Posted on Aug 24, 2014
"Soldier" by Lt. Col. Anthony Herbert, Has anyone read this?
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This book came out in the early 70's. Lt. Col. Herbert traces his distinguished military career until he attempts to report "war crimes" in his AO during the Viet Nam war. The aspect I'm wondering about is his description of "command atmosphere" I guess you could say. He makes a number of observations about "dog and pony shows" and I'm curious if they still hold true today (in general).
Posted >1 y ago
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Yes, I have owned the book, a signed "limited edition" since the 70s.
He has a remarkable explanation of courage that is the best I have ever heard. It was a very handy book but other than his observations, I am afraid becoming a bit out dated.
He has a remarkable explanation of courage that is the best I have ever heard. It was a very handy book but other than his observations, I am afraid becoming a bit out dated.
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PO3 John Jeter
I'm hoping to hear from the more current crop of service people that the book IS dated. Herbert makes note of some widespread practices and why he felt they were bad leadership examples. He makes note of the overwhelming emphasis on the "body count" as a measuring stick for success. I found his critique about the daily dog and pony shows to be a bit disturbing even back then. I'm hoping to get a "current report card" as compared to what was reported back then.......(I don't expect another $45,000.00 postage stamp story) *grin*
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PO3 John Jeter
Stick around, between the two of us we might find one or two good legs.....*grin*
Until recently I was unaware that Herbert had written other books as well. I've ordered "The making of a Soldier" from Amazon. I realize that a certain amount of his narratives are self serving, but even with all that, he was an impressive leader. His pride in the Army as a whole, and his ever present concern for his men shows throughout the book. The thing that impressed me the most, after he made his charges, his opponents tried to discredit him every way possible without success.
Until recently I was unaware that Herbert had written other books as well. I've ordered "The making of a Soldier" from Amazon. I realize that a certain amount of his narratives are self serving, but even with all that, he was an impressive leader. His pride in the Army as a whole, and his ever present concern for his men shows throughout the book. The thing that impressed me the most, after he made his charges, his opponents tried to discredit him every way possible without success.
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PO3 John Jeter
Agreed. I'm not about to fight the war over again. Herbert was what we called "mustang". Meaning he started out as enlisted. He makes a lot of notes about how important the NCO's are to the command structure. If you haven't read the book, I highly recommend it. There's a fair bit of humor in it as well. There's a story about a generals pet duck which even had a set of dog tags and was accorded "officer" status.......To find out what that means you have to read the book! *grin*
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YES, an Outstanding Book. Highly recommend to everyone! He joined the Army as an enlisted man and I believe would have been an outstanding general officer, had his career not ended as PO3 John Jeter explained. Now that he's mentioned the book, I read it about 10 years ago, I think I'll pull it out and read it again when I finish the one I'm currently reading now. Thanks!
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