In March 2004, Caleb S. Cage and Gregory M. Tomlin deployed to 
Baquba, Iraq, on a mission that would redefine how conventional U.S. 
military forces fight an urban war. Having led artillery units through a 
transition into anti-insurgent rifle companies and carrying out daily 
combat patrols in one of the region's most notorious hotspots, Cage 
and Tomlin chronicle Task Force 1-6 Field Artillery's year on the 
ground in Iraq and its response to the insurgency that threatened to 
engulf their corner of the Sunni Triangle.

    Rather than presenting a snapshot dominated by battle scenes, 
The Gods of Diyala presents a wide-angled view of the experiences of 
Cage and Tomlin and their comrades-in-arms. They assess the 
implications of their experiences, starting with their pre-deployment 
training in Germany and ending with the handing over of duties to their 
replacement brigade at the close of their tour of duty. They discuss 
frankly their impressions of the benefits and liabilities of working with 
embedded journalists and relate both their frustrations with and their 
admiration for the fledgling Iraqi security forces. From chaotic security 
planning to personal debates on the principles of democracy, both 
authors discuss how Iraqis perceived the value of their first post-
Saddam elections and the political future of their country as it tries to 
reinvent itself in the wake of a dictator's fall.

    The Gods of Diyala gives a new and personal perspective on 
the second stage of the ongoing war in Iraq. Students and scholars 
of military history will find its insights meaningful and informative, and 
general readers will enjoy its thoughtful, well-measured narratives of 
a year spent trying to protect a fragile nation as it struggled toward 
democracy.

_________________________________________________________

CALEB S. CAGE currently lives in Reno, Nevada, and serves as a 
senior policy advisor to the lieutenant governor of Nevada. CAPT. 
GREGORY M. TOMLIN commands a Paladin firing battery in the 2nd 
Infantry Division at Camp Hovey in South Korea.


Number 118: Texas A&M University Military History Series


What people are saying about this book

"The missions, the ambushes, the fire-fights that initially blur into 
each other begin to form an evocative platoon commander's view of 
fighting an urban insurgency with limited resources in an asymmetric 
war. The chapters discussing the preparations for the national 
elections in January 2006, in particular read like a thriller. . . ."
—Dennis Showalter, professor of history, Colorado College

"As a memoir, this is an extraordinarily important work that will 
find an audience from several different types of readers. Scholars of 
the war will read it to understand the mechanics of counter-
insurgency in 2004/5. Those in the military will read it to compare 
their experiences to those of Cage and Tomlin. The reading public, 
who enjoys military history, will be fascinated by a first person 
account of combat in the 21st century."—James T. Seidule, Colonel, 
U.S. Army, Academy Professor and Chief, Military History Division, 
Department of History, United States Military Academy, West Point


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