Decision and Dissent: With Halsey at Leyte Gulf

Carl Solberg's book looks deep into the critical decisions of FADM William Halsey at the Battle of Leyte Gulf. Solberg is well qualified to do so as he was on Halsey's staff at the time. He finds that Halsey's "kitchen cabinet" staff ignored repeated warnings and requests to guard San Bernadino Strait, the route that Imperial Japanese naval forces would use to attempt to attack the transports in the Leyte Gulf area. Even Solberg's boss, the Intelligence Officer for the Fleet, had his warnings ignored. Solberg hypothesizes the reason for Halsey ignoring the warnings as a result of his inner staff and Halsey all being aviators, and all wanting, in Halsey's case desperately wanting, to get the Japanese carriers. Unfortunately, the Japanese carriers were bait, a spent force, designed to distract Halsey (the Japanese knew he was commanding the American fleet carrier force at that time). Solberg's boss was a Marine and not an aviator; other warnings came from surface force commanders. RADM Davidson, commanding one of Halsey's carrier task groups, did try to get a warning through, but there is no evidence Halsey ever saw it; his staff likely insulated him from news he didn't want to hear. Solberg's book is a case study for decision making under stress and under uncertain conditions. Although it is a military case, and an old one, the lessons from it apply to civilian public and private sector organizations. Solberg's style is a little artificial in places, but he paces a good story and doesn't waste the reader's time. Decision and Dissent is a must read for the serious reader and researcher of the Pacific campaign of WWII. It also is an excellent read for the casual military reader.