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Esmeralda Kleinreesink - An Officer in Afghanistan
Behind the Scenes of A Military Mission
(AUTO)BIOGRAPHY | CURRENT AFFAIRS | LEADERSHIP | MILITARY | ORGANIZATIONS | STRATEGY | TEAMS
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The general audience knows that military personnel is being deployed into various conflict zones around the world but few people really know what actually happens there. What is it like to live on a military headquarters? What does it feel like when the alarm sounds in the middle of the night because your camp is under fire? What is your reaction when a small boy shouts to you that you are supposed to wear a burqa? And what is it like to be a woman in a male-dominated environment?
In An Officer in Afghanistan Lieutenant-Colonel Esmeralda Kleinreesink offers a unique insight behind the scenes of an international military headquarters. She describes the frustrations, bureaucracy, constant tension, and how political decisions have an effect on the daily military reality. And she shows how friendships are forged between soldiers from all over the world despite their cultural differences. This is a unique and comprehensive report of the daily ins and outs of a military headquarters, written by one of the few female officers no less.
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Published in May 2012 | Paperback | 224 pages | ca. 60,000 words
English sample translation available
Over 2,000 copies sold 
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Dr Esmeralda Kleinreesink was an officer with the Royal Netherlands Air Force for 20 years. She was deployed all over the world and wrote in several books about her deployment experiences. During her rotation as a professor at the Netherlands Defense Academy, she obtained a PhD by analyzing international Afghan war memoirs. The trade edition of her doctoral thesis, On Military Memoirs (Brill, 2016) won the Caforio Award for best military-science book. She also toured as a stand-up comedian, encouraged (and surprised) by all the reviewers telling her they found her book humorous. Currently she is a pitch coach and she combines her writing, lecturing, and science knowledge to teach people how to pitch.
"Esmeralda Kleinreesink has succeeded writing a well-written, beautiful, and realistic image of a military mission. An Officer in Afghanistan is a great collection of anecdotes you can read in one session. It will be very recognizable for soldiers and veterans, and it offers an interesting glimpse behind the scenes of a military mission for everybody else."
Wapenbroeders
"A Lieutenant-Colonel writes about her experiences in Afghanistan, but is she allowed to speak her mind? The book is open, honest, and critical at times, according to former Secretary of Defense Jack de Vries in his foreword. Kleinreesink addresses the question whether bringing peace and safety is actually useful work, among other things."
Trouw
"Kleinreesink doesn't just show what daily life is like in an international NATO staff, but she also describes the discussions with her Dutch and international colleagues, between whom friendships are forged, despite their cultural differences. And the book shows how soldiers on a mission are being held back by a wall of bureaucracy when they want to start their work right away."
Militaire Spectator
"A enlightening story behind the mission in Afghanistan, not just from a deployed soldier but also from the human behind that soldier. We wish for more writers who write as outspoken Kleinreesink about the actions in Afghanistan."
World in War
"Not just a unique and at times critical insight in the inner workings of the Dutch Defense organization, but most of all a humoristic and well-written book."
Checkpoint
Foreword
Preface
Prologue
Cleaning Fit
Landslide
Buddy
Bunker Alert
Inshallah Airlines
The Minister
Bringing Democracy
Heart and Qal'eh-ye Now
Kandahar
Burkas and Bellyache
Movie Star
Sports and Saunas
The Holster
Knick-Knacks
The Beauty Parlour
An Average Day
The Embassy
Mad Dogs and Englishmen
Colonel Blimp
The Queen's Birthday
Diplomatic Incident
Epilogue
Acknowledgements
Simplified Ranks
Glossary