Anthony J. Tata graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1981 and retired after 28 years of uniformed service on 1 June 2009 as a Brigadier General in the U.S. Army.
Tony just recently donated $27,000, the sum of his royalties so far from his novel Sudden Threat, to the USO Metro DC Hospital Services Fund for Wounded Warriors at Walter Reed and Bethesda Military Medical Centers. His new novel, Rogue Threat, will be released at the end of October 2009.
Among his many assignments as a paratrooper and combat infantryman, Tony commanded a paratrooper battalion in the 82nd Airborne Division and an air assault brigade in the 101st Airborne Division. Most recently he was the deputy commanding general of the 10th Mountain Division and Combined/Joint Task Force-76 in Afghanistan. BG Tata has deployed on combat missions and operations in Afghanistan, Kosovo, Macedonia, Bosnia, Panama, and the Philippines. He has been awarded the Combat Action Badge and Bronze Star, is a Master Parachutist and graduate of the U.S. Army's Ranger School.
Tony served as a National Security Fellow at Harvard University's JFK School of Government, has an M.A. in International Relations from the Catholic University of America, and earned a Master of Military Art and Science from the Army’s School of Advanced Military Studies. Notably, he is listed as a distinguished member of the 502nd, 504th, and 505th Parachute Infantry Regiments.
Tony is currently serving as a Broad Academy Fellow with the Eli Broad Foundation, which focuses on training superintendents and other leaders for service as superintendents in large urban school districts. After a career serving his country in uniform, Tony is finding his second calling in education reform in America. He begins as the Chief Operating Officer of DC Public Schools on June 1st 2009.
The author of the critically acclaimed fiction novel Sudden Threat, Tony continues to donate 100% of his book proceeds to the USO Metro DC Hospital Services fund for Wounded Warriors. BG Tata’s story has garnered national attention with appearances of FoxNews’ Fox and Friends Weekday and Weekend Editions, The O'Reilly Factor, America's Newsroom, The Daily Buzz with Andy Campbell and Kia Malone, local television stations around the country, and scores of nationally syndicated and local station radio interviews. On May 2, 2009, he was the keynote speaker at the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania annual Rally for the Troops on the steps of the state capitol.
Brigadier General (R) Anthony J. Tata
Real Life Hero–Sergeant First Class Jared Monti
by Brigadier General (R) Anthony J. TataBoots on the Ground Report
As I watch Hollywood’s inexcusable defense of Roman Polanski and the White House’s indecision in Afghanistan, I’m wondering what I’ve missed. For example, if the President’s going to break a campaign promise, why would he pick one that will endanger not only the mission and the lives of so many great Americans in Afghanistan, but the security of our nation? At the same time, how come everyone knows Polanski’s name but you hear little mention of a tough guy named Sergeant First Class Jared Monti?
Sergeant First Class Jared Monti in Afghanistan
Is it possible we don’t have our priorities straight? For those that are interested, let me tell you about Jared Monti.
This spring Secretary of Defense Robert Gates made a routine visit to Fort Drum, NY, home of the 10th Mountain Division. During his circulation of the post, he chatted with several members of the rear detachment of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team whose headquarters and 4500 troops are presently serving south of Kabul, Afghanistan. (more…)
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Real Life Hero: Boots on the Ground Report #2 — A Tribute to SSG William. E. Vile
by Brigadier General (R) Anthony J. TataI received an email telling me to check out the responses to my Hollywood Heroes column and was overwhelmed and gratified to see so many respond in such a positive fashion. I guess most Soldiers, such as myself, go about our business and don’t expect too much in return. It’s a part of our ethos, as many of you commented, and therefore my aforementioned surprise at the great posts.
Accurate mortar fire lands on Taliban positions thanks to SSG Vile’s Mortar Ballistic Computer Skills
One of the many personal emails I received was from Staff Sergeant William Vile’s former battalion commander. Then-Sergeant Vile is the hero in my first Boots on the Ground Report and I purposely kept his name out of the piece because I remember how embarrassed he was by all of the attention he received from my team and me as we medically evacuated him from the Korengal Outpost to Bagram Airfield Combat Surgical Hospital. (more…)
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Hollywood Heroes: Boots On the Ground Report
by Brigadier General (R) Anthony J. TataKicking back listening to Bonnie Tyler belt out “Holding Out For A Hero” made me think of a recent visit to Hollywood where I had the opportunity to speak with a few producers and screenwriters, truly good people all.
Their big message: military films aren’t working. The country is weary and doesn’t want war films as entertainment. Rather, they say, the good citizens of our nation want to escape with the fictional heroes in movies such as “Transformers,” “X-Men,” and “Spider-Man.”
Military movies may not be working because Hollywood presently refuses to capitalize on the real life heroes in combat everyday. Everyone loves a good hero and for Hollywood to embrace the notion that there might be a valorous man or woman worthy of a feature film may lend creditability to the cause for which they are fighting. And we can’t have that.
Instead, their latest war films are partisan propaganda as opposed to realistic and balanced. Somewhere between the screenplay and the final edit group therapy takes place and movie houses release message films as opposed to realistic action movies. (more…)
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