Brian Stann served two tours in combat during Operation Iraqi Freedom III and IV. As a Marine platoon leader during Operation Matador, he received the Silver Star for valor after his unit encountered vastly superior enemy forces. Brian is a 2003 Annapolis graduate and was starting linebacker on the Naval Academy football team. A former light-heavyweight champion in the WEC (World Extreme Cagefighting), he now fights in the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship), the \u0022big leagues\u0022 of mixed martial arts. He is also president of Hired Heroes, an Atlanta-based nonprofit organization that finds employment for America\u2019s veterans.John R. Bruning has been a professional military historian and writer since 1990. He is the author of Crimson Sky: The Air Battle for Korea, Jungle Ace, Elusive Glory, Ship Strike Pacific, Luck of the Draw, The Devil's Sandbox: With the 2nd Battalion, 162nd Infantry at War in Iraq. He served as an embedded civilian historian with the 2/162 during Operation Southern Comfort, the post-Hurricane Katrina relief operation in New Orleans. Bruning also has numerous articles, documentaries, multimedia CD-ROM programs, flight simulators, and museum displays to his credit. He lives in Independence, Oregon.