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Vietnam veteran Charles M. (Chuck) Grist was settled into his law enforcement career as a police
detective when America was attacked on September 11, 2001. Still in the Army Reserve, Grist was called to
active duty in 2003 at the beginning of the Iraq war. When his initial stateside training mission ended, he
volunteered to deploy to Iraq as a military policeman in 2004.
Grist was selected to lead the C.O.B.R.A. Team, a group of American cops whose mission was to protect
the life of a civil affairs brigadier general. Their protective service detail (PSD) would escort the general
through the streets of Baghdad, to the throne of Nebuchadnezzar in ancient Babylon, and through the
picturesque hills of Kurdistan in northern Iraq.
****************************************************************************************************************************************
The men of the C.O.B.R.A. Team:
Cobra One – Author Grist’s call-sign as leader of the team;
Cobra Two – A young Texan and experienced soldier who had almost finished the police academy when
he was called to active duty;
Cobra Three – A combat veteran of Somalia, a Mississippi cop, and a great big bear of a man;
Cobra Four – The team medic, a police officer, and a part-time movie and television actor.
****************************************************************************************************************************************
As the C.O.B.R.A. Team tried to survive their daily missions, they came to know other warrior-citizens from
the Army Reserve and the National Guard who performed heroic and extraordinary deeds during Operation
Iraqi Freedom:
The General - An experienced leader and combat veteran who faced a multitude of challenges while
courageously leading his command by his own personal example;
The U.S. Marshal - A civil affairs major and trainer of the C.O.B.R.A. Team who would face his own deadly
encounter with Iraqi insurgents;
The Lieutenant - The general’s aide who was a skilled leader with unique experience in the civilian world of
politics;
The Deputy Sheriff - A Central Florida cop and Army Reserve captain who led a small civil affairs team on
dangerous and risky missions that made big differences in the lives of the Iraqi people;
The Warrior Princess – A staff sergeant and wife of Cobra Two, she was a warrior in her own right. She
would be dubbed “Cobra Five” by the author;
The ex-Air Force captain – Now an Army Reserve sergeant, he would be critically wounded during a fierce
battle in Baghdad's Sadr City.
The First Sergeant – A courageous leader who received his own serious wounds from an insurgent’s
rocket-propelled grenade;
The Advisor - A Florida reservist who risked death by leading a rescue convoy of new Iraqi soldiers
through multiple ambushes to re-supply his fellow soldiers;
The Orthotic Technician - A Fort Lauderdale sergeant who partnered with a National Guard captain to
make prosthetic devices for Iraqis with missing arms and legs;
The Surgeon – A doctor who performed miraculous operations that would save the lives of horribly-
wounded soldiers and who risked his life during dangerous medevac missions;
The Other PSD – The Army Reserve team that faced almost certain death in a tragic ambush during their
last mission.
****************************************************************************************************************************************
There were others whose lives would touch the C.O.B.R.A. Team, including soldiers and civilians from
Coalition countries who sacrificed, and often died, for the cause of freedom. There were also many brave
citizens of Iraq who were willing to put their own lives on the line to build a new nation filled with liberty and
opportunity.
Author Grist would endeavor to complete his own journey of war which began a generation ago in Vietnam.
During his first war, he was a young, inexperienced soldier and leader. He would participate in his second
war from the perspective of a combat veteran, a grandfather, and a long-time police officer.
For his mission in Iraq to be a success, Grist would have to ensure that the general and the men of the
C.O.B.R.A. Team returned safely to their families. These soldiers would need all of their skills, a lot of luck,
and an unswerving dedication to each other in order to survive. Each and every day, the ruthless Iraqi
insurgents would look for an opportunity to kill them all.
Charles M. (Chuck) Grist is a law enforcement officer in Central Florida. He graduated from Valencia
Community College with an Associate of Arts in journalism and from the University of Central Florida with a
Bachelor of Arts in communication. He and his wife, Debbie, live in Seminole County where they are the
parents of four children and the grandparents of three little girls and one little Ranger.
Author Grist can be contacted via email at TheRangerCop@aol.com or through his military blog at
www.AmericanRanger.blogspot.com.
detective when America was attacked on September 11, 2001. Still in the Army Reserve, Grist was called to
active duty in 2003 at the beginning of the Iraq war. When his initial stateside training mission ended, he
volunteered to deploy to Iraq as a military policeman in 2004.
Grist was selected to lead the C.O.B.R.A. Team, a group of American cops whose mission was to protect
the life of a civil affairs brigadier general. Their protective service detail (PSD) would escort the general
through the streets of Baghdad, to the throne of Nebuchadnezzar in ancient Babylon, and through the
picturesque hills of Kurdistan in northern Iraq.
****************************************************************************************************************************************
The men of the C.O.B.R.A. Team:
Cobra One – Author Grist’s call-sign as leader of the team;
Cobra Two – A young Texan and experienced soldier who had almost finished the police academy when
he was called to active duty;
Cobra Three – A combat veteran of Somalia, a Mississippi cop, and a great big bear of a man;
Cobra Four – The team medic, a police officer, and a part-time movie and television actor.
****************************************************************************************************************************************
As the C.O.B.R.A. Team tried to survive their daily missions, they came to know other warrior-citizens from
the Army Reserve and the National Guard who performed heroic and extraordinary deeds during Operation
Iraqi Freedom:
The General - An experienced leader and combat veteran who faced a multitude of challenges while
courageously leading his command by his own personal example;
The U.S. Marshal - A civil affairs major and trainer of the C.O.B.R.A. Team who would face his own deadly
encounter with Iraqi insurgents;
The Lieutenant - The general’s aide who was a skilled leader with unique experience in the civilian world of
politics;
The Deputy Sheriff - A Central Florida cop and Army Reserve captain who led a small civil affairs team on
dangerous and risky missions that made big differences in the lives of the Iraqi people;
The Warrior Princess – A staff sergeant and wife of Cobra Two, she was a warrior in her own right. She
would be dubbed “Cobra Five” by the author;
The ex-Air Force captain – Now an Army Reserve sergeant, he would be critically wounded during a fierce
battle in Baghdad's Sadr City.
The First Sergeant – A courageous leader who received his own serious wounds from an insurgent’s
rocket-propelled grenade;
The Advisor - A Florida reservist who risked death by leading a rescue convoy of new Iraqi soldiers
through multiple ambushes to re-supply his fellow soldiers;
The Orthotic Technician - A Fort Lauderdale sergeant who partnered with a National Guard captain to
make prosthetic devices for Iraqis with missing arms and legs;
The Surgeon – A doctor who performed miraculous operations that would save the lives of horribly-
wounded soldiers and who risked his life during dangerous medevac missions;
The Other PSD – The Army Reserve team that faced almost certain death in a tragic ambush during their
last mission.
****************************************************************************************************************************************
There were others whose lives would touch the C.O.B.R.A. Team, including soldiers and civilians from
Coalition countries who sacrificed, and often died, for the cause of freedom. There were also many brave
citizens of Iraq who were willing to put their own lives on the line to build a new nation filled with liberty and
opportunity.
Author Grist would endeavor to complete his own journey of war which began a generation ago in Vietnam.
During his first war, he was a young, inexperienced soldier and leader. He would participate in his second
war from the perspective of a combat veteran, a grandfather, and a long-time police officer.
For his mission in Iraq to be a success, Grist would have to ensure that the general and the men of the
C.O.B.R.A. Team returned safely to their families. These soldiers would need all of their skills, a lot of luck,
and an unswerving dedication to each other in order to survive. Each and every day, the ruthless Iraqi
insurgents would look for an opportunity to kill them all.
Charles M. (Chuck) Grist is a law enforcement officer in Central Florida. He graduated from Valencia
Community College with an Associate of Arts in journalism and from the University of Central Florida with a
Bachelor of Arts in communication. He and his wife, Debbie, live in Seminole County where they are the
parents of four children and the grandparents of three little girls and one little Ranger.
Author Grist can be contacted via email at TheRangerCop@aol.com or through his military blog at
www.AmericanRanger.blogspot.com.
Author and Vietnam veteran Charles M. Grist led the C.O.B.R.A.
Team during dangerous convoy missions in Iraq. Based in
Baghdad during 2004, the team faced the possibility of death from
ambushes, improvised explosive devices or rocket and mortar
attacks. Grist also describes some of the heroic and extraordinary
deeds of America's warrior-citizens, the men and women of the
Army Reserve and the National Guard.
Team during dangerous convoy missions in Iraq. Based in
Baghdad during 2004, the team faced the possibility of death from
ambushes, improvised explosive devices or rocket and mortar
attacks. Grist also describes some of the heroic and extraordinary
deeds of America's warrior-citizens, the men and women of the
Army Reserve and the National Guard.
| A preview of the upcoming book "My Last War": |
Coming soon: THE NEW BOOK that tells the story of the C.O.B.R.A. Team:
"My Last War - A Vietnam Veteran's Tour in Iraq"
| Author Charles M. Grist "Cobra One" |
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| The content and images on this website © Copyright 2007 and 2008 by Charles M. Grist. All rights reserved. "My Last War - A Vietnam Veteran's Tour in Iraq" © Copyright 2008 by Charles M. Grist All rights reserved. |