Ralph Peters | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1952-04-19)April 19, 1952 (age 72) Pottsville, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Education | Pennsylvania State University |
| Alma mater | St. Mary's University, Texas (MA)[1] |
| Occupation(s) | Former U.S. Army officer, military analyst, writer |
| Political party | Independent |
| Spouses |
|
| Parent(s) | Ralph Heinrich Peters Alice Catherine (née Parfitt) Peters |
Ralph Peters (born April 19, 1952) is a retiredUnited States Armylieutenant colonel and author.
In addition to his non-fiction books, he has published eight novels under the pen nameOwen Parry, includingHonor's Kingdom, which was awarded theHammett Prize. Three of his novels published as Ralph Peters received theW. Y. Boyd Literary Award for Excellence in Military Fiction.
Peters was born inPottsville, Pennsylvania, and grew up in nearbySchuylkill Haven. He is ofGerman andLutheran descent on his father's side, andWelsh andMethodist descent on his mother's. His father was acoal miner and businessman.
His wife, Katherine McIntire Peters, is the deputy editor ofGovernment Executive, a division ofAtlantic Media.[2]
Peters enlisted in theU.S. Army in 1976 following his graduation fromPennsylvania State University.[3][4]
Peters' first assignment was in Germany. After returning from Germany, he attendedOfficer Candidate School and received a commission in 1980.[5][6] He served with1st Battalion, 46th Infantry Regiment, then part of the1st Armored Division.[7]
Peters spent ten years in Germany working inmilitary intelligence, and was later appointed aForeign Area Officer, where he specialized in theSoviet Union. He attended theCommand and General Staff College. His last assignment was in the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence. He retired in 1998 as a lieutenant colonel, following 22 years of military service.
Peters's first novel,Bravo Romeo, aspy thriller set inWest Germany, was published in 1981. His subsequent novels progressed from futuristic scenarios involving theSoviet Army to themes such as contemporary terrorism andfailed state issues. His protagonists are often presented as militarymavericks who have the knowledge and courage to tackle problems others cannot or will not. In 2008, he published the memoirLooking for Trouble: Adventures in a Broken World. His novelThe War After Armageddon was released in 2009. He is a regular contributor to the military history websiteArmchair General and also serves on its Advisory Board.[8]
Peters has also written a number of historical war novels about theAmerican Civil War that have been well received and recognized with the Hammett Prize and the W.Y. Boyd Literary Award for Excellence in Military Fiction.
He has published numerous essays on strategy in military journals such asParameters,Military Review, andArmed Forces Journal, as well as reports for theUnited States Marine Corps (seeCenter for Emerging Threats and Opportunities[permanent dead link]). Peters formerly wrote a regular opinion column for theNew York Post and has written essays and guest columns forUSA Today,The Wall Street Journal,The Washington Post,Newsweek,The Weekly Standard,The Washington Monthly, andArmy magazine. He is a member of the Board of Contributors forUSA Today's Forum Page, part of the newspaper's Opinion section.
Peters strongly supported the2003 invasion of Iraq and the ensuingIraq War. In July 2017, Fox News hostTucker Carlson told Peters: "I would hate to go back and read your columns assuring America that taking outSaddam Hussein will make the region calmer, more peaceful, and America safer when, in fact, it has done exactly the opposite, and it has empowered Russia and Iran, the two countries you say you fear most."[9]
In February 2009, Peters called for U.S. troops to be pulled out ofAfghanistan, writing, "we've mired ourselves by attempting to modernize a society that doesn't want to be – and cannot be – transformed." He continued, "We needed to smash our enemies and leave. Had it proved necessary, we could have returned later for another punitive mission. Instead, we fell into the great American fallacy of believing ourselves responsible for helping those who've harmed us."[10]
Peters expressed sympathy forPOW SergeantBowe Bergdahl's family, but speculated (Fox News, July 19, 2009) that Bergdahl might be "an apparent deserter ... if he walked away from his post and his buddies in wartime – I don't care how hard it sounds – as far as I'm concerned the Taliban can save us a lot of legal hassles and legal bills." He characterized Bergdahl's description (in theTaliban produced video) of U.S. military behavior in Afghanistan ascollaboration with the enemy, even if coerced.[11] Peters hoped Bergdahl would be reunited with his family, but argued that the US media had glorified one captured soldier who Peters claimed had shamed his unit and lied, while ignoring genuine heroes and casualties (The O'Reilly Factor, July 21).[12]
In 2011, Peters criticized former Defense SecretaryDonald Rumsfeld, saying: "I am allergic to Rumsfeld. We did a great thing in Iraq, but we did it very badly. He is an extremely talented man but he has the tragic flaw of hubris. His arrogance is unbearable. My friends in uniform just hate him."[13]
DuringStuart Varney'sFox Business Network show on December 7, 2015, Peters referred to PresidentBarack Obama as a "total pussy", leading Fox News to suspend him for two weeks.[14]
In July 2017, Peters said that Russian PresidentVladimir Putin "is comparable" toAdolf Hitler. "He hates America. He wants to hurt us. ... Russia is evil. Russia is our enemy."[9]
Peters praised PresidentDonald Trump for his decision torecognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital.[15]
In March 2018, Peters publicly quit his role as an expert commentator on Fox News. In his goodbye letter to his colleagues, he wrote:
Four decades ago, I took an oath as a newly commissioned officer. I swore to "support and defend the Constitution," and that oath did not expire when I took off my uniform. Today, I feel that Fox News is assaulting our constitutional order and the rule of law, while fostering corrosive and unjustified paranoia among viewers. Over my decade with Fox, I long was proud of the association. Now I am ashamed.[16]
In the same letter, he also called the Trump administration "ethically ruinous" and accused Fox News of "harming our system of government for profit",[17] calling the network a "propaganda machine" for the Trump administration.[18] OnAnderson Cooper 360°, Peters likened Trump's behavior tosedition.[19]
In 2013, Peters was named as the recipient of theW.Y. Boyd Literary Award for Excellence in Military Fiction from theAmerican Library Association for his novelCain at Gettysburg.[20] He received the award again in 2014 forHell or Richmond[21] and in 2016 forValley of the Shadow[22] and in 2020 forDarkness at Chancellorsville.[23]
In 2002, he received theHammett Prize from the International Association of Crime Writers, North American Branch (IACW/NA) forHonor's Kingdom.[24]
After graduating from Penn State University, he enlisted, at age 23, as a private with two flat feet, curved spine, and intermittent asthma.
He had enlisted after graduating from Penn State in 1976.
This article incorporatespublic domain material from websites or documents of theUnited States Army Center of Military History.
