic in the front lines of war October 19, 2009
Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
SABER'S EDGE: A COMBAT MEDIC IN RAMADI, IRAQ offers a memoir of a national Guardsman called upon to fight in Iraq, documenting how a middle-aged Vermont firefighter was called to war. In a few weeks Thomas Middleton changed from a suburban father to a combat medic in the front lines of war: his story offers a unique perspective of a mature guardsman during conflict.
The Human Face of the Citizen Soldier at War August 3, 2009
Charles E. Rittenburg (Marlton, NJ United States)
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
Anyone interested in modern American military operations will enjoy this book. But I especially recommend it to the everyday American who wonders what it's actually like to be fighting on the front lines of the Global War on Terror. This story is told straight from the shoulder. It's easy to pick up and read, and you don't have to be a veteran, a techno-geek, or a military historian to understand it. Mr. Middleton describes what it's like for the iconic American citizen-soldier--not a Regular Army man, but a workaday civilian who in "real life" is a nurse, a salesman, a teacher, etc.--to be called to 18 months of active duty to defend his country in a combat zone far from home. Middleton, a combat medic and a religious Catholic, describes movingly his own reactions to the realities of the combat experience, both the ugly and the sublime. He describes suspenseful combat actions conducted by the Vermonters, but also the daily tedium of serving far from home in a strange, hostile, and uncomfortable environment. The Vermont Brigade fought under the 2nd Marine Division during the long battle for Ramadi, the city which insurgent leader Al-Zarqawi, now dead, had declared to be the "Capital of Al Qaeda in Iraq." The Guardsmen's triumphs in battle, and even more so, their reputation for fair dealing earned day by day from the tribal chiefs of Ramadi, contributed significantly to the Al Anbar Awakening, which is what turned the tide of the war in Iraq. I fully expect Mr. Middleton's fine story will find a valued place in the popular literature describing the history of our American citizen-soldiers at war.
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