Book Review - Prodigal Soldiers: How the Generation of Officers Born of Vietnam Revolutionized the American Style of War

• Author: Major C. H. Wesely
• Pages: 07

172 MILITARY LAW REVIEW [Vol. 158

PRODIGAL SOLDIERS

HOW THE GENERATION OF OFFICERS BORN OF VIETNAM REVOLUTIONIZED THE AMERICAN STYLE OF WAR

REVIEWED BY MAJOR C. H. WESELY1

Historians usually discuss military history in terms of battlefield conquests. Very few focus on the day-to-day decisions and peacetime victories that shape the military organizations that fight those battles. James Kitfield takes this unique perspective in Prodigal Soldiers.2 He uses defining moments from the lives of several military leaders to explain the metamorphosis of the American military from defeated pariahs in 1972 to heroes in 1993. He starts with Vietnam era catastrophes, moves on to a discussion of the "dark ages" which followed that era, analyzes the policy and doctrinal changes that carried us to the end of the eighties, and finally discusses the success of Desert Storm. He closes on a note of caution: the leaders of tomorrow must learn from the experiences of the last generation, or we are destined make the same mistakes.

Do not view Prodigal Soldiers as a work of military history. Instead, read it for its insightful analysis of military leadership. Kitfield shows that evolution is impossible when leaders do not have the moral courage to expose and to correct institutional weaknesses; defeat is inevitable when any military organization is unwilling to evolve. Prodigal Soldiers is a valuable addition to your professional reading list.

As advertised, Prodigal Soldiers explains "how the generation of officers born of Vietnam revolutionized the American style of war." Kit-field supports this theme throughout the book with focused writing and tightly structured analysis. Prodigal Soldiers reads more like a novel than an academic treatise. Kitfield combines old-fashioned story-telling and blunt analysis in this tremendously readable illustration of the importance of moral courage to military failure or success. He takes you to the moment so that you experience it as it happens. For example: "Nights in the jungle were filled with such a cacophony of chirping, snuffling, and

buzzing that sometimes the loudest noise, the one that woke you up wide-eyed with a catch in your breath, was the sound of silence."3

Kitfield illustrates his analysis with events from the lives of several top military leaders. General Barry McCaffrey receives the most attention, although Kitfield also highlights Generals Chuck Horner, Tom Draude, Mike Myatt, Jack Galvin, William DePuy, Colin Powell, and Admiral Stanley Arthur. Other analysts or historians may differ over which events really constitute turning points in this era of history. However, Kitfield's selections support his analysis and place the reader in the moments that define this generation of officers.

The story begins in the Vietnam era. Kitfield resists the temptation to dwell on the major battles of that well-documented conflict. Instead, he describes unheralded events that were vitally important to the survivors so early in their military careers. These events later helped the future generals avoid the same errors in their own decision-making.

In Part I, the collected stories illustrate how doctrine and policy conflicts led to command and control failures, which in turn destroyed morale and integrity. When the United States first became involved in the Vietnam conflict, doctrine called for overcoming an enemy by overwhelming force. In other words, doctrine required that we would bring to bear massive quantities of troops and equipment until we crushed the enemy; we based all of our tactics and...