Dragons at War: Land Battles in the Desert

I was never an officer, or a tanker. I did go through NTC, though, as an Army combat engineer attached to the 82d Airborne. If nothing else, Captain Bolger's book showed me behind-the-scenes detail that a lowly S3 Assistant doesn't get to see. But beyond personal experience, this is one of the most concentrated and pungeant exposures I know to what is fondly called the "fog of war." To how no plan survives contact with the enemy -- heck, few plans survive long enough to even get you INTO contact with the enemy. Captain Bolger places you in the hot seat, as a company commander trying to juggle too many demands and too little information, huddled over a chemlight on a tank-torn bit of muddy road and wondering how he can possibly get the armor from where it is to where it needs to be...before the OPFOR rolls him up. It is a lesson in how the devil is most definately in the details.

Here's an opportunity to take a critical look inside the best training facility in the world for armored land combat. The author clearly explains the mission and composition of a armor/infantry task force during a month long rotation at the National Training Center at Ft. Irwin during the mid '80s. He is able to provide both the commander-level view and the soldier-on-the-ground perspective. Many topics are covered, but key issues are: the difference between home station training and deployed training, the importance of logistics planning, the importance of a world-class OPFOR (OPpossing FORces) and the need to fight as a combined arms team. This is recommended reading for all members of the profession of arms, especially infantry, armor and artillery. A quick, easy, informative read.

CPT (now LTC) Bolger's book played a key role in understanding this place called the National Training Center. In the conceptual years before the majority of the armored forces conducted yearly rotations, the NTC became a never never land filled with stories of the invincible OPFOR and the unsmiling retoric of the Observers/Controllers (OC). CPT Bolger's book help put to rest the war stories and allowed his fellow soldiers to see the NTC as it really is . . . a training ground. The Army's gamble in this high cost training center paid off during Desert Storm as evident in our ability to plan and execute a complex operation with minimum loss of American soldier's lives. The only disjointed portion of his book is his reference to the "Great Game" concept. This concept stipulates that in order to be promoted, one must play the "Great Game" in becoming noticed. While this was common in the Army of the 80's, it served no purpose to the overall effectiveness of our troops and only took away from the book's effectiveness as a primer for armored soldiers. However, if one can look beyond this reference to the "Great Game", this book is filled with raw emotions and situations that a armored leader must face in a modern battlefield. Although outdated in some respects in weapons and tactics, it does portray nicely the thought patterns a leader must face in a high stress situation. Of particular note is the often overlooked area of military study called logistics. This book will clearly articulate the saying,"amatures study tactics, professionals study logisitics!" I recommend this book to all ROTC Cadets and company grade officers.