Join us at Page & Palette for Signing Saturday! On August 30th at 1PM, Keith Richard will be here with his book, Sand, Grit and Dangerous Supply Missions. Enjoy a cup of coffee or a glass of wine as you visit Keith's table. We hope to see you there!
SAND, GRIT, AND DANGEROUS SUPPLY MISSIONS: THE UNSUNG HEROES OF THE IRAQ WAR
In 2003, logistics expert Keith Richard made a life-changing decision that put him at the helm of a hastily assembled operation tasked with transporting fuel and supplies for U.S. military operations in Iraq and Kuwait. A civilian in a military operation, with no military experience, Richard had to summon a mix of self-discipline, grit and composure to be the leader everyone expected him to be—and to carry out orders that included sending civilian truck drivers into the line of fire.
“Civilians are the unsung heroes of the Iraq War and should be recognized for their patriotism and commitment to support the military,” Richard said. In his deeply compelling new book, Sand, Grit and Dangerous Supply Missions: The Unsung Civilian Heroes of the Iraq War, Richard reflects on his path with candor and humility—from his humble beginnings in the Mississippi Gulf Coast to leading a multibillion-dollar logistics operation in Iraq and Kuwait.
A devoted husband and father, Richard is contentedly navigating a career across the American South when everything changes. An unexpected offer sends him into the heart of the Middle East to support the U.S. military under the Department of Defense’s Logistics Civil Augmentation Program (LOGCAP), which was established by the Army in 1985 to permit the use of civilian contractors to support certain military operations. The decision to go isn’t easy. It tests his courage, his convictions and the foundation of his family. But with his wife’s fierce support and a renewed sense of purpose, Richard steps into the unknown. Ultimately, Richard finds himself responsible for a fleet of more than 700 supply trucks in what proves to be an extremely dangerous and deadly mission that results in a tremendous loss of life. Richard and the defense contractor that hired him (KelloggBrown & Root) would later be at the center of a congressional inquiry into assumed war time abuses by civilian contractors and a billion dollar law suit brought by families of deceased and injured drivers.
In Sand, Grit and Dangerous Supply Missions, Richard opens up for the first time about the chaos, his frustration, the fallout following the mission … and the wounds no one can see. “The reality and toll of civilian lives during and after a war needs to be recognized by the U.S. Government,” Richard said. “Many civilians have been killed, injured and mentally impacted supporting the U.S. military without the recognition and support that is appropriately awarded to our soldiers.”
KEITH RICHARD
Keith Richard is a logistics and transportation professional with 40 years of experience leading complex supply chain organizations in the U.S. and overseas. In late 2003, he was recruited to lead an extremely dynamic and complex organization supporting the LOGCAP (Logistics Civil Augmentation Program) for Kellogg Brown & Root (KBR) in Iraq and Kuwait. This experience included leading a $1.5 billion operation with approximately 2,000 employees for the Department of Defense. He has been quoted in several large publications and was selected as one of four executives to represent KBR and Halliburton before the Congressional House Reform Committee. Sand, Grit and Dangerous Supply Missions traces the tragic and chaotic events during his one-year tenure as the Regional Project Manager for the Theater Transportation Mission.