[March 3, 2016] Note that I’m starting a new series here at theLeaderMaker.com leadership blog that will feature “American Warriors.” Occasionally, I’ll write on others but for now Americans because I have better access to their information. That is why I begin the series with Colonel David Hackworth. My view of what a warrior is can be found here (see link).
I first heard of Colonel Hackworth when I was at the U.S. Army Infantry Officer Basic Course at Fort Benning back in the summer of 1983. It was unusually hot and humid that summer and so it was with great expectations that I got my first introduction on how to conduct Vietnam-style counterinsurgency operations based on Hackworth’s philosophy of “out-G-ing the G.” The G standing for Guerilla.
Hackworth was the type of man you want in a war. His realism-focused combat perspective was getting to the enemy and destroying him quickly and with as few losses as possible. This might mean adopting and then improving upon the methods of the enemy’s tactics. It also meant using American military strengths to take up any slack and reject those tactics and procedures that don’t work.
“If a policy is wrongheaded, feckless and corrupt, I take it personally and consider it a moral obligation to sound off and not shut up until it’s fixed.” – Colonel David Hackworth
Hackworth is also a great patriot. His patriotism was questioned however when he turned against the Vietnam War. His reasoning was that the war wasn’t being fought to win the conflict but fought for political and military self-interests. After assessing American war strategy, Hackworth believed that meant American could never win in Vietnam. Thus the fighting was only costing lives that would ultimately result in defeat. I read his book About Face: The Odyssey of an American Warrior when it came out in 1990 and it helped shape the way I looked at the way Americans fight wars.
David Hackworth is a military legend and he undoubtedly deserves our respect and admiration for what he did during his combat tours in Korea and Vietnam. What he had to say about preparing soldiers for and leading them in combat has helped a generation of military officers; he showed us how to fight on the battlefield.1
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- A website established by his wife gives additional information on Colonel Hackworth: http://www.hackworth.com/