Steel My Soldiers' Hearts: The Hopeless to Hardcore Transformation of U.S. Army, 4th Battalion, 39th Infantry, Vietnam

Col. Hackworth is abrasive, arrogant, opinionated and most likely absolutely right in his views on how we should have fought the Vietnam War. His memoir is a riveting account of how he changed a unit from disorganized rabble to a razor-sharp instrument that struck fear in the hearts of its opponents. I'd read Hack's autobiography, "About Face," so I had a sense of what this book would be, but this is better than I expected. He did his homework, bringing in accounts from scores of his soldiers to add extra dimension to the engagements he details. You most likely will share his anger and outrage at the way the war was mismanaged and micro-managed by stupid and overly ambitious senior officers who were only there to get their combat tickets punched and who cared little or nothing for the grunts who did the bleeding and dying. This is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand what we might have accomplished in 'Nam.

I've heard several comments made about about 'Steel My Soldiers Hearts' saying that Hackworth deals a whole lot with self- aggrandization. My answer is that from my perspective, he deserves every bit of praise and honor possible for writing a very truthful book about how the fighting in Vietnam SHOULD have been conducted.As a combat veteran of Vietnam, I was most taken with his very truthful and accurate description of the many 'perfumed princes' whose goals were ultimately skewed and self-serving. Many commanders in Vietnam were more concerned about climbing the ladder and 'punching tickets' for future promotions than the welfare of the soldiers who served under them. Give Hackworth the highest of credit for two things: molding a tactically sound fighting force and caring enough about those serving under him that American lives lost were kept to a bare minimum as compared to lives lost by the enemy.For any conflicts that this country may face in the future, the tactical leadership of this country should take a page from Hackworth's accomplishments and study it hard. Sadly, it appears as though the lessons learned in Vietnam have not made an adequate enough impression upon our current leaders.A wonderful book written by perhaps one of America's last true warriors.

This is the first Hackworth book I have read; sorry I waited so long. Could not put it down once I started. I like his colloquial style of prose (whether his or his wife's, the result on paper was excellent), and the terminology and language rang true to in my memory. He nontheless took great pains to define terminology and explain essentials to the uninitiated, so anyone can and should read and understand this work. It was a narrative, but carried many strategic and tactical lessons in the midst of it. It was a combat saga, but the political and bureaucratic people and actions that adversely effected our war effort at every level in Vietnam received their due. Vietnam combat "lessons learned" did not have to be "relearned" at the expense of more lives under Hackworth's command. While he "led from the front" whenever possible, he also had the correct management/command style in letting his subordinate commanders--company,platoon,squad and fireteam--lead and be responsible at their own respective level and develop along the way. If only other field commanders had led (or been allowed to lead) infantry and combined arms in this manner in Vietnam, we would have "out-G'd the G" (as Hack puts it). His criticism of our military's strategy, innovation, imagination and tactics (or lack thereof) are well justified and have been expensively documented in our blood. Hackworth's emphasis on economy of force, stealth, surprise and violent initiation of action and counteraction (applied accurately and at the right time) were the only way to successfully conduct a war that had no geographic objectives, no ground to hold for any length of time. Attrition tactics can always be questioned, but it is unquestionably better to be well on the "winning" side of the kill ratio. These tactics and success were the hallmark of our Lurp/Ranger operations, particularly after we moved from a primarily reconnaisance role to one of interdiction and ambush--4/39th just applied it on a larger scale. On the ground, for the foot soldier, none of the principals have changed (and have little changed from the time of Sun Tzu). If we fail to understand them and apply them, American lives will again be wasted in future conflicts--whatever the venue or size. This is a must read for military leaders and, just as importantly, for the civilians who lead them or have impact on their operations. [....]

COL Hackworth's focus on soldiering, even keeping the story line at grunt level, is entertaining and thought provoking on the necessity of good leadership. If you can read in-between the colorful writing of COL Hackworth, you will see the influence of his time in Vietnam with BG S.L. Marshall as an analyst of armed conflict. His applications of Observe, Orient, Decide & Act (OODA) loop cycle reduction to get inside of the decision matrix of his enemy is still relevant today in Afghanistan as it was in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam. The transformation of 4/39 INF from soft core to Hardcore is worth company level officers and NCO's a read. It relevancy today is that for now and the foreseeable wars to come; it will be fought at the company level with the focus on small unit tactics and training. COL Hackworth's notability as a writer with a public image sometimes "taints" his deep analytical ability and his true heart to train and lead soldiers. Forget about his public image, his colorful phrases, and his so-called "rhetoric" . . . the book in its raw essence has value to help prepare our soldier's for the type of war we will face. Many of men have written about combat for fame or fortune but few have chosen to pass on wisdom. This book is not another war story.

I feel very qualified to review this book as I lived quite a bit of it serving as Col.Hackworth's Battalion Surgeon in Vietnam.Most of the battles occurred on my watch and I was involved in trying to save the casualties,friendly and enemy. Fortunately, under Hack's leadership our KIA's and WIA's plummeted to record low numbers and many of my infantry brothers feel, as I do, that we are alive today because of his shrewd understanding of the battlefield and how to approach it in a SMART way. Our previous CO clearly lacked the experience and knack for getting it done without lots of unnecessary casualties. Hack's prior tours in Korea and Vietnam were all building blocks which he stacked up in a very creative way to out-G the G (Guerilla). Being aware of lots of details about our combat operations, I was quite amazed at the amount of information Hack and Eilhys gathered over the past 4 years. I am now able to hear directly from the chopper pilots who flew us in and out of battle and to hear straight from the grunts like Tom Aiken who saw his life flash in front of him when he almost tripped a wired booby trap. This classic book, much in the way Hal Moore's We Were Soldiers Once did, looks deep into the memory banks of those of us who were there.What emerges is a captivating book which I believe will be a handbook for all future military operations fought on the ground. It is my privilege to have served under such a brilliant military leader and under a man who loved his men and his country in such a passionate manner. Pick it up and you won't be able to put it down. Byron E.Holley, MD, Battalion Surgeon, 4/39th Infantry Battalion, 9th Infantry Division, USARV