ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY

When Equal Commanders Clash at Last

Gods of War: History’s Greatest Military Rivals. James Lacey and Williamson Murray. Bantam. 416 pages. $35

By Col. Cole Kingseed, U.S. Army retired

Comparative analysis of history’s great battle captains has always been fruitful ground to be plowed by military historians. In Gods of War: History’s Greatest Military Rivals, authors James Lacey and Williamson Murray not only examine generalship across the sweeping narrative of military history, but they also conclude with a chapter exploring the role of military genius in the modern era.

The result is a superb...

This isn’t the article I thought I would be writing for the 2020–2021 Green Book. But given how this year has unfolded, I guess it’s not all that surprising.

I feel a sense of urgency in our Army. Throughout my years in uniform and now in my position at the Association of the U.S. Army, there’s always been a well-established list of issues requiring immediate action or close attention. Somehow, 2020 feels different—less certain, more unsettled, very urgent.

Perhaps this is because 2020 has been so unusual in so many ways, but I sense that it’s more profound. The coronavirus pandemic certainly...

Considering how life has changed since the start of 2020, Secretary of the Army Ryan McCarthy is proud of how the Army is performing and optimistic about the future.

“Our people are working very hard. They’ve been asked to do extraordinary things, and they have delivered. The results are undeniable,” McCarthy said.

“Now and over the next five years, there are a lot of things to be excited about, but one of the things we are most concerned about is our people. We are running them hard,” he said. Like helicopters, tanks and other equipment, people depreciate as well from hard work with no respite...

Amid a difficult and turbulent year, Army Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville describes the state of the Army in one word: strong.

In a demanding year with formidable challenges, the Army grappled with a pandemic, supported civil authorities in the face of widespread protests and demonstrations, responded to natural disasters, deployed with practically no notice to the Middle East and continued to put boots on the ground around the globe.

This was accomplished without diminishing strength, McConville said, declaring the force is “much more ready than we’ve been, really, over the last four or...

As the Army emerges from an unprecedented year marked by a pandemic and emotional calls for more inclusion in the ranks, the service’s senior enlisted leader is focused on taking care of soldiers and moving the force forward.

From improving unit cohesion and building better squad leaders to resuming training across the force, Sgt. Maj. of the Army Michael Grinston is calling on all soldiers to join the undertaking.

It is easy to be glum or paralyzed in a world of turmoil, but Grinston said his “complete philosophy is, these are the conditions we have; this is the world I live in. How do I make...

Big changes aimed at boosting retention and readiness are planned for the U.S. Army Reserve as the component’s new chief looks to streamline nonessential tasks and empower junior leaders to make more of their own decisions.

Lt. Gen. Jody Daniels, who was sworn in on July 28 as the 34th chief of the Army Reserve and ninth commanding general of the U.S. Army Reserve Command, came to the job with a plan to focus on people and how she can make changes to improve their Army experience.

She is the first woman to command an Army component, a force of close to 200,000, and while she’s delighted to have...

The new director of the Army National Guard started his job at a time when tens of thousands of citizen-soldiers were on duty overseas and at home supporting local authorities with civil disturbances, catastrophic weather, wildfires and a pandemic.

The Army National Guard saw an unprecedented level of activity in the first half of 2020, with soldiers mobilized around the country in historic numbers for complex and constantly evolving missions.

By June, close to 100,000 troops were on duty, almost 80,000 of those at home.

In mid-August, just two weeks into the job, Lt. Gen. Jon Jensen sat behind...

While watching yet another news report about what is going on in the streets of America—civil unrest, lack of accountability, equal justice, racism and politics—I decided to clean my basement. What I found is why I am typing: a dog-eared copy of one of my favorite books—Of Mice and Men.

John Steinbeck’s novella Of Mice and Men, published in 1937, was the tool used by educators to demonstrate three things in my public school experiences. The first was, “What is classic literature?” The second was, “What is the great American novel?” The third is simply an exposition on the human condition. It...

The U.S. continues to face rapid and unexpected challenges that test the strength and resolve of our military. Soldiers undoubtedly will be called to support a range of missions including combat and noncombat operations such as humanitarian assistance following natural disasters, infectious disease outbreaks and security in destabilized regions. As the roles and responsibilities of soldiers are ever-expanding, each mission poses unique and complex demands that can only be met if the Army commits to optimizing soldier physical and non-physical performance, including sleep, nutrition and...

The U.S. continues to face rapid and unexpected challenges that test the strength and resolve of our military. Soldiers undoubtedly will be called to support a range of missions including combat and noncombat operations such as humanitarian assistance following natural disasters, infectious disease outbreaks and security in destabilized regions. As the roles and responsibilities of soldiers are ever-expanding, each mission poses unique and complex demands that can only be met if the Army commits to optimizing soldier physical and non-physical performance, including sleep, nutrition and...

In the early 1950s, the Army created Special Forces units, which were dedicated to conducting unconventional warfare. To stay prepared for this complex mission, Special Forces Operational Detachment A trains and plans for unconventional warfare using the Army’s Military Decision Making Process.

Embracing the task to conduct training events focused on validating units in fundamental skills, our battalion, which we are not naming here, held a Military Decision Making Process training exercise. This event required each Special Forces A-Team, as a detachment is known, to plan an unconventional...

In the early 1950s, the Army created Special Forces units, which were dedicated to conducting unconventional warfare. To stay prepared for this complex mission, Special Forces Operational Detachment A trains and plans for unconventional warfare using the Army’s Military Decision Making Process.

Embracing the task to conduct training events focused on validating units in fundamental skills, our battalion, which we are not naming here, held a Military Decision Making Process training exercise. This event required each Special Forces A-Team, as a detachment is known, to plan an unconventional...

The Chief Financial Officers Act of 1990 was the most sweeping financial management reform legislation in 40 years when enacted. Based on private industry standards, the intent was for the government to enhance its financial management practices to include providing auditable financial statements and upgrading financial management systems.

There are efforts underway to update the 1990 act. A bipartisan bill has been introduced in the Senate to improve how agencies manage and monitor funds, and to set new standards and streamline reporting under that law.

While the Army has improved, there’s a...

I have been in command of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for over four years. While we have stepped up to a significant number of challenges, including volcanoes, hurricanes, wildfires and rebuilding power grids, none has been as monumental a challenge as the coronavirus response. In each emerging hot spot, we knew upfront that we had a short window of five to 14 days to build hospital bed capacity to align with state-projected virus infection peaks.

The Corps’ credibility depends on our ability to deliver results on time, on budget and of exceptional quality. We work with the Federal...

Swift Narrative Details Prewar Mobilization

The Rise of the G.I. Army, 1940–1941: The Forgotten Story of How America Forged a Powerful Army Before Pearl Harbor. Paul Dickson. Atlantic Monthly Press. 416 pages. $30

By Brian McAllister Linn

Paul Dickson’s new book is an entertaining, anecdotal account of two largely neglected episodes in Army history: the creation of the conscript force and the large-scale exercises in the years immediately before World War II.

Dickson has published some 60 books on topics ranging from baseball to slang to cocktails, and The Rise of the G.I. Army, 1940–1941: The...