Author
CPT Kelly J. Galvin, USA (RET) enlisted in 1975 and served as an infantryman, cavalry scout, and medic in squad leader, platoon sergeant and platoon leader positions. He instructed at the 9th Division & Fort Lewis NCO Academy (infantry primary NCO course) and at the Advanced NCO Course at the California Military Academy. He served as a Training & Operations Senior NCO at a 400-bed evacuation hospital before attending Officer Candidate School (OCS) at the California Military Academy. He graduated OCS as the Distinguished Honor Graduate and accepted a commission in the Signal Corps where he also graduated at the top of his Signal Officer Basic and Advanced courses at Fort Gordon, Georgia. He additionally became branch-qualified as a Medical Service Corps officer. His assignments include platoon leader, company commander, signal operations officer, and medical strength management officer before retiring at twenty-years of service in 1996.
He holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from National University and a Masters Certificate in Healthcare Administration from California State University at Long Beach. Upon retiring from service, he worked as a healthcare administrator and manager of information systems for a large veterans nursing home where he engineered and established the facility’s first wireless local area network and digital healthcare information system.
He self-published two books and then fully retired in 2004 to Arizona where he volunteers in the community. The Army recalled him back to active duty in 2009 and deployed him to Iraq as part of the surge of forces strategy.
He’s a life member of the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA), a life member of the Disabled American Veterans (DAV), a life member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), a life member of the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), and a 27-year member of the American Legion (AL Post 131).
PowerPoint Ranger Synopsis
Matt Jerome retired from the military. He enjoys retirement days in his wood shop, but then after more than a decade, the Army calls and changes his life dramatically. “The Army needs you for the Global War on Terror,” the personnel manager says, and Captain Jerome answers, “OK, how can I help?”
PowerPoint Ranger: My Iraq War Logs is a unique ‘call to duty’, military adventure novel. With a resemblance to the 1955 movie, Strategic Air Command with James Stewart, PowerPoint Ranger: My Iraq War Logs tells the story of a 52-year-old Army captain recalled to active duty after 13 years of retirement. As a fictionalized memoir, PowerPoint Ranger: My Iraq War Logs is a story of determination, perseverance, and sacrifice to conquer the challenges of returning to military service, and then deploying to a combat zone.
The Army asks Captain Matt Jerome, a retired signal corps captain to come back on active duty and add his critical skills to the surge of forces in Iraq. Jerome overcomes obstacles of age, weight, training, and physical and medical fitness to be deployed to a major headquarters in Baghdad. The captain becomes immersed in reviewing, analyzing and documenting horrific scenes of war into full-color, classified PowerPoint* presentations. While serving in the Joint Operations Center (JOC), Captain Jerome observes an intelligence analyst browsing the classified files network, who then makes outrageous claims of war atrocities. Stressful conditions in Iraq take a toll on U.S. Forces as one sergeant commits multiple murders at the Combat Stress Center; other service members commit suicide during Jerome’s deployment. But then President Obama makes a surprise visit to headquarters and his announcement changes the captain’s fate.
PowerPoint Ranger: My Iraq War Logs plunges you into an emotional behind-the-scenes look at being recalled to active duty to work in a highly stressful combat zone assignment. When you imagine binge-watching the scariest horror movies available on Netflix, but knowing THIS horror is all real, you’ll begin to appreciate being a PowerPoint Ranger working in this JOC for 12 hours a day, 7 days a week.
PowerPoint Ranger: My Iraq War Logs will resonate with the 100’s of thousands of briefing officers, who’ve slaved over presentations. This is THEIR story, too. PowerPoint Ranger: My Iraq War Logs will appeal to military members and their families, but also with people intrigued with what really happens inside a military operations center during wartime.
*PowerPoint throughout this website is a trademark of Microsoft and refers to Microsoft’s presentation software program of the same name.
Table Of Contents
Foreword
Introduction
Chapter 1 – Fat, Dumb, and Happy
Chapter 2 – The Call
Chapter 3 – The Decision
Chapter 4 – The Regreening
Chapter 5 – Welcome to Iraq
Chapter 6 – The Al Faw Palace
Chapter 7 – The JOC
Chapter 8 – The JOC – Drone War
Chapter 9 – The JOC – Hand-Off
Chapter 10 – The JOC – Bloody Easter Week
Chapter 11 – The JOC – The Heartbreak
Chapter 12 – The JOC – Lieutenant ‘Sugarbritches’
Chapter 13 – The JOC – Bloody May
Chapter 14 – The Interpreters Cell – New Life
Chapter 15 – The Interpreters Cell – Exiting
Chapter 16 – Redeployment to CONUS – Freedom Birds
Author’s Closing Note