The Unforgiving Minute: A Soldier's Education

• Author: LaKeysia R. Harvin
• Position: Judge Advocate, U.S. Army
• Pages: 284-291

284 MILITARY LAW REVIEW [Vol. 207

THE UNFORGIVING MINUTE: A SOLDIER’S EDUCATION1

REVIEWED BY MAJOR LAKEYSIA R. HARVIN

My part of the contract, the responsibility that came with

the privilege of leadership, was to never spend their lives

cheaply. I carried the weight of the responsibility on

every patrol, yet unlike a rucksack or a Kevlar helmet I

could never slip it off when we came back inside the

wire. It was there when I woke up at midnight to check

how they were faring in their lonely guard towers. It was

there when I walked through their tent that night and

when I returned to my cot for a night of restless sleep,

turning every hour on a narrow cot. This was the price

of a salute.2

The above quote from the Unforgiving Minute: A Soldier’s Education

by Craig Mullaney insightfully describes the weight an effective military

leader bears when he or she decides to take an oath to lead soldiers.3 It

drives home the message that a salute is more than just a gesture that a

soldier gives to a military leader, but a salute is earned through hard

work, sound judgment, and a genuine concern for soldiers.4

In the Unforgiving Minute, Mullaney gives a remarkable

chronological account of how his background, education, and military

training shaped him into a military leader. The author takes the reader on

a journey through the valuable lessons he learned in preparing to lead

soldiers. His leadership abilities and training would ultimately be put to

the test in Afghanistan.5 While assigned as a platoon leader in

Afghanistan, Mullaney is faced with a serious tactical decision during a

* Judge Advocate, U.S. Army. Currently assigned as Deputy Staff Judge Advocate,

Office of the Staff Judge Advocate, Headquarters, U.S. Army South (ARSOUTH), Fort

Sam Houston, Texas.

1 CRAIG M. MULLANEY, THE UNFORGIVING MINUTE: A SOLDIER’S EDUCATION (2008).

2 Id. at 268.

3 Id.

4 Id.

5 Id. at 285.