Into The Storm : A Study in Command

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Summary: Into the Storm
Review: General Franks tends to spend too much time trying to vindicate himself from the criticizm he recieved during and following the War. For the most part the book deals with the Gulf War planning and operations conducted by General Franks and doesn't deal with the "Big Picture" of the War. The beginning of the book is basically a biography of General Franks. The work can be slow in some parts.

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Summary: Informative and timely
Review: Having just completed the Armor Officer Advanced Course I read General Franks' book with much anticipation. Although, well written and extremely accurate, I found General Franks defending his actions entirely too much. General Franks was and is an outstanding leader; and the criticism leveled at him by Schwarzkopf was totally uncalled for. General Franks has brought up a great point about the lethality and tempo involved with modern warfare. The CINC was far removed from the battle and could only track the progress by reports sent to him. Not knowing the true nature of the attack left Schwarzkopf open for alot more criticism than what General Franks leveled at him. Through their hi-tech equipment today's brigade and battlalion commanders will be able to see the battlefield alot better than the company commander and platoon leader on the ground will; they will literally dominate "battlespace". But what they have to keep in mind is that only that commander on the GROUND knows the true tempo and lethality of war. Being a student and future commander I hope people will share their ideas with me at [e-mail] FIRST TEAM!!!!!

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Summary: Lessons for managers in Army's re-birth after Vietnam
Review: I am a baby-boomer who came of age in the Vietnam era, so my interest in things military is slight and my general opinion of military organization, I'm ashamed to say, came more from Catch-22 and MASH than reality. Yet, the U.S. Army has done some huge and useful things, so I was willing to take a fresh look with this book.

I was moderating a conference of business owners recently as they lamented the poor work habits and other failings of "Gen-Xers." Finally, I'd had enough so I said, "Say what you will about body piercing and Starbucks, I don't think that's the key issue. It looks to me that our generation's contributions were the drug culture and Vietnam while the present generation has given us the Internet and Desert Storm." The question becomes, how did this happen? Into the Storm provides part of the answer.

In the aftermath of Vietnam, "the Army began a revolution in training and leader development that touched every aspect of the ! ! way the Army prepared for war." This revolution, covered mostly in Chapter 5 of the book, is an object lesson for corporations seeking to develop the most effective workforce. The two keys to the Army's new training methods were "train as you fight" and "performance-oriented training."

Train as you fight mean realistic combat practice with the same people, equipment, and terrain you expect to have in battle. When "asked how his troop had been able to do so well in their first time in combat, he [Captain Sartiano] answered that this hadn't been their first time; he and others in his troop had been in combat before -- at the National Training Center."{p. 559} Seems obvious, but how much customer service training is just reading from a manual? Management training done with lectures and slides? Skills training done with photos and prose descriptions? Why hasn't industry begun to "train as it works?"

The second pincer of the revol! ! ution is performance-oriented training. That simply means y! ou train until a standard of competence is met, not just until the training time is exhausted. If you don't meet the standard, you don't go on the line. Isn't most business training conducted with no measure of actual learning: no tests, no trials, no demonstrations? Few corporations have any idea of what they are getting for their training dollar. (Their unhappy customers do!)

Another shift in the Army's leadership style with relevance to industry is the recognition of the central importance of human nature. My favorite example is General Franks's first criteria of leadership: "mental courage (the courage to be who you really are.)" Music to my ears, of course, as the founder of a company dedicated to making people successful by helping them be genuine: MayoGenuine.

My second example is the wonderfully descriptive term "friction." Friction is the tendency of orders and instructions to be altered, misdirected, and diffused as they are passed along an! ! d implemented by various layers of management and staff. The way to deal with friction, once you have done all you can with communication and monitoring, is to adapt. The key is to make your orders simpler, clearer and less ambiguous. Nimble as his forces were, General Franks knew that at a certain point he had to shut-up and let them go with the instructions they had. Better to go with an inferior plan well communicated and understood that a perfect plan poorly communicated. A lesson for "micro-managers" in every organization.

Another capsule lesson for managers is the example of "'terrain walks': Once every three months [the General] required all commanders and leaders to go out on the actual ground where they anticipated they would fight. There they would explain in detail to their next-higher commander just how they intended to conduct the fight." How many senior business managers would be willing to walk a mile with their frontline people, then def! ! end their strategies to a panel of more experienced manager! s? What kinds of changes to their strategies would ensue from such an exercise?

Into the Storm is too long; it needed a ruthless editor. I admit to skipping pages of poorly presented, unnecessary detail on minute-by-minute battle operations. I must still recommend it to anyone willing to look at their own management through the lens of a potent organization which plays only for the highest stakes.

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Summary: don't bother
Review: I am still trying to understand why Gen. Franks, who holds an MA in English from Columbia, chose to let Mr. Clancy write his memoir for him. This book is an absolute muddle. At times it is not clear which man is doing the writing (largely because Mr. Clancy, who never served, insists on using first person plural pronouns when referring to the U.S. Army). More often, it is not clear whether the thoughts belong to Mr. Clancy, or if they are his representation of Gen. Franks'. The subtitle, "A Study in Command," is an absolute misnomer. "Study" implies objectivity, and even-- dare I say it--some criticism. Clancy never bothers to present any perspective beyond Gen. Franks' own. Franks' ideas, decisions, and memories are never questioned. Finally, the writing is atrocious. The first hundred pages or so I circled gross grammatical errors and ugle style choices. Until I hit exasperation saturation. Clancy's writing talks down to his reader in a way I find insulting. Again, why did Gen. Franks let Mr. Clancy tell his story? I am not sure what I am supposed to be reading. It isn't memoir. It isn't biography. It isn't history. To the book's credit: it fawns on the army, and the army's phoenix-like rise from the napalm ashes of Vietnam. It does take a little of CNN out of the so-dubbed "CNN-war." And Gen. Franks, when he is allowed to write, outdoes Clancy. The general could write better than Clancy with both hands tied behind his back. To those three other Desert Storm participants who have agreed to let Clancy tell their stories: Renege. You and your soldiers deserve better.

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Summary: A B + Book for any student of military operations & history
Review: I bought the Chancy book based on his reputation for fast action and through plots. Well, I got some of that. Most of the book is not a techno thriller, but it's still a great read. Those looking for a fast action book along the lines of "The Hunt for Red October" will be definitely disappointed by this. What you find here is really three books in one. First, it's the story of the VII Corps in the Gulf War and how this man, LTG Fred Franks, commanded it. Second, it's semi-autobiographical of General Franks. Finally, it's a story of how the Army, in the years after the disaster of Vietnam, changed it doctrine, strategy, and it's entire culture to culminate into the force exhibited in 1991. For me, the development and tenants of AirLand Battle Doctrine are a bit ho-hum. I've been in the Army and Reserve for over ten years now. But the best part of this book is the detailed description of how great an effort it is to mobilize, deploy, supply, and command an army corps. Novices in the area will get a taste of the effort that goes into this endeavor. The planning factors for critical supplies (water, fuel, and ammo are of paramount importance) show why the rule of thumb is that for every man on the front lines, there are ten or so more men behind him. Overall, I'll give this effort an 8. General Franks does dwell on the dispute between himself and GEN Schwarzkopf on final battle of the ground war, and that is a dispute I believe will never be settled completely. But all in all, for a book that gives insight into a ground commander's eye view (I say that because the corps is the largest Army tactical formation), Into the Storm is well written and through.

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Summary: Excellent Listening
Review: I enjoyed reading the book so I was skeptical that the audio would be as good. It was. Simon and Schuster have done a great job abridging the book onto tape. The audio is crisp and clear. Boyd Gaines and Ken Jenkins do a terrific job as the voice characterizations for the book. I felt as if I were listening to General Franks himself. "Into the Storm" is General Franks' personal story of his life from Viet Nam to the victory in the Gulf War. Great listening, well worth the price. 5 hours.

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Summary: From the eyes of a Soldier
Review: I found the book to be a gripping truth of what actually happened, I'm not just talking about the sands of the Middle East, but what happened to get the VII Corps poised for battle. It gave the insight of what was required to keep the soldiers disciplined so that losses would be keep at a minimum and a victory would be swift and sure. As a Soldier who served under General Franks, I would go anywhere and do whatever was asked because of his focus on the objective yet his genuine concern for his troops. JAYHAWK! (Tac Rat PU687040)

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Summary: Great Inside Look at Command
Review: I found the book to be very insightful and a useful tool to study command and leadership. I favor a more technical approach when describing the campaign, but found some of the references and military acronyms confusing. I love a good map and many are present. The major problem I found was that it needed more editing to remove repetitions and clean up the confusion about military terms that may not have been adequately explained. The book also needed an index and perhaps an appendix of military terms and acronyms. Clancy is an excellent writer and Franks is inspiring, but a bit more editorial revision would have made this a five star effort!

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Summary: Into the Storm:is a terrible book about a fascinating battle
Review: I have read all of Clancy's books. He should be embarassed his name is one this one, his portion of this book is mediocre. Franks writing "style" if you can call it "a style" is not only boring but patently self serving. As a genuine war hero Franks should have used a first class writing assistant. This great battle in American War History deserves far better than this very poorly written and confusing book. Hopefully,someone of the caliber of Stephen Ambrose will give the men and women of Desert Storm what they deserve - An exhilerating fast paced action narrative history of the people, logistics and strategy of this great battle.

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Summary: This Book Will Put You to Sleep
Review: I have read many of Tom Clancy's fictional books and have enjoyed them all. However, this book does not live up to his normal "can't put the book down" level. When he tried to use too much of the personal words of the commanders the book lost its cohesivness and became just plain boring. I will never again assume that the Tom Clancy name implies a good book!