U.S. Marine Michael Zacchea and CNBC editor Ted Kemp will speak at New Canaan Library about their recently released book, The Ragged Edge: A US Marine’s Account of Leading the Iraqi Army Fifth Battalion.

The Ragged Edge Book Cover 04-10-13They will speak Thursday, April 13 at 6:30 p.m. in the Adrian Lamb Room. Please register online. Copies of The Ragged Edge will be available for purchase, courtesy of Elm Street Books.

_________

This announcement is from the New Canaan Library website. Find out more about the book here.

_________

Deployed to Iraq in March 2004 after the overthrow of Saddam Hussein, US Marine Michael Zacchea’s team mission was to build, train, and lead in combat the first Iraqi Army battalion trained by the US military.

Quickly, he realized he was faced with a nearly impossible task. Zacchea had little time and fewer resources to transform his troops—mostly poor, uneducated farmers—into a cohesive rifle battalion that would fight a new insurgency erupting across Iraq.

The battalion he trained went on to fight bravely at the Battle of Fallujah against the forces that would eventually form ISIS. This compelling account details the struggles faced by Zacchea and his team.

Michael Zacchea The Ragged Edge 04-10-17

Photo from TheRaggedEdge.com

Lt. Col. Michael Zacchea, USMC, Ret.

Michael Zacchea was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in the US Marine Corps in 1990. He is a decorated veteran who served in multiple operations in several countries.

His philanthropic efforts include helping to create a non-profit organization of military advisers to help Iraqi interpreters immigrate to the United States, founding the UConn Entrepreneur Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities, and founding the CT Veterans Chamber of Commerce 501(c)6 organization (the only veterans organization registered to lobby in the Connecticut General Assembly).

Ted Kemp The Ragged Edge 04-10-17

Ted Kemp, television journalist and co-author of “The Ragged Edge”

Ted Kemp is a journalist who worked as an editor, writer, and field correspondent overseas and in the United States, principally for CNBC. He managed projects and oversaw writers working in Iraq, Iran, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates.

Ted helped shape the narrative of what it was like to train the Iraqis to fight a war.

He interviewed dozens of witnesses from several nations for the book and edited the original 1,200 page manuscript into a cohesive narrative that captured the chaos, courage, and relationships Mike experienced in Iraq.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *