DALLAS, Texas, June 19, 2025 — In 2003, logistics expert Keith Richard made a life-changing decision that put him at the helm of a hastily assembled operation tasked with transporting fuel and supplies for U.S. military operations in Iraq and Kuwait. A civilian in a military operation, with no military experience, Richard had to summon a mix of self-discipline, grit and composure to be the leader everyone expected him to be—and to carry out orders that included sending civilian truck drivers into the line of fire.
“Civilians are the unsung heroes of the Iraq War and should be recognized for their patriotism and commitment to support the military,” Richard said.
In his deeply compelling new book, Sand, Grit and Dangerous Supply Missions: The Unsung Civilian Heroes of the Iraq War, Richard reflects on his path with candor and humility—from his humble beginnings in the Mississippi Gulf Coast to leading a multibillion-dollar logistics operation in Iraq and Kuwait.
A devoted husband and father, Richard is contentedly navigating a career across the American South when everything changes. An unexpected offer sends him into the heart of the Middle East to support the U.S. military under the Department of Defense’s Logistics Civil Augmentation Program (LOGCAP), which was established by the Army in 1985 to permit the use of civilian contractors to support certain military operations. The decision to go isn’t easy. It tests his courage, his convictions and the foundation of his family. But with his wife’s fierce support and a renewed sense of purpose, Richard steps into the unknown.
Ultimately, Richard finds himself responsible for a fleet of more than 700 supply trucks in what proves to be an extremely dangerous and deadly mission that results in a tremendous loss of life. Richard and the defense contractor that hired him (Kellogg Brown & Root) would later be at the center of a congressional inquiry into assumed wartime abuses by civilian contractors and a billion-dollar lawsuit brought by families of deceased and injured drivers
In Sand, Grit and Dangerous Supply Missions, Richard opens up for the first time about the chaos, his frustration, the fallout following the mission … and the wounds no one can see.
“The reality and toll of civilian lives during and after a war needs to be recognized by the U.S. Government,” Richard said. “Many civilians have been killed, injured and mentally impacted supporting the U.S. military without the recognition and support that is appropriately awarded to our soldiers.”
