Michael Zacchea




A Connecticut Marine Reflects On His Mission In Iraq

WNPR – Connecticut U.S. Marine Michael Zacchea had a job to do in 2004: train and lead the first Iraqi Army battalion after the U.S. disbanded the country’s military post invasion.

This hour, we revisit our conversation with Zacchea, and co-author Ted Kemp about their book The Ragged Edge which details the challenges Zacchea faced leading a diverse group of Iraqis.


‘Like Building an Airplane in Mid-Flight’

Portrait of Michael Zacchea.
U.S. Marine Lt. Col. Michael Zacchea ’12 MBA, director of the School of Business’ Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities (EBV) will be signing copies of his book, “The Ragged Edge” on April 25 at the Graduate Business Learning Center in Hartford. Proceeds from books sold that evening will benefit the EBV. (Nathan Oldham/UConn School of Business)

UConn’s Mike Zacchea Describes Many Challenges He Faced as First U.S. Military Adviser to New Iraqi Army

In his new book, “The Ragged Edge,” set for release on April 1, U.S. Marine Lt. Col. Michael Zacchea ’12 MBA shares the staggering hardships and unique challenges of the U.S. mission to build an Iraqi Army virtually from scratch. Continue Reading