he Reserve Components of the Armed Forces of the United States play a vital role in our National Defense efforts. Reserve units and personnel of all branches of the military have proven their mettle during the first two decades of the 21st Century, not only protecting the Homeland, but also deploying an untold number of times to multiple theaters of combat, fighting our nation’s battles overseas so that we do not have to fight them at home. We have pursued a long and costly, but necessary, campaign to ensure the freedom and safety of the ones we love. Now, we are well into the third decade of this century, and while members of the Reserve Components are still being deployed on operational missions, a greater emphasis is being placed on resetting the force and preparing for the next military challenge to be faced by our nation. This shift of emphasis means a greater focus on training, and that’s where this book of devotionals comes in. Annual Training is a ritual, a rite of passage, and a challenge for the drilling member of the Reserve Components. It means two or more weeks away from home and loved ones, and it means conducting rigorous, challenging, and, from time-to-time onerous, training, operations, and equipment maintenance. Annual Training can simultaneously be both the highlight of the training year, as well as a thorn in the side of a Service Member. It is an event to be anticipated and also dreaded in just about equal measures. Annual Training is a unique experience which can only really be understood by someone who has "been there and done that.” The purpose of this book is simple: to provide daily devotionals from the Christian Bible for troops attending Annual Training. Depending on the Reserve Component one is assigned to and the location where it is conducted, an Annual Training period can be 14, 15, or 17 days long. Reserve Component units that train overseas can be on duty for as much as 21 days. To split the difference, this book provides 17 days of devotionals. Please note that I have chosen to use the King James translation of the Scriptures in this book for several reasons. First, the King James Bible has historically been the most commonly used translation among Protestants. In addition, the New Testaments provided to troops by the Gideons are usually in the King James Version and so this book will complement their efforts. Finally, according to the American Bible Society, the King James text is in the public domain, which resolves any copyright issues over its use in this book. Feel free, however, to read the focal passage of each day’s devotion in the translation of the Bible that best suits your needs. Some of the included devotionals will have a military theme, but not all of them do. However, all of them do have a basis in Scripture and in the tenets of the Christian faith. I trust that they will encourage and sustain the reader during the trials and triumphs of Annual Training. Every blessing, Chaplain Otis Corbitt

First time in paperback: A myth-shattering book on codes and codebreaking that "no one with the slightest interest in World War II or in the origins of the Cold War can afford to ignore."-Robin W. Winks

The “extraordinarily informed” account of how US cryptographers broke Japan’s Purple cipher to change the course of World War II (Kirkus Reviews, starred review). Marching Orders tells the story of how the American military’s breaking of the Japanese diplomatic Purple codes during World War II led to the defeat of Nazi Germany and hastened the end of the devastating conflict. With unprecedented access to over one million pages of US Army documents and thousands of pages of top-secret messages dispatched to Tokyo from the Japanese embassy in Berlin, author Bruce Lee offers a series of fascinating revelations about pivotal moments in the war. Challenging conventional wisdom, Marching Orders demonstrates how an American invasion of Japan would have resulted in massive casualties for both forces. Lee presents a thrilling day-by-day chronicle of the difficult choices faced by the American military brain trust and how, aware of Japan’s adamant refusal to surrender, the United States made the fateful decision to drop nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Hailed as “one of the most important books ever published on World War II” by Robert T. Crowley, an intelligence officer who later became a senior executive at the CIA, Marching Orders unveils the untold stories behind some of the Second World War’s most critical events, bringing them to vivid life. With this book, “many of the mysteries that have eluded historians since the end of the war are much clarified: the Pearl Harbor fiasco, D-Day, why the Americans let the Russians capture Berlin, and why the decision to drop the atomic bomb was made. This is the most significant publication about World War II since the recent series of books on the Ultra revelations” (Library Journal). It’s a story that, as historian Robin W. Winks said, “no one with the slightest interest in World War II or in the origins of the Cold War can afford to ignore.”

Sacred Marching Orders is an introduction to the energy of the "solar feminine." Women's socialization into powerlessness under the patriarchal paradigm has created a devastating loss of the rich resources of women at a time when these are desperately needed. This book shows how the qualities we are comfortable with as women, such as nurturing, receptivity, and listening can be used as the fertile soil from which an uncompromising, effective, powerful action can spring forth. This, in collaboration with other women wielding that same "Mother Bear Fierceness," can be the energy that reverses the destructive trajectory we are traveling on, on our precious Mother Earth. Women are the answer. The "solar feminine" is the crucial energy and NOW is the time. This is the 11th hour.

A sailor faces a kamikaze hurtling at his ship, then walks a police beat back home, trying to keep the peace."--BOOK JACKET.

This is Volume Two of Marching Orders, which like the original, is a book of devotionals intended for use by members of the Reserve Components of the United States Armed Forces attending Annual Training. As I said in the introduction to Volume One, Annual Training is a unique experience which can only really be understood by someone who has "been there and done that,” and, as a retired Army National Guard Chaplain I think that I qualify on that account. The purpose of this book is simple: to provide daily devotionals from the Christian Bible for troops attending Annual Training. Depending on the Reserve Component one is assigned to and the location where it is conducted, an Annual Training period can be 14, 15, or 17 days long. Reserve Component units that train overseas can be on duty for as much as 21 days. To split the difference, this book provides 17 days of devotionals. Our focus in Marching Orders Volume Two is our values as Christian members of the Armed Forces. Values are deeply held convictions that guide us when no other procedures, rules, regulations, or laws apply. They also greatly affect how we carry out our duties even when some sort of governing rule or document exists. I think an example from my civilian ministry will illustrate the role that values play in our lives: I serve in a rural town in south Alabama, and a new pastor came to our community recently from a large, metropolitan city. I asked him what the biggest difference he had seen as he made that transition. He told me, “Back in [the big city] if your church held an event, people expected it to be top-notch. If you put on an unimpressive or sloppy event, people just would not come back. They’d go down the road to the next church. Here [in the small town] people don’t seem to care as much about how good the event is. They are just grateful that you took the time and effort to do it.” Thus, we can see that in the big city, people hold to the value of Excellence, but in the small town, people cherish the values of Relationship and Caring. Every Soldier should be familiar with the Army Values (Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity, and Personal Courage) as well as the Warrior Ethos which asserts: • I will always place the mission first. • I will never accept defeat. • I will never quit. • I will never leave a fallen comrade. These are statements of belief that thrust Soldiers forward to victory in battle or success at home despite encountering all varieties of adversity. Likewise, our other military branches have statements of values as well, such as the Navy’s list of Honor, Courage, and Commitment, and the Air Force values of, “integrity first, service before self, and excellence in all we do.” The similar mottos of the Marine Corps (Semper Fidelis: Always Faithful) and the Coast Guard (Semper Paratus: Always Ready) are also value statements, and good ones. Truth be told, some Service Members often hold to less wholesome and less honorable values as well. I cannot count the times in my career I heard a leader say, “If you ain’t cheating, you ain’t trying.” Contrast that cynical statement with something I heard more than one Coast Guardsman say about risking their lives during search and rescue operations during a storm: “The fact is, you have to go out, but you don’t have to come back!” I hope the devotionals included in this book will encourage the latter type of values, rather than the former! Some of the values we will examine will be from the military services, while others will come primarily from the Bible; however, every devotional included within will be based on God’s Word. Please note that I have chosen to use the King James translation of the Scriptures in this book for several reasons. First, the King James Bible has historically been the most commonly used translation among Protestants. In addition, the New Testaments provided to troops by the Gideons are usually in the King James Version and so this book will complement their efforts. Finally, according to the American Bible Society, the King James text is in the public domain, which resolves any copyright issues over its use in this book. Feel free, however, to read the focal passage of each day’s devotion in the translation of the Bible that best suits your needs. Some of the included devotionals will have a military theme, but not all of them do. However, as I said above, all of them do have a basis in Scripture and in the tenets of the Christian faith. I trust that they will encourage and sustain the reader during the trials and triumphs of Annual Training. Every blessing, Chaplain Otis Corbitt

In our lives, in both the spiritual and secular realms, it is important to know “who’s the boss?” As we will see in these pages, Jesus Christ is our Master and Commander. This is Volume Three of Marching Orders, which like the previous volumes, is a book of devotionals intended for use by members of the Reserve Components of the United States Armed Forces attending Annual Training. As I said in the introduction to Volume One, Annual Training is a unique experience which can only really be understood by someone who has "been there and done that,” and, as a retired Army National Guard Chaplain I think that I qualify on that account. The purpose of this book is simple: to provide daily devotionals from the Christian Bible for troops attending Annual Training. Depending on the Reserve Component one is assigned to and the location where it is conducted, an Annual Training period can be 14, 15, or 17 days long. Reserve Component units that train overseas can be on duty for as much as 21 days. To split the difference, this book provides 17 days of devotionals. If we carefully review the Biblical record of the ministry of Jesus, we begin seeing something new. The Old Testament is full of the acts of God as He carefully unfolded His plan to redeem the world, but in the Gospels, we can see Him personally. We will see the Master of the Universe walking amongst His creation and demonstrating His power and control. By the end of this series of devotionals, we will clearly see Jesus as our Master and Commander, convincingly answering the question of “who’s the boss?” Some of the included devotionals will include illustrations and applications from military service while others will be more general in nature; however, every devotional found within will be based on God’s Word. Please note that I have chosen to use the King James translation of the Scriptures in this book for several reasons. First, the King James Bible has historically been the most commonly used translation among Protestants. In addition, the New Testaments provided to troops by the Gideons are usually in the King James Version and so this book will complement their efforts. Finally, according to the American Bible Society, the King James text is in the public domain, which resolves any copyright issues over its use in this book. Feel free, however, to read the focal passage of each day’s devotion in the translation of the Bible that best suits your needs. Some of the included devotionals will have a military theme, but not all of them do. However, as I said above, all of them do have a basis in Scripture and in the tenets of the Christian faith. I trust that they will encourage and sustain the reader during the trials and triumphs of Annual Training. Every blessing, Chaplain Otis Corbitt