Moving Mountains: Lessons in Leadership and Logistics from the Gulf War [Paperback]

William G. Pagonis (Author), Jeffrey L. Cruikshank (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1994

"Business Week" described the Gulf War as "the largest military logistics operation in history", entailing an unprecedented deployment of troops and supplies halfway around the world. Here is a firsthand account of the supply effort that led to the dramatic Allied victory in the Gulf, written by the general who spearheaded the remarkable undertaking. General Pagonis recounts the Gulf War from the first fateful telephone call, to the mobilization of 550,000 troops and the shipment of 7,000,000 tons of supplies, to the enormously complex challenge of bringing home a half million soldiers and their equipment. Numerous leadership and logistics lessons can be gleaned from his experience. Pagonis describes his battlefield innovations as well as his inspirational leadership style. Using historical examples and current business practice, he makes a strong case for better leadership and better logistics, both in the military and in the private sector. In the Gulf War, leadership and logistics came together, and extraordinary goals were achieved. Pagonis demonstrated what senior managers of world-class companies now recognize: good logistics is an important source of competitive advantage. "Moving Mountains" offers lessons for all organizations facing major operational challenges.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Traditionally the most unglamorous and under-appreciated facet of the military, logistics comprises transportation; oil and fuel management; food, water and ammunition supply; and many other day-to-day needs that must be met before an army can fight. U.S. Army Lieutenant-General Pagonis presents a definitive case study of modern logistics in the context of the Gulf war. With unprecedented speed and efficiency, Pagonis's 22nd Support Command moved nearly 500,000 soldiers and seven million tons of supplies halfway around the world, a feat that General H. Norman Schwarzkopf called "absolutely gigantic." Here Pagonis provides a virtual textbook of logistical problem-solving in such arcane areas as organizing recreational activities for several thousand men and women under the host-nation's severe religious and social constraints, as well as such conventional problems as whether to construct an overpass at the Mother of all Intersections. Pagonis makes many useful comments, of interest to the private business sector, about time management, delegation of authority and boss-to-staff communications. Photos. 50,000 first printing; $75,000 ad/promo; author tour.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

About the Author

Jeffrey L. Cruikshank is a cofounder of Kohn-Cruikshank, Inc., a Boston-based communications consulting firm. He has written or cowritten a number of business-related books, including the bestselling Do Lunch or Be Lunch, and was a coauthor with David Sicilia of The Little Engine That Could.

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Harvard Business School Pr (March 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0875845088
• ISBN-13: 978-0875845081
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #879,117 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #46 in Books > History > Middle East > Kuwait

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Too much Pagonis, not enough logistics, January 9, 2003

By 

David A. Appling "polkovnik" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Moving Mountains: Lessons in Leadership and Logistics from the Gulf War (Paperback)

As a logistician, I bought this book in the expectation that it would enhance my professional knowledge. It didn't, and it didn't stay on my bookshelf, either.
Written for the general reader in the profession of management, this book will enlighten no one in the profession of arms. The treatment of military logistics is all too shallow (and the treatment of the author all too deep).
Gus Pagonis did a magnificent job in the Gulf under incredibly difficult conditions. I had hoped that this work would tell us in some detail how he did it. But no. I suspect his editors at the Harvard University Press had a lot to do with that. It's too bad the publisher wasn't Presidio Press or some other house that understands military affairs.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Too little on Gulf War logisitcs and challenges, April 1, 2003

By 

David Traill (Stuart, FL United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Moving Mountains: Lessons in Leadership and Logistics from the Gulf War (Hardcover)

From a military history point of view, logisticians get far too little credit for allowing the front line to even exist. Lt. Gen. Pagonis' book does attempt to offer some insight into the challenges of supplying the Army's needs as it built up during Operation Desert Storm in 1990-91, and then through Desert Storm. Very little is said about the withdrawal process of Desert Farewell.

The problems with this book are that it is too much centered around a business school philosophy book- not to take too much away from the success that Pagonis had, but it seems less about the challenges of supply in a hostile environment than a depiction of how to solve problems. I greatly respect the efforts and solutions that Pagonis encountered and defeated, but wish this was more a military-oriented book and less of a business school effort.

Regardless of these issues, Moving Mountains will give a reader some appreciation for all of the tasks and unsung duties by the rear echelon forces in combat, and how the Army has developed its ability to deal with any potential environments it may find itself in the future.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must read for all military personel involved in logistics, December 10, 1999

By 

Patrick J. McCall (Bayonne, N.J. U.S.A.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Moving Mountains: Lessons in Leadership and Logistics from the Gulf War (Hardcover)

The best book to date on military logistics.Explains in detail how the U.S. Army was able to accomplish it's mission in supplying over half a million troops when and where it was needed.Gen.Pagonis has written an excellent guide for officers and NCO's involved in logistics.