Customer Reviews

Into The Storm: A Study in Command (Commander's)

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

I have researched the Gulf War for several years and found this book to be one of the best to give an inside look into the corps command level. Clancy and Frank's book shows the campaign through the eyes of the VII Corps commander, which was in charge of the main effort during the Iraqi campaign. It contains facts and details that are unavailable elsewhere (at least not in non military sources). This book, together with Schwartzkopf's "It Doesn't Take a Hero", Atkinson's "Crusade" and Gordon's "The Generals'War", is a must for every Gulf War researcher.

Since this is one of the relatively few popularly-available, yet widely-distributed, histories of the Gulf War published to date, I approached this with certain mixed feelings. Tom Clancy's involvement was a plus and a minus - he is a moderatly capable writer (though his ability to craft character, vs. technology, is sub-optimal), but he has become something of a military-industrial complex on a small scale in and of himself, the McDonalds franchise of military fiction.

Fred Franks was, at the time I bought the book, somewhat less well-known, but as a corps commander in an operation I wanted to understand much better than existing published material would allow, he was a more credible source.

What results from this mix is an unexpected melange - mostly for the better (relative to, say, Clancy's take on potential Russian/Chinese conflict, which was abysmal), but with certain flaws. Franks certainly has the expertise, credibility, and transferable wisdom to lend some real substance to Clancy's usual wanna-be star-stricken jingoism. The background on Franks' experience as a junior, and then senior, officer in the Army during and after Vietnam also help provide valuable context to close the vast conceptual gulf between 1973 and 1991, socially, personally, and militarily.

What is lacking is a coherent, detailed story of the overall Desert Storm (versus VII Corps-perceived) operation itself - a story that is implied, if not promised, by the book's title and stated premise. At times, the narrative loses focus and does not follow the overall action closely enough; at other times, it dives into tantalizing description of individual unit actions that are not fully placed in context or followed up; or divergences into Franks' personal thoughts and schedule, which (though interesting on the level of understanding the blow-by-blow experience of a large-unit commander) do not add much to the overall clarity of the action. Some points of leadership philosophy become repetitive - nor is it clear where the boundary between Franks' (Clancy's?) specific beliefs diverge from some assertion of universal concepts.

At times, the narrative becomes a thinly-veiled personal defense against higher-level criticism of Franks' asserted failings in pursuing the Iraqis in the early stages of the ground action. Given the overwhelming victory achieved and the extremely lopsided casualty ratio, this seems unnecessary - since the internal discussion among theater- and corps-level command in the operation has been largely invisible to the public, it is difficult to assess to what extent the implicit back-and-forth indicated in this book is valid, but the results speak for themselves. Whether the Iraqi Army could have been defeated 207-0, instead of 200-0, seems irrelevant compared to the larger strategic question (still alive today) of whether or not Coalition forces should have gone after Saddam Hussein's regime at its root - a question that was answered at a much higher level than any to which Franks had access. As it is, the nitpicking and (apparently bitter) counter-criticisms that sortof-kindof surface in the book between Franks' VII Corps and CENTCOM (Schwartzkopf) appear to be more a reflection of the power ploys within US command structures than anything that will (ultimately) have any real meaning to anyone but the immediate participants. In real terms, they seem to have relevance primarily to the pros and cons of different styles of leadership and command, rather than to any real possibilities for different outcomes for Desert Storm - given the constraints operating at national command (rather than tactical or even theater) levels.

Ultimately, this is an interesting primer in tactics for (patient and committed) lay readers, and a solid contribution to a future body of first-person perspectives on a critical event in late-20th-century history. However, it is neither objective enough, comprehensive enough, sufficiently researched, nor inclusive enough of Iraqi (or non-US Coalition) perspectives to constitute a major historical contribution to our understanding of this particular conflict.

Clancy really did an average job with this book. I have also read the other book in this new series he is putting out "Every Man A Tiger" and I have to say that Into the Storm is a second to it. I think that as this was his first attempt at this type of book, he used it as a learning tool and the second book got better. Then again maybe the co-author was just a better writer. Clancy has teamed up with the General that was in charge of the ground war in the Gulf War.

The book is basically three parts, the first section talks about the Generals career in the Army, the Army's development from Viet Nam to the Gulf War and a touch of the politics involved within the different military branches. The second section of the book deals with the build up to the ground war. The final section deals with the ground war both the stand-alone part and as a joint effort with the air war.

The author does not give you an action packed, inside the tank type of story. What we do get is the process for building up the forces, developing a plan, working with the other countries and military forces and finally the execution of the plan. I found the discussions of attack plan creation and the relationship between the air and ground element to be the most interesting. Overall this is a well-written and constructed book. It has a lot of value if you are interested in the Gulf War or just how current U.S. battles are planned and fought. A good compliment to this book is "The Commanders" by Woodward; it deals more with the U.S. politics involved in setting up the coalition and the interaction between the main U.S. players.

This book should be rated as one of the top three books dealing with OPERATION DESERT STORM. This is General Frederick Franks' story complete with inspiring leadership vignettes from Vietnam, the amputee ward in the (former) Valley Forge Army Hospital, to the pulverized dirt and sand of Southwest Asia. The cover of the book is somewhat misleading as Tom Clancy's name is in giant bold print larger than that of General Franks. From my reading of this fine reference the credits should be reversed with General Franks'name in the large print. Thankfully most of the book is General Franks' story, and a very detailed one at that, with scattered narrative interruptions by Clancy. Having personally served in the US VIIth Corps with the 1st Armored Division during DESERT STORM, General Franks' recounting of the corps' "bigger picture" and the decision process behind them enlightened me more about the drive into Iraq and Kuwait than I ever experienced at the maneuver Brigade level. I am well satisfied with the hard cover copy of this book and would recommend its purchase in hard or soft cover to any leader, military or business, or DESERT STORM historian.

With Into The Storm, Tom Clancy brings to the public a very necessary study of the unique qualities of Operation Desert Storm. As the First of an intended five books on the subject, Mr. Clancy decides on a successful format to tell the story of a war that surprised soldier and spectator alike.

By discussing the military career of General Franks, and having the general contribute to the book, Tom Clancy provides an effective picture of how the events of the Gulf War unfolded. Some may criticize the inclusion of General Franks' military career as filler, but I see it as an insightful and key element if we are to fully understand what really happened. What makes the man does contribute to what made this war.

I am a veteran of the Gulf War, and when I heard about this book being written I was truly excited. I saw a very small piece of what happened. I missed television coverage, the parades, and all of the speculation. With this book, I finally saw into the rationale of modern war craft from a commander's perspective. I knew what me and my unit was doing, and why, but not how we fit in to the larger plan. With this book I could see what I was missing at my level of operations.

This book may never be required reading at the Army War College, but who knows, it just might. Tom Clancy has succeeded in providing a practical view of command which anyone can understand. given the unique nature of the Gulf War, this series of books promises to help explain why the war happened the way it did.

The book is very dense and poorly written. I expected a clearer narrative from Clancy. The book is repetitive and could be much tighter. Franks complains about being criticized for the tempo of his forces during the war. While he may have been wrongly criticized, it seems to be eating him up and the book reads like a 700 page justification of his decisions. I think it really detracts from what could have been an expert level description of the ground war. I appreciate that Franks is describing the war from his perspective, but I would have preferred less of his emotions and more matter of fact information about how the war progressed and the battles fought. He uses much more ink describing how the criticism of him was incorrect than he does describing his corps elimination of the Iraqi divisions.

First of all, you should know that the parts of this book written by Gen. Franks are not literary masterpieces. But then again Franks is not an author, he's a soldier.

However, if you want to learn about the no BS day by day actions of VII Corps during the 4 day ground war... this is the book for you. I was a young Sergeant in 3rd Armored Division during Desert Storm and this book really brings back the images of the war better than any other book on the subject I've read (including "Crusade" and "It doesn't take a hero").

The General has painstakingly written most of the essential information that one must read in order to know what happened during the famous "Hail Mary" (as Schwarzkopf likes to refer to it) from the point of view of the soldiers of VII corps.

Gen. Franks is a gentleman soldier who, above all else, is a consummate professional. You won't get the theatrics that were included in Schwarzkopf's book... all you get is the down and dirty facts of what VII Corps went through.

Apart from the info regarding Desert Storm, I also enjoyed the background information on Gen. Franks, his service in Vietnam and how he overcame a potential career killer (losing half of his leg to a grenade) and became a Lieutenant General in the U.S. Army (and a 4-Star before he retired).

However, memoirs like this aren't really written for the public. Rather, their written for students of the event so they can learn from the past. And, for that, this book deserves a spot on any military enthusiasts book shelf.

Oh, and Tom Clancy did a good job too!

Into the Storm, written by bestselling author Tom Clancy and retired Army general Fred Franks, is the first book of a continuing series of non-fiction military history/memoirs highlighting modern-day commanders and their experiences in war and peace.

Subtitled "On the Ground in Iraq," Into the Storm examines the post-Vietnam War rebuilding of the United States Army from a demoralized mix of draftees and "lifers" to the smaller but professional fighting force that defeated Saddam Hussein's vaunted Iraqi legions in Kuwait during Gulf War I. Clancy and Gen. Franks examine the evolution of the Army's weapons and tactics from the mid-1960s to the 1990s and the change of focus from Cold War confrontation with the Soviet Union to the face-off with new enemies in distant battlefields far from the Central European plains.

The book is also Frank's personal account of his service as an Army officer, starting as a young cavalry lieutenant stationed in the Fulda Gap in the early 1960s, his tour of duty in Southeast Asia -- where Franks lost a leg during the May 1970 invasion of Cambodia -- and his subsequent rise to general's stars and the command of the "heavy" VII Corps which was Desert Storm's armored "fist" during the now-famous 100-Hour ground war.

Along the way, we learn about Fred Franks the man, a bright, intelligent and quiet man who loves his wife and family, yet is determined to stay as a serving officer despite the loss of his leg. He comes across as a gentleman-warrior and genuine hero, yet he seems to be in awe of the young soldiers who fought and died under his command in two wars.

The book's narrative switches from Clancy's third-person analysis to Frank's first-person autobiographical account several times, which gives readers the best of both worlds. And although there is quite a bit of military jargon in the text, the authors explain and define the acronyms and terms for the reader. Also helpful are the many maps and graphics by Laura Alpher and many photographs from the authors' personal collections.

The book written by Tom Clancy with Fred Franks showed how we did the hail Mary end run led by Franks armored divisions. The story is full of lessons learned explaining what went right and what went wrong, and implies how we need to improve both technology and organization.

Of interest was that our commanders lacked proper radio communications and were not in direct contact with each other. Also GPS devices did not automatically transmit locations of troops to commanders displays, our vehicles lacked IFF devices, and that mobile SCUDs were unable to be found or destroyed once fired.

Smart weapons did not have a 100% success rate, their IQ was average, although videos made for good press. The fog of war descended on General Franks, and he lacked information necessary to maintain the pace of the attack demanded by General Schwartzkopf. Friction between the two commanders demonstrated the difference between emphasis on keeping up the pace to acheive suprise, and a need to avoid chaos resulting in "friendly fire" accidents.

The book does not dwell on the real heros,our logistics people who acheived massive movement of men and material. Description of unit contact makes one realize the success of the Abrams M1A1 tank and the quality of training given the troops.

In retrospect, this book enabled me to understand that even with satellite surveillence and the lack of cover and consealment, we could not find key targets, and could not destroy SCUD warheads. The end of the war was directed by political concerns, rather than military objectives (read A SOLDIER's DUTY), and we toatlly misapprehended the power base of Saddam Huesein.

This book was informative and should be read with "EVERY MAN A HERO" by Clancy describing the air campaign of Desert Storm. The combination of these two works will better explain what happened, suggest the future direction of technology on the battlefield, and indicate that a lesser degree of success can be expected lacking the advantages of desert terrain, and an unwilling adversary.

Jon Yerow Cincinnati

Anyone who has undertaken the task of becomming a leader in the military has struggled with the same decisions Gen. Franks does in this book. The kicker is that the General is doing this in a combat situation, not in training as new leaders mostly do.

This book is a good read for any leader. Especially if one's unit is Armor, Armored Cav, or a supporter of this type of unit.