Prodigal Soldiers: How the Generation of Officers Born of Vietnam Revolutionized the American Style of War

When you read a book like this and have seen the Army at its best and worst. That and have seen the gradual improvement to where the Army is today, i.e. one of the most trusted institutions and one of the greatest killing machines since the Roman Legions under the early Caesars. I just feel better and safer. That and I want to thank all those who did not turn tail and run away from the wreck of the post Vietnam War Military but stayed and fixed it. God Bless you all!

I first read James Kitfield's book in 2000 and have just finished rereading it. I am recommending it to my sons, an Air Force pilot working on his master's in military science and an Army combat engineer, as one of the four most influential books on the development of the United States military since WW II. The author traces in a very readable style the coming of age of the officers of all branches of service during the Viet Nam and post-Viet Nam eras and how those experiences shaped our ability to win a decisive victory in the 1990 Gulf War. The book also reveals the back room political wheeling and dealing that goes into watershed legislation such as the sweeping reforms of the Goldwater-Nichols Act. It's a "must read" for every professional military leader and student of the art of war.

From the prologue to the epilogue, and everything in between, this book is fantastic reading. Anyone who has ever been associated with the U.S. military will have a much clearer picture of the totality of resurection within all the services after Vietnam. "Duty, Honor, and Country" does not always mean the same thing to different people, to some it means a career that spans over thirty years, to others the words are just something on a recruiting poster. To anyone who reads the book these three words will take on a much clearer meaning. Some chapters will cause tears in even the toughest of old veterans, and even the young generation of future service members will begin to understand some of the major events which have transpired in the military in the decades since Vietnam. James Kitfield tells a story that is not just a chronicle, or a documentary, but a story worthy of telling, and he does it with style.

James Kitfield utilizes extensive research and well-toldvignettes to tell a compelling tale; how the economically starved andforgotten military that existed in a post-Vietnam America rose from the ashes to become the professional force that triumphed in Desert Storm. His story is excellent and very readable, and utilizes many small historical steps to reach its logical conclusion to include the end of Vietnam, the military's efforts to combat rampant drug use and undiscipline, the move to an All-Volunteer force, the failure of the 1980 Desert One mission, the advent of realistic training centers, and Graham-Rudman. His tale is told through the eyes of the young lieutenants and ensigns who went on to become the generals and admirals who applied the lessons they painfully learned in the past. A powerful story with a serious warning for military leaders of the present.

Kitfield does a superb job of describing the near-death and subsequent rebirth of the U.S. military. His research and writing captures the "big picture" of the military's decline following Vietnam and its renewal during the Reagan years, yet he takes the reader very close to the personalities of the officers and politicians involved in rescuing America's armed services. Overall, a great read.