Reviews Collapse and Recomposition
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Reviews Collapse and Recomposition Seriously Not All Right: Five Wars in ernment, he finds a cohort of extraor - sense that they are “seriously not all Ten Years. Ron Capps. Schaffner Press. dinary characters who strive to make a right.” Those who have loved or cared 279 pages. $25. difference in the lives of the innocent for someone who experienced these and the disadvantaged. His is a com - same feelings will find Capps’ honest By Gen. Carter F. Ham pelling narrative of the conflicts of our style will resonate with them as well. U.S. Army retired time. His personal struggle helps all of us Capps’ most significant contribu - more thoroughly understand this decade of war. An era of persistent tion, however, is his forthright revela - highly complex issue. Caregivers, fam - Aconflict. These are oft-used phrases ilies and leaders will benefit by learn - that attempt to offer a bumper-sticker ing from his experiences. definition to the current global security Perhaps most importantly, Capps environment. In his memoir, Seriously continues to invest himself in seeking Not All Right , Ron Capps steps away to help those wrestling with post-trau - from the strategic and operational matic stress disorder (PTSD). As the character of the past 10 years and de - founder and director of the Veterans scribes war and conflict in an intensely Writing Project, a nonprofit group, he personal way. is helping many veterans address their Capps has the credentials to do so. PTSD and other concerns through As both a U.S. Army soldier and for - writing. His mantra, “Every veteran eign service officer with the U.S. De - has a story,” has encouraged veteran partment of State, his personal journey writers through their curriculum, will resonate with readers of varied Writing War: A Guide to Telling Your backgrounds and interests. His assign - Own Story . ments led him to Kosovo and Serbia, This book is well worth reading, Central Africa, Afghanistan, Iraq, and and the Veterans Writing Project will Sudan. Each of these regions of the be of interest to many combat veterans world is unique, of course, in a geo- who do, indeed, have important sto - strategic sense but uncannily similar ries to tell. when viewed in terms of human suf - fering and his personal experience. tion concerning his personal struggle Gen. Carter F. Ham , USA Ret., began his His vivid descriptions capture the with post-traumatic stress. His story Army service as an enlisted Infantry - maddening bureaucracies of the Army, will ring true to many who have man in the 82nd Airborne Division. He the State Department and the United shared his feelings of anxiety—some - most recently served as commander, Nations. Amidst the chaos of conflict times of inadequacy, both personal U.S. Africa Command, and is now a se - and the impersonal nature of big gov - and professional—and an abiding nior fellow at AUSA. The Consciousness of Waging War Head Strong: How Psychology is been trying to determine which recruits covers a broad swath of both time and Revolutionizing War. Michael D. were best suited for which position. subject matter. The coverage begins at Matthews. Oxford University Press. Head Strong: How Psychology is Revolu - World War I in the early days of psy - 275 pages. $29.95. tionizing War presents an overview of chology as a science and then moves the history as well as the current state on to World War II, during which By Lt. Col. Stanley J. Wiechnik of how psychology is being used to in - psychologically based questionnaires crease soldiers’ ability both to train for helped determine which soldiers were he wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and endure combat, helping them find best suited for which jobs. The book Thave rekindled interest in the im - the capacity to reach their full potential. also covers modern times, in which pact of war on soldiers’ mental health. In spite of the fact that the book is psychology is being used to help sol - Since at least World War II, we have relatively short and an easy read, it diers deal with the stress of war. In ad - July 2014 I ARMY 81 dition to those areas already men - It is an ideal text for ROTC students; it tioned, the book covers the story of is easy to read and understandable how the Army switched from a reac - even for a first- or second-year cadet . tive, treatment-based approach to the On the back dust cover of the book, stress of combat to a proactive, preven - there is a comment by retired Maj. Gen. tive approach whereby psychology is Robert H. Scales. He notes that this used to help soldiers steel themselves book is the first (and at present, the for the impact war can have on them. only) source for understanding the hu - man dimension in regard to military he wide swath the book covers is training and operations. This is an im - Tboth its strength and its Achilles’ portant point because without it, one heel. The book is written for a general might dismiss this book as overly audience. As such, it includes long pas - broad and simplistically written. sages describing initial training of both Head Strong may not be a classic in enlisted soldiers and officers that most military history or redefine doctrine or experienced members of the military tactics, but it fills a niche and offers the will find tedious. It covers areas of his - right reader an important perspective tory that provide context but do not seem on the roles psychology, cognition and directly connected to modern issues. brain physiology play in terms of what Nevertheless, it provides a basic un - it means to be a soldier and a leader. derstanding of just how important of building better leaders and, finally, psychology is to a modern Army, cov - looks at where the future of psychol - Lt. Col. Stanley J. Wiechnik serves in the ering a wide range of topics related to ogy may have the greatest impact on Office of the Chief, Army Reserve at Fort psychology and mental capacity. It the soldier of the future. Belvoir, Virginia. He enlisted in the starts with the process of selecting and Leadership training is perhaps the Army in 1982 and received his commis - indoctrinating soldiers and airmen into area in which this book can have its sion in 1993. He deployed to Afghan- the military. It follows through with greatest impact. The author instructs at istan as a company commander and Iraq chapters on training civilians to be sol - West Point, and the book feels like an as a battalion executive officer. He is a diers and to survive the hardships of introduction-to-military-psychology graduate of the U.S. Army Command war. It goes on to look at the impact of text. It would make an excellent intro - and General Staff College, Indiana Uni - war on humans. It addresses the idea ductory text for young military officers. versity and Vermont Law School. The Big Red One on Omaha Beach: Revisited The Dead and Those About to Die— day of a long and bloody war. In compiling his battle narrative, Mc - D-Day: The Big Red One at Omaha Why another book on D-Day? Mc - Manus seeks to build upon the “founda - Beach. John C. McManus. NAL Cal - Manus believes that the 29th Division tion that … other accomplished histori - iber. 384 pages. $27.95. and the U.S. Army Rangers at Pointe ans have established … with the goal of du Hoc have overshadowed the Big improving upon our knowledge and un - By Col. Cole C. Kingseed Red One’s role at Omaha Beach. Rely - derstanding of the battle for Omaha U.S. Army retired ing on myriad primary sources, in - Beach.” He succeeds in describing the cluding after-action reports, combat carnage that greeted the 1st Infantry eventy years after D-Day, Omaha interviews, unit histories and histori - Division when it stormed ashore on D- SBeach remains a powerful symbol of cal narratives, McManus has produced Day. The German accounts are particu - extreme adversity and ultimate victory. a superb combat narrative. Moreover, larly chilling. Stated Pfc. Hein Sever - In the latest examination of this pivotal his painstaking research serves as a loh, “There was blood everywhere, battle, John C. McManus’ gripping tale model for future historians, and his screams, dead and dying. Wounded of heroism and courage under fire outstanding notes clarify many of the moved around in the bloody watery demonstrates that victory in war results mysteries surrounding the events of slime, mostly creeping, trying to get to from leadership throughout the ranks one of the most pivotal battles of the upper beach to get some cover.” far more than reliance on technology, World War II. In addition, well-placed According to McManus, only two firepower and materiel. Dedicated “to maps sprinkled throughout the text senior officers in the division played the soldiers of the Big Red One, no mat - enhance the reader’s comprehension significant roles on Omaha Beach: Col. ter the generation,” The Dead and Those of how the Big Red One succeeded in George Taylor, commanding the 16th About to Die is the story of the Army’s overcoming seemingly insurmount - Infantry Regiment, and assistant divi - 1st Infantry Division on its bloodiest able obstacles at Omaha Beach. sion commander Brig. Gen. Willard 82 ARMY I July 2014 Wyman. Experience taught Taylor that through the enemy defenses. When “the beach was death and inertia is the the ramps went down, Dawson remi - mortal enemy of success.” Taylor gal - nisced, “There was nothing I could do vanized the regiment and led it for - on the beach except die.