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Shared Sacrifice

By Aaron Davis (reviewer)

Shared Sacrifice: Don't Ask, Don't Tell and the Global War on Terror
By Gary Barkley
(Iuniverse, 2008)

I highly recommend IVAW member Gary Barkley's brand new release, Shared Sacrifice; Don't Ask, Don't Tell and the Global War on Terror. Activated from the IRR, Gary served a one year tour of duty in Iraq as a US Army Civil Affairs/Operations Officer for the Ninewa Provincial Reconstruction Team in Mosul. The book intersperses his staying in old WW II barracks at Ft Bragg, with being the Lt. no one knew or wanted. With his amusingly sarcastic humor, he even refers to himself as "lefttenant." "You can't make this shit up," he quips finishing most of his funny experiences. He questions the war. He intelligently shakes up the brass. He gives us a profound look into fraud, waste and abuse by civilian contractors, and the opulence of the Green Zone. As a gay man in a combat zone dealing daily with DADT, he again challenges the status quo thinking and policy. The most important part of Gary's book is where he challenges us as activists to engage in dialogue and take back the country. He says what's on his mind, and he asks former SecDef Donald Rumsfeld why his adminstration did not given weapons inspectors "more patience." He was against the war from the beginning. Now he writes, speaks and marches against it and is helping to form a new Iraq Veterans Against the War Chapter in Utah. He holds degrees in Accounting and Economics from Utah State and currently lives in Salt Lake City Utah. He can be reached at gsbarkley@gmail.com.

Aaron Davis is a veteran activist, outreach counselor and coordinator of the G.I. Rights Hotline in Salt Lake City, Utah.
He is the Utah Regional contact for VVAW. He served as a Marine Sergeant and Army Officer.