Every Man a Tiger

Clancy really did a good job with this book. I have also read the first book in this new series he is putting out "Into the Storm - A Study in Command" and I have to say that this book is much better. One would think that as it is the second book, maybe he learned how to put together a non-fiction story in a more readable and interesting way or maybe the co-author was just a better writer. Clancy has teamed up with the General that was in charge of the air war in the Gulf War, and has a done himself a favor getting someone as inteligent and engaging to work with.The book is basically three parts, the first section talks about the Generals career in the Air Force, the Air Force 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 air war. The final section deals with the air war both the stand-alone part and as a joint effort with the ground war. The author does not give you an action packed, inside the cockpit 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 target selection 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. From watching the nightly news you can see that many of the same processes and tactics discussed in this book were used with the current U.S. military efforts in Afghanistan

General Chuck Horner, with the writing help of Tom Clancy, crafted a wonderful book that tells the story of how to organize, equip, deploy and employ massive yet diverse airpower during the Gulf War in 1990-1991.There are three parts and fifteen chapters in this book. The first third focuses on the past (1960-1989) for Chuck Horner and America's Air Force before Desert Shield. The focus is on the unique climate amongst pilots, especially fighter pilots (Horner's primary skill set) and the entire aviation community. The emphasis Horner places on teamwork is striking, and shows the importance of every airman who contributes to launching and aircraft and its payload down the runway and into the skies. This part of the book also describes the strategic vision of Air Force leaders in the 1970's as they sought to apply the lessons learned from the Vietnam War, and reemerge from the post war malaise as a coherent fighting organization.Throughout the first part are snapshots of what Horner was trying to create in the chaos that followed the Presidential decision to reinforce Saudi Arabia to deter further Iraqi aggression and finally expel Iraq from Kuwait. Horner, who became Commander in Chief, Central Command (Forward) CINCCENTFWD noted that everywhere he initially went, the staffs' "efforts lacked order and focus...missing essential details such as basing logistics and sortie rates." Horner's essential task was to understand the intent of General Schwarzkopf and the National Command Authority, and to focus the effort of the CENTCOM team to deploy and employ forces in a logical way that would accomplish the national strategic goals. In short, Horner had to translate strategic guidance into operational constructs that would provide specific guidance for tactical commanders while simultaneously forcing them to address and crack the individual nuts.The second part of the book focuses on the CENTCOMFWD role in building and fighting the "halt phase" of the Gulf War. Everything from the tyranny of time, to building a coalition with forces of dissimilar training and equipment is covered. Of greatest interest, though, is the building of the plan for executing the war against Iraqi forces. The original genesis of the plan as a result of CENTCOM's Internal Look exercise and Gen Horner's discussion of airpower with Gen Schwarzkopf are covered. How to integrate Marine Corps air assets is covered. The transfer of the CHECKMATE plan to CENTCOM was problematic due to the clash of personalities, but ultimately worked. The influence of Clausewitz is everywhere evident in the planning phase-how to measure the will of the enemy, the simple things are hard, etc. Finally, the translation of all this down to sortie rates and targeting processes is covered in great detail, suggesting that General Horner was one tired man by the end of Desert Storm.The last part of the book details the actions during the attack phase, "Desert Storm." Every detail from bridge busti

I read at least two books per week and this book is one of the best I've read in several months. As a 24 year 'non-flying' USAF Officer, every chapter taught me things I wish I had learned much earlier. Comparisons between Vietnam and the Gulf War decision making, Strategic vs. Tactical thinking and leadership, systems (balcony view) thinking vs, tunnel vision, and global vs. one national power. Facts upon facts are revealed as well. I only skimmed 10 pages--the rest was word to word. Also recommended: Storm Over Iraq. Air Power and the Gulf War, by Richard P. Hallion, and The Icarus Syndrome, by Carl H. Builder.

This is an excellent book. Both the first half, describing the life and career of General Horner, and the second half, detailing the planning and execution of the war in the gulf are engrossing and kept me reading. This book gives a good look at how a theater-level conflict is planned and the many parties that are involved.I would highly reccomend this to anybody who has an interest in the U.S. Air Force or national security strategy.

I worked for Gen Horner during most of his time as Commander of Ninth Air Force/USCENTAF. I also deployed with him to Riyadh during Desert Storm. I can tell you that everything Gen Horner says is right on track, and that Gen Horner the person is as honest as the day is long.