02509cam a2200313 4500 556147605 TxAuBib 20220512120000.0 220428s2022||||||||||||||||||||||||eng|u 9780063144316 006314431X TxAuBib Esper, Mark T.,. A sacred oath : memoirs of a Secretary of Defense during extraordinary times / Mark T. Esper. Memoirs of a Secretary of Defense during extraordinary times. First edition. New York, NY : William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, [2022] 2022. x, 735 pages, 8 pages of unnumbered plates : illustrations (chiefly color) ; 24 cm. Includes bibliographical references (pages 699-714) and index. Introduction: a meeting like no other -- First days, early warnings -- An army renaissance -- War with Iran begins in Iraq -- Civilian control and reform of the Pentagon -- Tehran escalates -- America strikes -- The politics of building a better navy -- The Afghanistan dilemma -- Covid, a tragic, epic fight -- Operation Warp Speed -- Desperate measures -- The republic wobbles -- A walk in the park -- Hard days and long nights -- Making lemonade -- A salute to America? -- Pride, promotions, and politics -- Lost causes and important ones -- China, China, China -- America's stratetic advantage -- Unrest in the Northwest? -- October surprises -- Endgame. "From June of 2019 until his firing by President Trump after the November 2020 election, Secretary Mark T. Esper led the Department of Defense through an unprecedented time in history—a period marked by growing threats and conflict abroad, a global pandemic unseen in a century, the greatest domestic unrest in two generations, and a White House seemingly bent on breaking accepted norms and conventions for political advantage. A Sacred Oath is Secretary Esper’s unvarnished and candid memoir of those extraordinary and dangerous times, and includes events and moments never before told." --publisher's website. 20220512. Esper, Mark T. United States Department of Defense Officials and employees Biography. Cabinet officers United States Biography. United States Politics and government 2017-2021. Autobiographies.