Customer Reviews

Leadership And Training For The Fight: A Few Thoughts On Leadership And Training From A Former Special Operations Soldier

5 star:		(37)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

A great book on multiple levels. Perhaps the most valuable is the wisdom on leadership.

Master Sergeant Howe a great example of the physical, moral and intellectual qualities that give such strength to our military, especially the Special Forces. Much of the power of the book is derived from its simple, composite content - lesson plans for the warrior, "case discussion" and analysis. As the author notes the text has not been scrubbed into political correctness and academic flacidity.

Howe brings something else to the table that perhaps no other author possesses, field experience that began with multiple tours and continued with both the Army and CIA across decades to the war in Afghanistan. While excellent books such as One Bullet Away cover weeks of combat, Howe's experience covers multiple campaigns but always in the field.

Howe's lesson plans are directed at the needs of warriors and law enforcement at the point of the spear. It is the wisdom of someone who has led forces into hellholes around the world while carefully preserving the lessons learned. I am in no position to judge the quality of his tactical advice; but, his record and reputation speak volumes.

Howe points out the need to change the mindset and how many training exercises instill the wrong responses. One example is the use of paintball and laser drills where one hit and you are out of the fight. To Howe this is totally unacceptable in the field and, therefore, unacceptable training. There are lesson that appears page after page - training, more training, planning that utilizes collective wisdom, aggressive execution and leadership.

His "case studies" are not a recital of what someone wrote about what he thought some distant soldier experienced, but rather his personal experiences. They are woven into the book to illustrate points not to entertain or establish Howe's credentials. Together they document a way of preparing to fight, fighting, achieving the goal and coming home to a cold beer. Along the way they entertain the reader while reminding him of how truly special our warriors are and the depth of their commitment and sacrifices.

If the book stopped here it would be a great read. However, Howe goes on displaying a great understanding of what makes a leader, lessons of history, the intellectual gifts of fighter pilot John Boyd whose OODA Loop had an immense impact on current surface warfare concepts and what's wrong with military leadership.

Howe's discussion of leadership is enlightening. In his line of work leadership is a matter of life and death, for his fellow soldiers and perhaps for our nation. His concerns regarding both leadership training for officers and culling the flock to remove those not suited for leadership deserve consideration by our top military leaders. He points out that the senior enlisted ranks are filled by those who have proven their competence and leadership skills.

On a larger scale these same leadership concerns reflect much of what is wrong with the entire concept of business and public administration and why so many of our local and state public entities appear to be unmanageable. Perhaps the problem is not the lack of stronger management, but, rather the lack of leadership. Sadly our best and brightest emerging from four or six years at the best universities seldom grasp the importance of leadership other than that it helps get their football and basketball teams to national championships. The most obvious connection between leadership and success seldom makes it to the classroom.

Highly recommended to general audiences, those who go into bad neighborhoods and to those who seek to understand how the military works. Short, easy to read and it is also a great read for anyone headed towards a position of leadership in the military, business or academic world.

Howe also provides the background to understand Blackhawk Down.

Finally Howe promises that there will be no second revised edition with the sharp edges rounded in the name of political correctness. One only hopes that he writes again of the experiences which were not included in this book.

If your library had only one book on leadership and combat this would be the easy choice.

Written by somebody who has lived "in the trenches" for fellow soldiers and law enforcement officers. The writing style is very direct and unfiltered. Howe explains early in the book that his intent was to get his thoughts down on paper while they were fresh and to avoid watering them down through a formal editing process. The feeling you get is that of a junior leader listening to a seasoned veteran pass on his wisdom.

Chapters include:

* Accelerating The Loop
* Combat Mindset
* Individual Leadership
* Selection
* Team Leadership
* Organizational Leadership
* Combat Leadership
* Training For The Fight
* Leadership Planning
* Teaching Leadership
* Counseling and Mentorship
* Realities of Combat and Tactical Tips

Recommended reading for leaders at all levels. Although oriented towards leadership skills, there are also lessons for individual citizens. Would be a great companion book to Grossman's "On Combat" or Bowden's "Blackhawk Down."

Paul Howe's experience is extensive and his advice is a treasure in this book. If you're a young NCO in military service, particularly ground forces, this book is full of information that you will find valuable in helping to professionally develop yourself as a soldier and leader of soldiers. Each section starts off with an incident that led to a particular experience and lesson. In traditional Army fashion, each is covered in AAR format with a list of sustainments and improvements. As an NCO, this book can help guide you to develop more realistic and useful combat-oriented training as well as give you the tools necessary to become a more effective leader.

Along with the Ranger Handbook, I personally believe every NCO should have this book handy.

This is one of the must read books for leadership in the military, or anywhere for that matter. While it is called "Training for the Fight" and many of his examples are dealing with combat, it is not limited to ground forces, combat roles or the military. It is a collection of what makes a good leader and how to become one. The phrase 'leaders are born' is mostly rubbish, a true leader has to be developed from his experience and mentors, and this book clearly shows that.

Paul Howe's writing is clear and concise, and he formats his chapter like an Army After Action Report (AAR), which works fairly well. He starts his chapters with a snap shot of an operation or other experience of his, then goes through and breaks it down into what was right or wrong, what should be changed, how to fix it and what could be improved.

You really can't go wrong with this one, whether you are a working in an Infantry squad, on a ship, or in a boardroom, this is equally useful to any aspiring leader, one someone who just wants to improve their leadership.

I'm a reader. Most of it is historical, lots of medical and lots of tactics and weapons use type books. This book is one you read more than once. It is both logical and practical with enough experience related scenarios to show the reader "why" and "how". As a society we lack a lot of discipline and care too much about our 'rights'. That is a detriment in conflict and life. Paul Howe clearly delineates the reasoning behind his methods and shows those 'in the fight' how to stay alive and also help keep your team alive and functioning. Great read, even better info.

This book was one of the best tactical books that I have ever read. Most tactical books do not cover Mindset or the mental preparation needed to prepare for the big fight. I saw this in the office of our training staff. I discovered the book by accident, and I am glad I did. Mental preparation is as important as physical preparation, and this book shows you how to do it.
This book also covers some of the unknown fights of the US involvement in Somalia. The author was a part of the fighting in the "blackhawk down" sscenario. The details of those fights will let you know how bad the fighting was and why our guys were able to survive. They trained hard, and they fought hard. That is the secret of the book.

Several high-speed instructors I train with have spoken of Paul Howe as one of the finest tactical trainers in the United States. When I heard he had written a book, I was anxious to read it and I wasn't disappointed. If you are a police officer or in the military, you MUST read this book! Also required reading for anyone interested in self defense or a glimpse into the mindset of the kind of men this country needs to win the war on terrorism.
Paul gives examples of real situations he was involved in and then goes into "lessons learned" and objectives to strive for. Written in a straightforward style, it conveys its' points better than any other book on this subject that I've read. Highly recommended!!

Excellent book from the best instructor, that I ever met. Paul Howe is one of the greatest wariors that USA ever had. You just have to read Mark Bowden's "Black Hawk Down" and will understand why. We, the law enforcement oficers from this small East European country, are verry proud and happy, that practise P. Howe's principles, rules and drills, which he teach us. Whithin this lesson book we have a chanse to make a step forward in our business. Thank You Paul! And we waiting for Your next lesson book.

When I was commissioned a Second Lieutenant (thru ROTC<-Horrors!) and given orders for VietNam my father who was a retired WWII Master Sergeant told me that he was going to give me some advice that would probably get me home alive and maybe even in one piece.
He told me: "when you get to your unit, shut up for the first month and watch your sergeants in action and then when you think you're ready to speak up and take charge...shut up and watch some more". Well, I made it to the "sharp end" and back and in one piece (although I had one "puncture wound" due to my NOT listening to my sergeants and insisting on "walking point").
This is an excellent book and filled with advice that only 20 years of experience can give you. You want punctuation, grammar and a fancy turn of phrase? Go get an English degree. You want advice that could save your life? Get this book!
Anything else I could say would be superfluous (how's that for a big word for you English critiques) so I will end it with "well done Master Sergeant!"

As stated, Don't judge a book by it's cover! If you did you may not read this book. I was so impressed with the simple straight forward writing style and basic "This is what it is and I'm not afraid to say it" attitude. This book along with Grossman's(another giant inthe field) would be a great trilogy for any aspiring Soldier, spec ops or not, Law enforment Officer or anyone going into harms way type of person to build their mental frame work for the demanding task in front of them. After reading this I was again given the answer of why I do what I do and I wish I had these prior so I would have had the courage/intestinal fortitude to "Do the right thing" more often. We need more Paul Howe type of guys and it could be you next. Follw the advice and be right and do right. This IS a contemporary classic reminiscent of the Reagan days.