David Hackworth - Wikipedia

Sir, I really enjoyed "Steel my Soldier's Hearts" although you're right in that he painted a negative picture of some of his senior leadership. COL Hackworth and BG Marshall published the Viet Nam Primer together, perhaps they had a falling out?

Thanks, probable correct. I didn't realize they had collaborated on a book.

In the book "About Face" you glean insight into the failing out. COL Hackworth, then MAJ, at first was in awe that he was afforded the chance to work with BG SLAM.... later he thought that BG SLAM had become enamored with himself and lost focus on what their mission was... thinking more of future books (historical) than the fight at hand... also some of his "analytical" methods of gathering information were beginning to be called into question.

Anyways... that's the conclusion I made after reading a little more on both.

One of my personal favorites. It's one of the few books I've read more than once.

You're probably thinking about his Ranger Tab Controversy sir. Here's some details on it:

Proceedings: On your 1996 Web site resume, you said you had the Army Ranger Tab. Some Army people say you didn't earn it. But you were a Ranger, in an actual Ranger unit. Can you explain that?

Hackworth: I had served in the 8th Ranger Company; later I served in the 27th Raiders of the 25th Infantry Division. On the Raiders' tenth mission, the regimental commander awarded every trooper the Ranger Tab. When all this fell out after the Boorda story, I immediately had my records audited. And they reflected that I was awarded the Ranger Tab. It was on my official records; it's not something I claimed falsely.

Let me tell you how the regulation reads now. To rate a Ranger Tab, you had to have been awarded the Combat Infantry Badge (CIB) while a member of the 8th Ranger Company. But I got my CIB with Company G, 27th Infantry Regiment. Thus, the 1951 award of the tab did not meet the 1980s criteria. I take all the blame.

All the guys in the 27th Raiders got the Ranger Tab, but they were not Rangers. When the Boorda story exploded, people were looking for chinks in my armor. So I'm a defrocked Ranger. As it turned out, though, in the Army's vetting of my record, they found I had ten Silver Stars, not nine.

http://www.military.com/NewContent/0,13190,NI_Hackworth_1202,00.html

MAJ (Join to see) - No, that wasn't it. I remember now. After ADM Boorda committed suicide for being called out over a Combat V device on a Navy Commendation Medal, CBS looked into the good Colonel's awards as well.

It was found, during the audit, that Hackworth was wearing two oak leaf clusters on his Distinguished Service Medal that he was never awarded. Now, the Army took the blame and said it was an "administrative error". But my question to this is. If you earned them, don't you think you would know how many you would have awarded? I know exactly how and why I have been awarded everything I have.

I have to be honest and also say that the audit showed that he had actually been awarded 10 Silver Stars instead of 10.