The book continues the story of the role of Forward Air Controllers (JTACs) and Close Air Support (CAS) that began in 2006 and continued through 2013. This volume covers the development of Joint Fires in the colloquial "second phase" of the war on terror - the "Surges" in Iraq in 2007 and Afghanistan in 2010-2011. The narrative is supported by the individual accounts of Close Air Support specialists from the US Air Force, US Army and US Navy, as well as Forward Air Controllers from the British, Canadian, Danish and German coalitions. Volume 2 recounts the evolution of the air forces during the growing counterinsurgency effort, as well as the psychology and mental makeup of these exclusive groups. Notable accounts include the recovery mission of "EXTORTION 17," the first withdrawal from Iraq, previously unreported missions against insurgent strongholds, and several instances where the situational awareness and decision making of Air Force officers prevented civilian casualties and fratricide. The story contains a continuation of the strategic lessons of America's longest war: where tactical success and innovation failed to achieve a strategic outcome in the face of ambiguous overall strategy, flawed policy, and a failure to understand the new battlefields of the 21st century, as reported by the men whose air forces repeatedly stepped into the breach. Volume 2 ends with the end of the "war on terror" in 2013, as the final phase of the post-9/11 wars transitioned into the "train, advise and assist" missions in Iraq and Afghanistan.
