This is the astonishing true story of a US Army Special Forces soldier who became a warrior for peace.
Welcome to the May 16th stop on the blog tour for Surviving the United Nations by Robert Bruce Adolph with Goddess Fish Promotions. Be sure to follow the rest of the tour for spotlights, reviews, more guest posts, and a giveaway! More on that at the end of this post.
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Author Guest Post
My book is the true story of my experiences on humanitarian and peacekeeping missions for the United Nations. I dealt with child-soldiers, blood diamonds, a double hostage-taking, an invasion by brutal guerrillas, an emergency aerial evacuation, a desperate hostage recover mission, tribal gunfights, refugee camp violence, suicide bombings, and institutional corruption. My UN career brought me face to face with the best and worst of human nature and I share it all in my book.
You will find my story lives up to its promise of “violence, corruption, betrayal and redemption” during my years as a senior United Nations security chief in the most difficult and demanding security region on the planet. As a former Green Beret and retired lieutenant colonel I explain the distinctions between soldiering, peacekeeping, and working for UN humanitarian and development agencies as I discuss my career which took me to Liberia, Yemen, Sierra Leone, Iraq, and more. Beyond corruption and bureaucratic inefficiencies, I encountered many life-and-death challenges. The most devastating was the jihadist bombing of the UN Headquarters in Baghdad in 2003, which claimed 22 lives.
What may make my book a page-turner is that every word is real. Every emotion is raw. Every mistake has consequences. Contrary to popular belief, death seldom has meaning. Violence is often proven stupid. And, finally, justice is not always served. Reality, when reading it, cannot be denied, and is recognized by readers. The lessons learned are invaluable.
About the Book
Surviving the United Nations
by Robert Bruce Adolph
Published 4 May 2025
Audecyn Books
Genre: Non-Fiction
Page Count: 388
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This is the astonishing true story of a US Army Special Forces soldier who became a warrior for peace. In his humanitarian and peacekeeping missions for the United Nations he dealt with child-soldiers, blood diamonds, a double hostage-taking, an invasion by brutal guerrillas, an emergency aerial evacuation, a desperate hostage recovery mission, tribal gunfights, refugee camp violence, suicide bombings, and institutional corruption. His UN career brought him face to face with the best and worst of human nature and he shares it all here.
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Excerpt
I had accomplished an area study on the country before departing Sarajevo—an old habit instilled in me by military training. You see, if time permits prior to the deployment of a Special Forces team on mission, the unit would enter isolation for as much as a week prior in preparation. During that period an area study would be developed among the twelve members of the team. Essentially, an area study examines all aspects of a country or region that might impact mission accomplishment. Knowing the history of a country is often key to understanding its future.
Sierra Leone had been established on the west coast of the African continent in 1787 by Great Britain as a home for freed slaves. It is about half the size of the American state of Illinois and became a crown colony in 1808. From that time until 1961, when it became an independent nation-state, the country was ruled by the British. In retrospect, the native population was not well prepared for self-rule.
There was a succession of coups. Government changed hands several times. In 1991, Corporal Foday Sankoh, a former soldier of the Sierra Leone Army, began a military campaign (insurgency) against the national warlord of the moment, Major General Saidu Momoh. Sankoh led what came to be known as the Revolutionary United Front (RUF). The RUF generally focused its attentions on the inland—controlling diamond-producing areas, and the Sierra Leone/Liberia border area in the east and south.
About the Author
Robert Bruce Adolph is a retired UN Chief Security Advisor & US Army Special Forces Lieutenant Colonel. He holds master’s degrees in both International Affairs (Middle East Studies) from American University’s School of International Service and National Security Studies and Strategy from the US Army’s Command and General Staff College.
Adolph served nearly 26-years in multiple Special Forces, Counterterrorism, Psychological Operations, Civil Affairs, Foreign Area Officer, and Military Intelligence command and staff assignments in the US and overseas. He also volunteered to serve on UN peacekeeping missions in Egypt, Israel, Cambodia, Iraq and Kuwait.
After he retired from active military service in 1997, he began a second career as a senior UN Security Advisor. Among his positions he served as the Chief of the Middle East and North Africa in the UN Department of Safety and Security.
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Thank you for hosting today.
Very interesting educational background for the author. Very impressive.
Was there anything significant that got cut from the final version?
Are there any real-life people or experiences that inspired the characters?
What is your favorite scene or passage in the book?
What was the most surprising thing you learned during the writing process?
Interesting and though-provoking read.
Thank you