Anthony Swofford (born August 12, 1970) is an American writer and U.S. Marine veteran, best known for his 2003 book Jarhead, based heavily on his accounts of various situations encountered in the Persian Gulf War.

[1] Terrified of being a failure in a "normal" life,[2] Swofford wanted to join the Marines from an early age, as he saw it as "an entry into manhood".

"[6] Swofford joined the U.S. Marine Corps at the age of 18, and shortly after he turned 20 he was deployed to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, awaiting the start of the Persian Gulf War.

[4] He was a lance corporal[6] while serving as a Scout Sniper Trainee with the Surveillance and Target Acquisition (STA) Platoon of 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines.

[3] After leaving the U.S. Marine Corps following the end of the war in the Gulf, Swofford at first found it difficult to adapt to civilian life, due to extreme combat-related PTSD.

"[1] Reviewing Jarhead for The New York Times, Michiko Kakutani said the book combined "the black humor of Catch-22 with the savagery of Full Metal Jacket and the visceral detail of The Things They Carried.

[7] Swofford has had articles, both fiction and non-fiction, published in The New York Times, Harper's, Men's Journal, The Iowa Review, and other publications.