Do/Did you make a reading list for your soldiers? Was it a good tool?

2015-07-28T18:02:42-04:00

I was recently going through some old papers and came upon one of the last reading lists I created for my soldiers.

The list:

1. The Story of the Noncommissioned Officers Corps - Fisch/Wright
2. The Forgotten Soldier: The Classic WWII Autobiography - Sajer
3. About Face: The Odyssey of an American Warrior - COL Hackworth
4. THE EVOLUTION OF US ARMY TACTICAL DOCTRINE, 1946-76 - Doughty
5. The American Civil War and the Origins of Modern Warfare: Ideas, Organization, and Field Command - Hagerman

Does anyone else still use reading lists - This list is from around 2005/2006 but some very good discussions and views were generated.

Response by COL Jon Thompson made Jul 28 at 2015 6:13 PM

2015-07-28T18:13:08-04:00

I never made my officers read even though I have been an avid reader. Looking back, that was a mistake. There are some good books on your list. I just re-read the book by COL Hackworth and have Forgotten Soldier coming up on my list to re-read. Most of my reading was done while I was on active duty and it interesting reading them now after several overseas deployments. Some things have not changed from what COL Hackworth wrote about in Vietnam.

Response by MAJ(P) Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 28 at 2015 7:00 PM

2015-07-28T19:00:53-04:00

I'm a big fan of reading lists. I'm most happy with them when they are themed reading lists. That way it is easy to pick out a few books on a topic before moving onto the next topical list. I'm not a big fan of just the giant lists that don't cover any specific topics or have a specific purpose.