Flight Path: Son of Africa to Warrior-Diplomat

by Jonathan Scott Gration

Overview

This memoir covers the following topics and more: Secretary Clinton's and Scott Gration's use of email accounts while in the State department, international affairs, technology development, world history, military aviation, and Africa. There is plenty in this book to keep you turning the pages. Please visit the book's website at: www.scottgration.com.

Former President Carter introduces this gripping first-person narrative that provides significant details about six headline stories not previously revealed. Captivating experiences from Scott's unique childhood--attending boarding school at the age of seven, escaping the 1964 Congo rebellion as a refugee, and being inducted into the Masai tribe in Kenya--jumpstart the book. Human-interest vignettes punctuate fascinating accounts of developing the Predator drone, conducting the 2003 scud hunt in Iraq, and accompanying Senator Obama to Africa in 2006. He painfully describes surviving the 1996 Khobar Towers bombing in Saudi Arabia and the 9/11 terrorist attack on the Pentagon, and then recalls speaking at the 2008 National Democratic Convention and helping to birth South Sudan in 2011. His reflections at the end of the memoir highlight important lessons Scott gleaned during his unlikely journey from son of Africa to a warrior and diplomat.

In 2012, Scott Gration was fired from his job as Ambassador to Kenya over disagreements with the State Department on security and other issues, including using his Gmail account to supplement the Department's OpenNet computer system. Since revelations about Hillary Clinton's private email server surfaced a year ago, he has been interviewed on CNN's "State of the Union" program and his name has appeared in numerous articles about the State Department's "double standard." This book provides facts that have not been exposed previously.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780997651607
Publisher:	Mulami Books LLC
Publication date:	07/10/2016
Pages:	352
Sales rank:	430,506
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.73(d)

About the Author

Ambassador Scott Gration spent his childhood years in Belgian Congo and Kenya. Upon graduation from Rutgers University in 1974, Ambassador Gration joined the United States Air Force and retired as a Major General in 2006. During his early years in the Air Force, Ambassador Gration served as an F-5 and F-16 instructor pilot. His staff positions included tours in the Pentagon and NATO, and a White House Fellowship. In 1980, he was selected by the US JayCees as "One of the Ten Outstanding Young Men" of America. In 1995, Ambassador Gration took command of the 4404th Operations Group in Saudi Arabia and then he was transferred to Operation Northern Watch in Turkey in 1996,. Ambassador Gration served as commander of the 39th Wing at Incirlik AB, Turkey and later commanded the 3rd Wing at Elmendorf AFB, Alaska. In 2000 and 2001, Ambassador Gration was Deputy Director for Information Operations and Special Technical Operations in the Joint Staff in Washington, and then spent two and a half years as in the office of the Deputy Undersecretary of the Air Force for International Affairs. From January to June 2003, he commanded the Combined Joint Task Force-West during Operation Iraqi Freedom. From June 2004 to October 2006, he served as Director, Strategy, Plans, Policy, and Assessments Directorate of United States European Command. Ambassador Gration speaks Kiswahili and has an MA from Georgetown University in National Security Studies. He is a command pilot with more than 5,000 flight hours in the F-5, F-15, and F-16, including more than 2,000 hours as an instructor pilot and 274 combat missions. After retiring from the Air Force, Ambassador Gration served as the CEO of Millennium Villages (an organization dedicated to reducing extreme poverty), and COO of the Safe Water Network. Ambassador Gration was a national security adviser to the Obama Presidential campaign and served as a Special Assistant to the President. He also served as the President's Special Envoy to Sudan from March 2009 to April 2011. On 19 April 2011, Ambassador Gration was sworn in as the US Ambassador to Kenya-he served in that role from May 2011 until August 2012. Ambassador Gration remains committed to improving human conditions and to promoting American values wherever he can make a positive difference. He and his wife, Judy, live in Kenya where Scott is the executive chairman of Champion Afrik.

Table of Contents

Foreword by President Jimmy Carter

Preface

Timeline

1. Plunge to New Priorities

2. African Roots

3. Out of Africa

4. Wearing Green to Work

5. Back to Our Roots

6. View from the Top

7. Office in the Air

8. Combat Operations

9. Warrior Commander

10. Making a Difference

11. Finding Osama bin Laden

12. International Influence

13. Stopping the Scuds

14. Military Diplomacy

15. Obama Goes to Africa

16. Service, Faith, and Family

17. Trek to the White House

18. "Save Lives," Said the President

19. Serving in Sudan

20. America's Representative in Kenya

21. A Double Standard?

22. Reflections

Epilogue

Acknowledgments

End Notes

Acronyms, Abbreviations, Airplanes

Index

Editorial Reviews

"Scott Gration has flown the skies of war, worked the halls of power, negotiated with kings and generals, and survived terrorist bombings and diplomatic back-stabbing. What a remarkable life of service, resilience, courage, and faith."

John Abizaid, General, USA (Ret), Commander, US Central Command (2003-2007)

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"A great friend of Kenya and Africa, Scott Gration is much sought after and listened to in Africa. This book is professionally candid, highly entertaining, and offers interesting insights into complex US diplomatic relationships around the world."

Dr. Amina Mohamed, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Government of Kenya

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"Run to pick up a copy of Flight Path. Reading it made me feel inspired, encouraged and better equipped to live life well. Very highly recommended!"

Michael Stallard, President, E Pluribus Partners, Author of Connection Culture and Fired Up or Burned Out

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"Scott's humble patriotism and empathy are well-demonstrated in this unusual journey through wars, international relations, and many personal give-backs. His memoir portrays one of America's finest servant-leaders."

Josh Weston, Honorary Chairman, Automatic Data Processing Inc.

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"Scott's first-person rendition of the Khobar Towers attack and the sleepless days that followed is riveting. You will feel the pain and anger we all felt with the cowardly attack-and the determination we all felt in getting on with America's mission. You'll also get a good sense of the integral part Scott played in the response."

Terry Schwalier, Brig Gen, USAF (Ret), Commander, 4404th Composite Wing (Provisional), 1995−96

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"Flight Path tells the story of how General Scott Gration-honest, diplomatic, resilient, and focused on his plan-won the trust of the Sudanese and fulfilled his mission as the US Special Envoy to Sudan."

Dr. Ghazi Salahuddin Atabani, Former minister and presidential adviser, and chief interlocutor with the US Envoy, Republic of the Sudan

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"I grew up with Scott in the Belgian Congo. Scott's memoir is a fascinating and compelling glimpse into the intersection of the deeply personal and broader socio-political dimensions of history through the eyes of one who helped to shape significant global events. Margaret Mead observed that the course of history is influenced and changed primarily through the actions of thoughtful, committed, and passionate individuals. Scott Gration is one of those persons."

Dr. Paul W. Robinson, Professor Emeritus, Wheaton College (IL) and Senior Advisor, Congo Initiative USA

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"Scott Gration captures his careers as a fighter pilot, special envoy, and ambassador to Kenya with exquisite detail, tracing their beginnings to those formative years of his African childhood. I enthusiastically recommend this book to anyone interested in Africa, military aviation, or American politics."

Shel Arensen, Editor, Old Africa magazine

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Spending his childhood in a culture outside that of his parents, Scott developed an expanded worldview, a multicultural perspective, interpersonal sensitivity, cross-cultural competence, and cultural intelligence. As you read this insightful memoir, you will gain a fascinating glimpse into both the challenges and benefits of being reared as a third-culture kid. I highly recommend it!

Ruth E. Van Reken, co-author, Third Culture Kids: Growing Up Among Worlds

From the Publisher