26 November 2014

KNUCKLE-DRAGGERS NEED TO READ TOO: The Case for Reading History in Basic Training


When you walk through the these barracks on a chilly November evening on Fort Benning, it’s “Personal Time” as trainees do laundry and write letters home to mom or a young fiancé. But sitting on the floor, you’ll also find a trainee starting Gates of Fire, while two rows down his Battle Buddy is half way through Starship Troopers. Two of the guys are just touching down in the Ia Drang, three are lost in the Bakara Market, while one is reliving that cold December of 1776. This isn’t Officer Candidate School, it is Sand Hill: birthplace of the Infantryman. These are the nation’s soon-to-be grunts: the knuckle-dragging, dirt-dwelling, trigger-pulling sons of America that are known for their discipline, motivation, and willingness to meet our enemies face-to-face. Sadly, the young Infantryman is not known for his desire to read books without pictures; but they do.

These young Infantrymen-to-be are in Basic Combat Training. It’s not a new, softer, gentler Basic Training. In fact, their company has an Army Physical Fitness Test average well above the brigade’s average, over half of them qualified “Expert” with their rifle, and not a single one of them scored below “Sharpshooter” (not bad for new Privates). They are reading, because they want to, because they were permitted to, and because they were encouraged to; but not because it is required. The only required reading in Basic Training is a map and a Skill Level 1 Tasks book. Religious reading materials are authorized, by regulation, but most Drill Sergeants prohibit anything else. (The Ranger Handbook doesn't count, because to most Infantrymen it equates to religious reading material.)

These young Basic Trainees are reading books off a reading list I developed for Infantry Basic Trainees. It’s outside the graduation requirements or the lesson plan, and therefore it’s not funded. I made the list anyhow, in hopes that these Trainees would leave Sand Hill just a little bit smarter than the rest of their peers. Because history books are not in the training requirements it was a challenge to find money; so I crowd-sourced it. After posting the reading list on our Attack Company Facebook page, I was pleasantly surprised by the outcome. Parents, girlfriends, and other supporters sent in books almost overnight. Every evening since, walking through the barracks, I've found Trainees sitting quietly by their bunks reading history(it helps that we take away their “smart” phones).


Why History?

It’s a “straw man” question I know, but why should young Privates be concerned with reading history? Shouldn't they be focused on memorizing tasks and drills, weapons capabilities, and terrain features? History provides something that a field manual cannot]. The “why” and the “how this came to be” are equally important to understand as we introduce Privates to the profession of arms. We cannot count on their education background to have taught them the history of our own nation and the Army’s place within that history.

History provides a new Soldier with an understanding of that proud legacy. The more familiar one becomes with the heroism displayed by individual Soldiers, many the same age or younger than these Privates, the more grounded their pride becomes in what they are capable of accomplishing. Reading across the history of our Army’s wars, young Privates find parallels among the fear, determination, and bonds of brotherhood that transcend any single battle. This history, if provided to every incoming Soldier, will also provide a common understanding of our institution that will contribute to a common identity.
Battlefield Perspective

According to one study, “the Army could potentially lose more than half of its accrued deployment experience over the next five years.” Many of the Privates joining today may not see combat early in their careers, or may find themselves thrust into a deployment within months of graduating Basic Training. Regardless, none of them enter the Army with full understanding of what it means to be in combat. This perspective can only be gained from personal experience. The closest thing to knowing what it’s like to be in combat is witnessing the experience of others come to life in the pages of a book. Documentaries and well-made films help too (I always show “We Were Soldiers”), but they can’t provide the depth and reflection made possible with a book.

This perspective of the battlefield, across history, provides the Soldier with the “why” and the “how this came to be” that explains their training. Countless stories (Mogadishu being a prominent example) inspire our “battle-focused physical training”, or provide the “my life depends on it” motivation to focus on marksmanship. On a cold night next week, as the Trainees lay in a fighting positions during their Field Training Exercise, their shivering will remind them of the Battle of the Bulge as “this sucks” is placed into the perspective of “it could be worse”.
Self-Learning

It is the mission of Basic Training to build Soldiers that are capable, adaptable, resilient, and professional. Much of this effort is spent in the field, on the range, around a track, or along the roads of Sand Hill. However, an integral part of that mission is to develop self-learning professionals that understand what it means to be Soldier and have a breadth and depth of understanding of the history, traditions, and tactical experiences of the United States Army.

The case has already been made, more eloquently than I could, for leaders to develop a life-long reading habit. Is it ever too early to develop that habit? Reading the history of warfare, and of our own institution, is what elevates us from being simple tools of war to professional warriors. By introducing Privates to reading within the profession of arms, we are encouraging them to develop that habit, opening their eyes to a breadth of knowledge that will expand their horizons. This habit, begun at the time they transition from civilian to Soldier will, hopefully, impress upon them the expectation thatreading is simply another aspect of being a professional Soldier.
A List Tailored to Basic Training

The list, provided below, spans from the age of Sparta to a future as imagined by Heinlein. The books include a range of science fiction, novels, biographies, and re-telling of specific battles. Each one is chosen for the viewpoint it provides on the life of a Soldier, at the lowest level, within the context of history. I wanted to provide books that might spark interest of different personalities. There may be better books on each war (except We Were Soldiers; they don’t get any better), but this list was chosen for its variety and readability. Like any reading list, it can be improved (I’m considering switching something out to add Fehrenbach next cycle). The point however, is that there should be a list of books made available, if not required, so that every Initial Entry Trainee will be grounded in the history of our nation and the legacy of our Army.

This list was developed with Infantrymen in mind, but the initiative should not be limited to combat arms. There is value in every Soldier, regardless of occupational specialty, reflecting on our place in the span of history. Someday these Soldiers will find themselves in a conflict where past reflection on war will provide them the perspective to make the right decisions. As we have learned too well, the tactical decisions of individual Soldiers can have broader strategic implications that may impact the direction of a war and shape the history of our Army going forward.

Attack Company Reading List: 
Gates of Fire, by Steven Pressfield 
1776, by David McCullough 
The Glorious Cause, by Jeff Shaara 
The Killer Angels, by Michael Shaara 
The Red Badge of Courage, by Stephen Crane 
To the Last Man, by Jeff Shaara 
All Quiet on the Western Front, by Erich Maria Remarque 
Infantry Attacks, by Irwin Rommel 
To Hell and Back, by Audie Murphy 
Band of Brothers, by Stephen E. Ambrose 
Citizen Soldiers, by Stephen E. Ambrose 
Grunts: Inside the American Infantry Combat Experience, by John C. McManus 
We Were Soldiers Once…and Young, by Harold G. Moore and Joseph L. Galloway 
Black Hawk Down, by Mark Bowden 
In the Company of Soldiers, by Rick Atkinson 
Back in the Fight, by Joseph Kapacziewski 
The Outpost, by Jake Tapper 
WAR, by Sebastian Junger 
Starship Troopers, by Robert A. Heinlein

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