Book Request on Leadership (Military)

 I had a former Marine of mine reach out this week requesting some reading material on leadership in the military. 

One could find numerous titles under the commandants reading list, and I won't claim to have read them all or even close to it. 

I do believe that in any story in history in which you will find a respected leader you will find similar tenants. 

Self-sacrifice. Wisdom. Consistency. 

Sacrifice: The men, and the mission must come before the interests of the self. 

Wisdom: A level of personal investment into the study of the task at hand must have been completed. This is an element of sacrifice, becoming an expert in a craft does not happen in a night. 

Consistency: They are who they say they are. They do what they say they will do. As simple as this sounds it is an uncommon virtue. 

The titles that immediately came to mind:

The Bible!

Matterhorn

The last stand of Fox Company

MCDP 1 and 1-3

Armed Forces Officer 1950 edition

Killer Angels

Gates of Fire - This one has been very impactful to me. The USMC and all branches across our warfighting force pay lip-service to the term "Professional Warrior". This retelling of the Peloponnesian War gives a glimpse into a generation of Men that would make ours look like elementary school girls in camouflage. 

I have often wanted to write a series called "The Apogee Letters" a play on "The Screwtape Letters" and an addition to "The Attritionist Letters" which was written in the Marine Corps Gazette to make the argument that as much as we claim to be maneuverist in our theory, we are really attritionists in our actions. I would be making the claim that as much as we claim to be a warfighting institution with lethality our primary goal, we are really a shadow of a lethal past - capitulating to a weak society, forfeiting the very treasure we set out to protect. 

I have said the phrase "when I have time" too often - the longer I continue to say that the more details of my personal experience in the Corps I will begin to forget. 

I shall begin!