--- description: Ackerman is the author of several novels, including Red Dress in Black and White, the memoirPlaces and Names: On War, Revolution, and Returning, and The Fifth Act: America's End in Afghanistan. He served five tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, received the Silver Star, the Bronze Star for Valor, and the Purple Heart. title: TIME | Current & Breaking News | National & World Updates image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production ---  # Elliot Ackerman  ## Elliot Ackerman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close _Ackerman is the author of several novels, including_ [Red Dress in Black and White](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/576747/red-dress-in-black-and-white-by-elliot-ackerman/)_, the memoir_[Places and Names: On War, Revolution, and Returning](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0525559965/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=time037-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0525559965&linkId=5344db043dbd7b2ded2473102ae27ae1), and [The Fifth Act: America's End in Afghanistan](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/709027/the-fifth-act-by-elliot-ackerman/). _He_ _served five tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, received the Silver Star, the Bronze Star for Valor, and the Purple Heart_.  ## Elliot Ackerman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close *  Dec 18, 2023 ### [Biden Administration Has Doomed Ukraine](https://time.com/6548816/ukraine-biden-administration-military-aid/) Since the war began, the Biden Administration has been too slow to support Ukraine, writes Elliot Ac... [IDEAS](/section/ideas/) *  Mar 28, 2023 ### [Ukraine Can Only Win if the U.S. Delivers More Weapons Faster](https://time.com/6266296/ukraine-win-if-the-u-s-delivers-more-weapons/) The U.S. has consistently been two to three months behind the Ukrainians in their requests for criti... [IDEAS](/section/ideas/) *  Jan 4, 2023 ### [Ukraine's Winter Offensive Could Decide the War](https://time.com/6244325/ukraines-winter-offensive-could-decide-the-war/) Winter brings a tipping point for Ukraine, with victory on one side and global peril on the other, w... [IDEAS](/section/ideas/) *  Mar 25, 2022 ### [Ukrainians Don't Just Blame Putin For the War. They Blame Russians.](https://time.com/6160347/ukrainians-blame-russians-for-war/) [IDEAS](/section/ideas/) *  Mar 2, 2022 ### [How NATO Pilots Could Help Defend Ukraine](https://time.com/6153834/airpower-nato-pilots-ukraine-invasion/) [IDEAS](/section/ideas/) *  Feb 21, 2022 ### [The Last Person Who Believes in Western Intervention](https://time.com/6149722/bernard-henri-levy-film-intervention/) [IDEAS](/section/ideas/) *  Jan 6, 2022 ### [More January 6ths Are Inevitable. How We React Is Crucial](https://time.com/6137403/january-6th-political-violence/) [IDEAS](/section/ideas/) *  Aug 31, 2021 ### [Afghanistan Withdrawal Exposes a Fault Line in Our Democracy](https://time.com/6093906/us-military-afghanistan-withdrawal/) [IDEAS](/section/ideas/) *  Mar 9, 2021 ### [How We Could Sleepwalk Into a War With China](https://time.com/5945178/sleepwalk-war-with-china/) [IDEAS](/section/ideas/) *  Nov 1, 2020 ### [American Exceptionalism Blinds Us To Election Risks](https://time.com/5905710/american-exceptionalism-election-violence/) [IDEAS](/section/ideas/) *  May 7, 2020 ### [Why Comparing the Fight Against COVID-19 to War Is Ethically Dangerous](https://time.com/5833421/coronavirus-war-comparison/) [IDEAS](/section/ideas/) *  Feb 21, 2020 ### [What Peace in Afghanistan Might Mean](https://time.com/5788790/peace-afghanistan-bold-imagination/) [IDEAS](/section/ideas/) *  Jan 8, 2020 ### [After Soleimani Killing, War With Iran Will Likely Continue as It Has for Decades](https://time.com/5760947/soleimani-war-iran-decades/) [IDEAS](/section/ideas/) *  Dec 10, 2019 ### [All Americans Bear the Blame for the Failed Afghanistan War](https://time.com/5747724/blame-failed-war-afghanistan/) [IDEAS](/section/ideas/) *  Nov 18, 2019 ### [President Trump's Pardons of Soldiers Shows How Little He Knows About War](https://time.com/5731655/trumps-pardons-soldiers-war/) [IDEAS](/section/ideas/) Meta: null ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Organization","@id":"https://time.com/","name":"TIME","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/","name":"Home"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/author/elliot-ackerman/","name":"Elliot Ackerman"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Person","@id":"https://time.com/author/elliot-ackerman/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/author/elliot-ackerman/"},"name":"Elliot Ackerman","jobTitle":null,"description":"Ackerman is the author of several novels, including Red Dress in Black and White, the memoirPlaces and Names: On War, Revolution, and Returning, and The Fifth Act: America's End in Afghanistan. He served five tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, received the Silver Star, the Bronze Star for Valor, and the Purple Heart.","image":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1d075b17a42e74ac/698a0dca22fb8588fde2af63/Elliot-Ackerman.jpg?branch=production","url":"https://time.com/author/elliot-ackerman/","sameAs":["https://x.com/elliotackerman"],"worksFor":{"@type":"Organization","name":"TIME","url":"https://time.com/"}}] ```