The Harding Project movement has created an uptick in professional writing as many in the Army have taken up the charge to shape the force through discourse. This movement will continue to grow with the recent release of the Military Review special “how to” edition, which provides aspiring and seasoned writers alike the tools to publish their work in professional journals as well as ideas on how to increase professional discourse through unit-wide programs.
In the spirit of junior and mid-grade leaders picking up the pen, this edition of War Books highlights another side of professional discourse: soldiers telling their stories. Instead of retired general officers or war heroes, these books come from everyday soldiers, including some who remained on active duty after penning their tales. Others have shared a different kind of account shortly after leaving service. And there’s one book on this list that, while probably not intended by the author, stands as a case study on the importance of mid-grade leaders challenging the status quo with their pens. These books may not have changed the course of the Army, but each had a profound impact on me in different ways, and for at least some of them, I know I am not alone in being shaped by these shared experiences. In the end, that is the best measurement of success for aspiring writers.
Battleground Iraq: Journal of a Company Commander, by Todd Brown
This honest and raw account of what it meant to lead troops on the battlefields of the post-9/11 wars was the first military leadership book I read as a cadet. As the book is aptly titled, Brown shares his synthesized journal logs and letters back home in a way that lets readers know what it felt like to walk the streets in Iraq as a company-grade officer from 2003 to early 2004. For many, this served as a guide for some of the inherent challenges we would face as young officers stepping into leadership positions for the first time and doing so in the same neighborhoods where Brown led his soldiers as a company commander. After adding his tale to the early conversations on the war in 2007, Brown continued to serve and is currently a brigadier general and the 2nd Infantry Division’s deputy commanding general.
The Forever War, by Joe Haldeman
While Brown helped me prepare for war, Joe Haldeman helped me come back home. The Forever War is a science fiction story where Haldeman, a Vietnam veteran, forces his protagonist to face absurd and drastic societal changes each time he returns home from an intergalactic conflict. The book revolves around time dilation, and with each redeployment, the main characters find they are lost, no longer belonging to the society they signed up to defend. While the world may not change in the extreme and sometimes silly ways Haldeman portrays, to service members, it often feels that way. I have shared this book with as many first-time deployers as I could to help them prepare for the unique experience of reintegrating into society after deploying to our own forever war.
High Risk Soldier: Trauma and Triumph in the Global War on Terror, by Terron Wharton
I stumbled across Terron Wharton’s book while working through my own personal demons from a recent deployment. A mentor introduced me to the self-published memoir, and I was surprised to find such a candid reflection of the mental challenges of war. Wharton shares his darkest days, both downrange and at home. Mental health discussions have become a staple of my generation’s wars, but High Risk Soldier demonstrates that soldiers can still serve after facing post-traumatic stress disorder. In fact, Wharton is still on active duty, currently a lieutenant colonel at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.
Knife Fights: A Memoir of Modern War in Theory and Practice, by John Nagl
John Nagl is well known for being a champion of the Army’s reimagining of counterinsurgency doctrine in the early parts of the Iraq War. Knife Fights details the journey of bringing this doctrine to the forefront of the Army’s priorities. While the book may have been initially intended to highlight the merits of understanding counterinsurgency to senior leaders, it now serves as a case study in influencing tangible change through professional discourse. Nagl’s story reinforces numerous concepts explored in the recently published Military Review special “how to” edition, including coauthoring an article, seeking informal feedback, dissenting professionally, and building a professional network.
Major Brennan Deveraux is an Army strategist and national security researcher at the US Army War College’s Strategic Studies Institute. Brennan is an avid writer and is preparing for the release of his own War Book, Exterminating ISIS: Behind the Curtain of a Technological War.
The views expressed are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the United States Military Academy, Department of the Army, or Department of Defense.
Image credit: Spc. Devin Davis, US Army