Captain William J. Stone is self-publishing a book with Outskirts Press. And he wants your help with the book cover.
The Vietnam Era through the eyes of a non-combat Army officer…
Fortunately, not everyone who was on active duty during the Vietnam era went to war, but they didn’t miss all the action. Although no one was shooting at them, non-combat officers were heroically engaged in the age-old battles against military logic, rules, and bureaucracy.
This is the memoir of Captain William Stone, who not only led the first systematic critique of Mexican food available near the White Sands Missile Range and singlehandedly revised the wording on the mess-hall inspection form—he also cleverly got his men out of morning formations and was “killed” twice during exercises. On active duty, he courageously rode in helicopters, was ruled the victor in an Inspector- General complaint against his colonel, and even fired a missile. (Okay, it was only a rocket filled with weather instruments.)
Captain Stone describes ROTC and unveils the mysteries of KP, sick call, saluting protocols, uniforms, and getting beer at the PX. He tells of juggling a university education with a military obligation and recounts the joys of active duty, such as firing an M-16 in full automatic mode when told not to, taking over the company when the “real captain” wasn’t there, being in an Army research lab at the dawn of weather satellites, and suffering the vagaries of Army publishing.
There Are No Drafted Captains is sometimes irreverent, sometimes nostalgic, but always humorous. Think the Army is different now? Maybe not so much.
Captain Stone survived the Army, and the Army no doubt got over him long ago. Dr. Stone is semiretired now, after a fulfilling career applying his geology degrees to teaching and resolving water-resource/environmental issues through jobs in universities, government agencies, mining and consulting, including two stints as Visiting Scientist in Australia. He has published numerous journal articles and a technical book with Prentice Hall (Hydrogeology in Practice). He currently writes Hydrothink, a humorous but instructive column for a bimonthly professional magazine.
Please take a look at two possible covers below then vote on the choice you recommend for Captain Stone:
Click on the thumbnail to enlarge Cover Option A
Click on the thumbnail to enlarge Cover Option B
