As the world moves into the next millennium, the United States finds itself at the forefront of a new age, policing not only its own shores, but the rest of the world as well. Spearheading this are the men and women of America's armed forces, the "troops on the wall" who will go anywhere, anytime, and do whatever it takes to protect our nation and the rest of the free world. Combat brings the best authors in military fiction together to reveal how war will be fought in the 21st century, from the down-and-dirty "groundpounders" of the U.S. Cavalry to the new frontiers of warfare—outer space and the internet. Ten authors whose novels define the military fiction genre have written all new short novels about the men and women willing to put their lives on the line for freedom: Contents: Introduction (Combat) • essay by Stephen Coonts al-Jihad / novella by Stephen Coonts: ...the unlikely partnership between an ex-Marine sniper and a female pilot who team up to kill the terrorists who murdered their parents. Leadership Material / novella by Dale Brown: ...into the seldom-seen world of the military review board, and shows how the future career of an EB-52 Megafortress pilot can depend on a man he's never met. Lash-Up / novella by Larry Bond: ...explores the wild frontier of space warfare, where American forces fight a tenacious enemy that threatens every free nation on Earth. CaV / novella by James Cobb: ...pits a lone US Armored Cavalry unit against an aggressive Algerian recon division in an attempt to protect a defenseless African nation. Cyberknights / novella by Harold Coyle: ...reports from the front lines of the information war, where cyberpunks are recruited to combat the growing swarm of hackers who orchestrate online terrorism around the world. Flight of Endeavour / novella by R. J. Pineiro: ...goes to the far reaches of space where a terrorist holds the world captive from a nuclear equipped space platform.To stop him, a pilot agrees to fly her space shuttle on a deadly mission from which she may never return. Breaking Point / novella by David Hagberg: ... a C.I.A. director becomes entangled in the rising tensions between China and Taiwan. When a revolutionary leader is rescued from a Chinese prison, the Chinese government pushes the United States to the brink of war, and Kirk McGarvey has to make a choice with the fate of the world hanging in the balance. Inside Job [Harve Rackham] / novella by Dean Ing: ...unites a private investigator, a bounty hunter, and an FBI agent who together uncover a shadow of terrorism that looms over America and threatens thousands of lives. Skyhawks Forever / novella by Barrett Tillman: ...a group of retired fighter jocks go in for one last mission, battling enemy jets over the skies of California. There Is No War in Melnica / novella by Ralph Peters: ... in the war-torn Balkan states, where a U.S. Army observer sent to keep an eye on the civil war is taken on a guided tour of the country at gunpoint, captured by the very people he was sent to monitor, and learns how far people will go for their idea of freedom. .