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. … I felt the ward against the enemy defenses. Not obligation to lead my men off [Easy as flamboyant as Taylor, Wyman es - Red], because I felt the only way they tablished the division advanced com - were going to get off was to follow mand post and organized the initial me.” In many accounts, Dawson was beachhead. Both contributed immea - the first commander to reach the bluffs surably to ultimate victory. above Omaha Beach. Some historians credit Dawson’s success to blind luck verall, McManus characterizes because he landed in the right place at O“Bloody Omaha” as a soldier’s the right time, but McManus dis - battle. He meticulously describes the misses such claims: “What Dawson ac - actions of 1st Lt. Jimmie Monteith, Tech. complished was the product of not Sgt. 5 John Joseph Pinder and Pvt. Carl - just good fortune, but also courage, ton Barrett, all of whom received the know-how, and resolve.” Medal of Honor. Other heroes include Despite inadequate aerial and naval Tech. Sgt. Philip Streczyk of F Company, bombardment to destroy the enemy 16th Infantry Regiment, and his platoon defenses, the failure of intelligence leader, Lt. John Spalding. Spalding and that did not identify the presence of an Streczyk landed in the initial wave of Capt. Joe Dawson followed Spald - experienced enemy battalion at Om - assault troops and made the initial pen - ing’s platoon in the second wave of aha Beach, and the confusion resulting etration of the German defenses. In the assault troops. Dawson commanded from landing nonfighting men before words of Army commander Gen. Omar G Company, 2nd Battalion, 16th In - the beach was able to absorb them, the N. Bradley, every man who landed at fantry Regiment. He quickly assessed Big Red One achieved what most ob - Omaha Beach was a hero. the situation and discovered a path servers thought impossible by day’s

• Strategic Mobility: Enabling Global Respoonsiveness for America’s Force of Decisiveve Actionn (July 2013) TTorchbearerorchbeearer Issue Papers • Comprrehensive Soldier and Family Fitness: Land Warfare Papers Buildinng Resilience, Enhancing Performance • LLWPWP 101 – Special Operations Forcees in Unlit (Marchh 2014) Spaces: Understanding the World’s Dark Spots in the Context of SOF Operational Pllanning by • The Arrmy’s Organic Industrial Base: Providing Joseph A. Royo (June 2014) Readinness TTodayodayy,, Preparing for Challenges TTomorroomorrrow (December 2013) • LLWPWP 100 – The Resilient Defense by Raymond A. • Odierno: Sequestrationon Would Make Even One Millen (May 2014) Major Operation Difficult2 (1st Quarter 2014) • Additioon Through Subtraction: Empowering thee Soldieer by Lighteningg g the Load (October( 2013)) • LLWPWP 99W – ThThe EEmergence off FFerall andd Special Reports • U.S. Arrmy South: Fostering Peace and Securityy Criminal Cities: U.S. Military Implicaations in a • AUSA + 1st Session, 113th Congress = Some Time of Austerity by Robert J. Bunkerr (April 2014)1 in Souuth America, Central America and the Good News (February 2014) Caribbbean (October 2013) • LLWPWP 98 – Army Adaptation from 18998 to the • Remembering a Sinee Wave: A History of Feast Present: How Army Leaders Balanceed Strategic and Famine for the U.S. Army by Frederick J. TTorchbearerorchbeearer Alerts and Institutional Imperatives to Bestt Serve the Kroesen (October 20133) • A Crisiis in Military Housing: Basic Allowance foror Nation by Robert H. Simpson and Markk C. Smith Housinng Under Attack (October 2013) • Profile of the U.S. Armmy 2012: a reference (September 2013) handbook (June 20122) Defensee Reports • DR 13-1-1 – The U.S. Army Capstone Concept: • LLWPWP 97 – Design, Mission Commandd and the • Your Soldierr,, Your Armmy: A Parents’ Guide Network: Enabling Organizational Addaptation by Defininng the Army of 2020 (January 2013) 3 by Vicki Cody (also avaailable in Spanish) Todd A. Schmidt (August 2013) Landpower Essays TTorchbearerorchbearer NationaNationalal Security Reports • LPE 144-1 – Cyberspace as a Weapon System by National Security WatchWatch • U.S. Army Integrated Air and Missile Defense Christoopher R. Quick (March 2014) • NSW 1414-11 – The Army in Cyberspace by Frank LL. Capabilities: Enablingg Joint Force 2020 and Turner II (May 2014) Beyond (May 2014) • LPE 133-4 – Strategizing Forward in the Westerrn Pacificc and Elsewhere by Huba Wass de Czege NCO Update • Defending the Homelland: The Chemical (Octobeer 2013) • Thousands Using New ArmyFit Site for Self- Biological Radiological Nuclear Response improvement2 (2nd Quarter 2014) Enterprise (February 22014) All publiications are available free of charge at: To order these and other ILW publicatioons, visit the Institute of Land Warfare at wwww.ausa.org/publications/ilw. the AUSA website (www.ausa.org); sendd an e-mail to ILWPublications@ausa. 1 Available OONLY on the AUSA website at www.ausa.org/ilw. org; call (800) 336-4570, ext. 4630; or writew to AUSA’s Institute of Land Warfare, 2 Lead story. ATTN: Publication Requests, 2425 Wilsoon Boulevard, Arlington, VAVA 22201-3326. 3 Winner of tthe 2013 AUSA/Army Capabilities Integration Center (ARCIC) wrriting contest.

July 2014 I ARMY 83 end. The cost of victory was horrific, of shock, frightened out of their wits, or fantry Division and its attached units but as dawn arrived on June 7, the di - simply confused about what to do next.” on June 6, 1944? McManus thinks so, vision began expanding the nascent McManus closes his story with a and so does war correspondent Don beachhead. chapter called “Meaning” that is as Whitehead, who accompanied the Big How had the 1st Infantry Division gripping as his combat narrative. He Red One on the longest day. Though succeeded? McManus attributes the vic - carefully describes the postwar careers the victory at Omaha was staggering in tory to the Big Red One’s combat experi - of many of the soldiers who distin - its cost of human lives, it “turned the ence, commanding general Lt. Gen. guished themselves on D-Day, illus - key that unlocked the door to victory Clarence Huebner’s insistence on train - trating the fact that long after June 6, in Europe.” That seems to be a fitting ing his division to a winning standard, every veteran carried the emotional epitaph for the events of D-Day. the soldiers’ faith in their respective scars from that hellish beach. Many If you choose a single book on D- leaders and, most importantly, the hu - survivors who first breached the Ger - Day to read this commemorative year, man factor that was inculcated through - man defenses, including Spalding, met select The Dead and Those About To Die . out the ranks. The 1st Infantry Division tragic ends. Others, like Dawson, lived It is that good. “possessed a culture of personal ac - long and productive lives, but no one countability at the basic human level.” escaped the memory of what occurred Col. Cole C. Kingseed , USA Ret., Ph.D., a The personal relationships among the on Omaha Beach. former professor of history at the U.S. soldiers and their leader “produced Was victory at Omaha Beach worth Military Academy, is a writer and con sul - courage within those who were in a state the cost of 1,500 casualties in the 1st In - tant. An Impressive—Yet Little Known—Officer Exposing the Third Reich: Colonel Smith finally returned to the U.S. in ing an obscure right-wing politician Truman Smith in Hitler’s Germany. 1924 and served briefly as a peacetime named Adolf Hitler in 1922. He was Henry G. Gole. University Press of Ken - company commander in the 18th In - also the officer Marshall had sent to tucky. 415 pages. $40. fantry. He escaped garrison duty by Germany from the Infantry School to earning a seat in the advanced course visit divisional maneuvers in East By Brig. Gen. Harold W. Nelson at the Infantry School at Fort Benning, Prussia in 1931, and he had written his U.S. Army retired Georgia, followed immediately by a War College paper on “Germany and year at the Command and General Staff Hitler.” enry Gole must have grown tired College. He then returned to Fort Ben - Smith was a marked man. The fact Hof hearing “Who was he?” while ning as a faculty member and became that he was independently wealthy researching and writing Exposing the one of “Gen. George C. Marshall’s and could afford the unreimbursed ex - Third Reich , but he has produced a fine Men”—a handpicked group of innova - penses that went with the job made biography that answers the question tive officers who improved every as - him a desirable candidate. Having an definitively. pect of the learning experience at the attractive, outgoing wife who spoke Col. Truman Smith was a Yale gradu - Infantry School while building relation - French and German—and had joined ate who entered the Army through ships with a mentor who would carry him in Germany on his first tour—may membership in the socially elite 12th many of them to great heights before have been a factor as well. Infantry Regiment of the New York Na - their careers ended. He then attended Given the title, it is no surprise that tional Guard. When Guard units were the Army War College, where he stud - what comes next forms the heart of activated to guard the border with ied strategy and mobilization. Then, it the book. Smith set out to learn as Mexico, he answered the call. He was was off to Hawaii for a relaxing inter - much as he could about German rear - recognized as a young man with great lude as a battalion commander before mament, expanded on his exiting con - potential, earned a Regular Army com - being ordered back to Germany for at - tacts with German army leaders and mission, led an Infantry company in taché duty. traveled back to Washington at his the 3rd Infantry Division with great Gole—and most modern profession - own expense to make sure the Mili - distinction in the Meuse-Argonne cam - als—can’t help pausing to wonder tary Information Division (MID), the paign and remained with the U.S. how Smith’s next decade might have forerunner to today’s G-2, gave ap - Army of Occupation in Germany after turned out if he had been allowed to propriate credence to his reports. He the Armistice. Having proven his capa - proceed on the Infantry track. But, then and his staff lacked the necessary ex - bilities as an Infantry officer, he was as now, no one could guess what the pertise and access to evaluate the bur - then lured into military government, future might bring, and in 1935—when geoning German air force, so he en - where he thrived. He became assistant Smith went back to Berlin—the Nazis listed the help of Charles Lindbergh, military attaché in Berlin as the Ameri - were consolidating their power. He who gained enviable access to pro - can Embassy was being established. was the officer tasked with interview - duction and training facilities (with

84 ARMY I July 2014 Smith in tow). Unfortunately for Smith, Smith’s experiences teach us for today. that uniquely productive relationship Many of today’s officers are building had a serious downside after Europe longitudinal relationships with officers went to war in September 1939. Lind - in foreign armies. Smith’s experience bergh was one of the most outspoken reminds us that those contacts are im - advocates of isolation, and journalists portant to our nation and that they can and politicians attacked both men . sometimes grow into lifelong friend - ships, even when interrupted by war. mith’s bigger (and more lasting) In addition, Smith’s career reminds us Sproblem in 1939 was a diagnosis of that even a small, underfunded Army diabetes. That disease required med - needs to develop specialists in a broad ical retirement in those days, but Mar - range of fields and offer them opportu - shall, the newly installed Army Chief nities for schooling and fulfilling as - of Staff, ignored the rules and kept signments—even if they can’t be pro - Smith on duty at MID. That cozy setup moted to the highest ranks. Finally, had to end when Marshall began re - Smith’s contributions remind us that lieving unfit officers in 1941, but Smith the hard work of intelligence doesn’t was recalled from retirement shortly begin when the bullets start to fly; it’s after the attack on Pearl Harbor and every day. It’s hard work, and it is usu - served as a special advisor on Ger - ally not a path to fame and promotion. many until the end of the war. This excellent biography lets us appre - His service did not end there. His appeal to readers of ARMY. Smith and ciate that service. contacts with “good Germans” were in - his wife Kay both drafted memoirs, valuable to the U.S. government in the which Gole used effectively to give the Brig. Gen. Harold W. Nelson , USA Ret., mid-1950s, when the Bundeswehr (post - reader her views. Some seem to think is a former U.S. Army Chief of Military war German army) was being created. that Army wives began to matter only History. He has served on the faculties of He continued to maintain contacts re - recently—not so, as anyone reading the U.S. Military Academy, the U.S. lated to that topic until his death. good military biographies knows. Army Command and General Staff Col - There’s a lot in this book that should The value of this book lies in what lege, and the U.S. Army War College. Va r i e d Fa r e

Thank You for Your Service. David Fin- the author personally observed. What kel. Sarah Crichton Books. 256 pages. $26. ensues is an honest, heartbreaking as - In The Good Soldiers , David Finkel, a sessment of the real cost of war, both Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and to the soldiers who fight it and the editor and writer for The Washington families they come home to. Pos t, rendered a gut-wrenching ac - Finkel objectively conveys their ex - count from the front lines in Baghdad periences as they deal with the linger - during the surge. Embedded with the ing and debilitating effects of post- Army’s 2nd Battalion, 16th Infantry traumatic stress disorder, traumatic Regiment (2-16), during a grueling 15- brain injury, physical injuries and the month tour, he shared the reality of accompanying suicidal ideations via the war on the ground in Iraq. Read - the multiple bureaucracies that treat ers experienced a sense of what those them. The main story line is about a 2- soldiers felt as they conducted patrols 16 Infantry NCO who left his third de - where snipers and improvised explo - ployment to Iraq early due to a “men - sive devices claimed life and limb. tal health evacuation.” He was the In his most recent book, Thank You one everyone relied upon, but he left for Your Service , Finkel follows the Iraq a broken man. Other soldiers in lives of some of those same soldiers as the book are also struggling, along they and their families deal with the with their families. For them, the physical and psychological wounds trauma, nightmares and sense of loss from the war. All agreed to participate thing would be “on the record,” and or feelings of inadequacy are often with the understanding that every - most of the book is based on events contagious.

July 2014 I ARMY 85 Finkel intricately tells the stories of programs, Warrior Transition Units, their lives with almost no challenges. these soldiers to convey the chal - and more, the reader gets a sense of This is a captivating book fueled by lenges of all combat veterans, includ - all that is required to make them well the honesty and challenges of these com - ing a few from wars long past. As and truly bring them home. The bat veterans and their families, chroni - they negotiate the myriad Department reader also realizes that many are able cled by a talented author with unfettered of Veterans Affairs appointments, in- to deal with their experiences, reinte - and intimate access to their lives. patient rehabilitation and therapy grate into civilian life and resume —Col. Alexander K. Kose, USA Ret. Briefly Not ed.. .

4-3-2-1 Leadership: What America’s amass a wealth of leadership and Sons and Daughters Taught Me on knowledge, and he shares a great deal the Road From Second Lieutenant to of this in his book. His no-nonsense ap - Two-Star General. Vincent E. Boles. proach is evident in the layout, but his Blooming Twig Books. 250 pages. $26.95. tone is conversational and in no way If an Army thesaurus existed, Maj. off-putting, making for a very effective Gen. Vincent E. (Vinny) Boles, USA Ret., delivery of his key points. He provides would be listed as an antonym for the detailed explanations of why these prin - term toxic leader . Even from a brief ciples have worked for him and why glance at his book’s foreword and pref - they can work in any organization, mili - ace, it’s easy to gauge his level of pas - tary or otherwise, if properly applied. sion for leadership, which he carried Particularly interesting is the reason over into his post-Army career as a he gives as to why he joined the Army motivational speaker and consultant. in the first place: “to run away from Thirty-three years living a life of orga - what I did not want to do.” It is im - nization and structure enabled him to pressive how readily he admits that he

had no “visions of grandeur” during his early days in the Army, but he real - izes they did wonders to shape the outcome of his life. Some retired offi - cers reflect on their early lives and re - call dreams of serving in the Army at a young age. Boles is not one of them. He looked at fulfilling his ROTC com - mitment as a great way to “get away” for four years, as he did not want to mop floors at the family restaurant, much less inherit it and be responsible for running it someday. Military personnel will be able to re - late to Boles’ stories of Army work and life, but he is careful not to overwhelm civilian readers with a volume of unfa - miliar terms. After all, he didn’t write this book exclusively for the military community. Boles learned countless lessons on leadership during his three- plus decades in the Army, and he does us a great service by putting them all into one volume and sharing them.

86 ARMY I July 2014