Front Toward Enemy

War, Veterans, and the Homefront

By Daniel R Green, and Reviewed by Robert T Carter Jr

Article published on: September 1, 2025 in the Fall 2025 edition of Army History

Read Time: < 12 mins

Rowman & Littlefeld, 2021 Pp. x, 215. $38

This book can be considered a prerequisite or staple for understanding veterans. Front Toward Enemy: War, Veterans, and the Homefront synthesizes many of the issues related to wartime service in a very readable and well-documented manner. We benefit from the author Daniel R. Green’s conversations with other veterans to “broaden the public discussion about veterans returning home from war” and his research and use of sources from the Revolutionary War to current operations (x). He does this from the perspective of one who has served, as well as from his overlapping vocations as a political scientist and former defense ofcial. The book is broken down into nine chapters. Each chapter ofers a refection that begins with a quote and is supported by applications from other literary sources on war, trauma, and examples from real life and media. A recurring theme in the text is the changes that occur because of the experience of military service during a time of war. The author has earned his bona fdes from his academic work as a PhD and being a commander in the U.S. Navy Reserve with four mobilizations supporting the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as serving with the U.S. Department of State as the political adviser for a provincial reconstruction team in Afghanistan.

The book begins with a prologue that sets the stage for the author’s intentions in his writing and concludes with an epilogue that closes out his thoughts. The text includes notes at the end, as well as a bibliography and index. The quotes that start each chapter and the examples used throughout will provide a list of next-to-read recommendations from sources readers have not already explored, helping us discuss War, Veterans, and the Homefront.

One of the book’s strengths is the use of quotes to open each chapter, illustrating the points the author is making. These quotations, unlike many other books in this category, stretch back to the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, and the World Wars and are not focused just on Vietnam or the Global War on Terrorism. Tey draw from both fction and nonfction. The use of literature helps underscore some of the diverse ways that veterans have developed to reenter and react in society afer their participation in armed confict has ended. In the military, we develop and adapt systems that work for us physically, mentally, and spiritually, enabling us to function effectively when engaged in war. Tose systems do not always work for us when we return home. Green has an insight from his reserve service that resonates with those who have transitioned from the National Guard and Reserve (components 2 and 3) services, which is not always present when an author draws solely from active-duty service (component 1). The scope of the book illustrates the changes that have occurred in our society, contributing to various stressors and strains on relationships for veterans from different conflicts. In reading the book, we gain insight into the generational experiences of serving and returning home from war—what each of those generations faced as challenges and contributed to society in general, and those who would serve later. The writing also highlights the sense of separation that is prevalent in our country now because of the transition to an all-volunteer force. The frst chapter, “No Victory Parades,” explores the tension many veterans have when “[t]hey ofen long to return to war but hope to never go again and are stuck in a nether world of war without end and peace that does not exist” (2). Tis chapter provides a foundation, drawing on quotes from subject matter experts who have examined the wartime and veteran experience. For the veterans from components 2 and 3 who are not among peers still serving or living in an area with a large veteran community, this chapter can validate the normalcy of what they are feeling and thinking. It also explores the terms those who were “in” used and the thoughts and biases that exist in society. In addition to the changes wrought by the all-volunteer force, Green looks at the results that have come from integrating men and women into jobs that were exclusively male in the past, and how that has infuenced how society defnes masculinity.

The second chapter, “The Mind of the War Veteran,” identifies factors that influence veterans based on what phase they were serving in during a campaign (invasion, endura nce, su rge, a nd withdrawal) (33) and the conditions that they experienced—“(1) risk tolerance, (2) rules and regulations, (3) diferent levels and types of violence, (4) knowledge of insurgency, and (5) understanding of local culture and relationships with locals” (33)—as well as the type of job and location for their service. What we may perceive as an unconscious habit or personality trait, ofen because of training, becomes an obvious function of decisions made to minimize risk and maximize success, as observed in this section.

The third chapter, “Camaraderie, Love and Humor,” begins with a personal refection from a conversation with the author’s grandmother. The book is dedicated to his grandfather who served in World War II. Green’s grandmother taught him about the cost of service and the marks it lef on his grandfather to be a member of the club for “those who went to war.” In exploring how military members adapt to the value of selfess service, he begins to reveal some of the character diferences that develop between those who have served and those who have not. The training and relationships provided to war veterans include both skills and strategies that can be benefcial, as well as those that create challenges upon their return home.

The fourth chapter, “Zombies, Movies, and Video Games,” unpacks how many veterans struggle because “the authority and, frankly, power they had in war is difficult to replicate on the home front once they demobilize” (87). In addition to the ways this can be addressed in video games and zombie-themed shows, there are recommendations made for media to watch that can help those who have not gone to war understand this. It also gives us pause to consider how a generation/culture remembers its war, how it is written about in fction, science fction, and portrayed in flms and television shows that craf the myths and legends of those conficts.

The fifth chapter, “War Memoirs,” is the story of a generation that has gone to war: “these books are communications among the members of that secret army, the men who have been there and will understand, as other generations will not and cannot” (91). This element connects with points made in the previous chapters. In addition to the diferences between how war is imagined in our minds and how it unfolds in real life, this section also leads to issues that will be discussed in chapter 8 regarding stolen valor. The chapter includes black-and-white photos from the author’s own service.

The sixth chapter, “Vietnam War,” delves into how the media has portrayed the war, often with a theme of loss of innocence. The chapter also looks at back-home estrangement and what that negative sentiment contributed to how those who have not served view veterans. The author describes the prominent books of this era and what they offer in terms of lessons learned and points developed, contributing to the myths and legends that emerged from that war and how they resonate with the veterans’ “war-in-his-head” (117). As the author notes, “These myths and legends became the reference points for many Afghanistan and Iraq veterans of what fghting and insurgency by U.S. forces really entailed and will impact how these wars are remembered and chronicled for future generations” (117–18). Tis has afected U.S. strategic thinking, how the military has been shaped for the modern age, and our culture.

The seventh chapter, “Militaria,” looks at what members of the military bring back and hold onto. War veterans also return with mementos of close calls with death, such as bullets and shell fragments, or deeply meaningful items from their time in a country such as a stone, some dirt, or an item connected to the death of a comrade (128). The chapter explores what has been sent home and collected in past conficts, as well as the art of what is collected now. The eighth chapter, “Stolen Valor and Fake Veterans,” delves into the reaction of those who have served that leads them to unmask those who seek to feign service experience or claim awards they did not earn. The chapter explores how the medals soldiers currently receive have evolved and some of the functions and rules governing these awards. Tis aspect is tied back to the author’s exploration of the changing conceptions of masculinity in American culture.

The ninth chapter, “Veteran Politicians,” explores how status as a veteran can be benefcial for those aspiring to serve in the political sphere. The author examines what a veteran gains from serving and interacting with others from diverse ethnicities and economic backgrounds, which can aid them in their quest for political ofce. The lessons learned and politics from fghting the counterinsurgencies of Afghanistan and Iraq have raised new issues for today’s veterans to work through. The chapter highlights the service of signifcant candidates for public ofce who have veteran status. “In wars without victory parades, when there is no decisive victory, are veterans ever truly home?” is the author’s closing question (183). How do we treat those who served in Afghanistan and Iraq? How did those who grew up in the shadow of Vietnam War’s legacy and with the lenses of success from World War II and the Gulf War, temper their views? The tragedy of Somalia and the “Black Hawk Down” incident (182) is a key example of this problem. The current generation of veterans may have ended their military service as a casualty, completed the time they were obligated to serve, or reached their mandatory retirement date (officers) or expiration term of service (enlisted). Tey are looking for discussions and congratulations on a job well done, which show that their service and sacrifce have been valued.

Front Toward Enemy is recommended highly for anyone who wishes to learn more about how veteran culture is formed and about the challenges that veterans face upon return from war. It can be benefcial for those who have not served, family members, and generations from other wars to assist their understanding. It will help to build bridges for communication and support with their fellow brothers and sisters in arms from other conficts and eras.