Book excerpt: IN SPITE OF IT ALL is the historical account of a Connecticut National Guard Military Police Company's attempt to recruit, train and prepare an Iraqi Police Force in 2003-2004. From training for desert conditions in upstate New York in the dead of winter without winter gear, to driving through the night into the morning, trying to find Baghdad using pieces of a map puzzle, to entering war zones without the required soldiers, weapons or ammunition, Marc Youngquist shares how the 143rd Military Police Company did what they could to fulfill their mission in spite of it all.