Warfighting

Rating:
Summary: Thought processes for victory
Review: This is not a how to manual; it isn't even a doctrine guideline. Instead it is a philosophy book. This book lays out simple, fundamental and critical facts about any conflict situation. The value of flexibility, of planning, of taking advantage of opportunities and maintaining the initiative are layout in a quick and easy read.
These truths are valid for the warfighting philosophy of the Marine Corp just as they are for meetings, debates, or presentations or critical reviews. The value of acting on a good plan quickly instead of waiting for the perfect plan later rang especially true. How many times are businesses caught flatfooted by competitors not because they didn't see the trend coming but because they were frozen by indecision?
I highly recommend this book to anybody who is curious about attack, defense, feint, and parry in any situation. The best defense is said to be a good offense, but perhaps the best offense is simply understanding and acting according to the simple principles in Warfighting.

Rating:
Summary: A Doctrine for War
Review: Warfighting exemplifies in decisive, unambiguous terms for the U.S. Marines Corps a Philosophy of Combat, engineered to expedite the tactical, strategic and operational liquidation of the enemy (opposition) by means of a purposeful and well-orchestrated violence.

The triangulation of brevity, audacity and clarity captured in word is positively stunning!

*America would be wise to take counsel of history, and recognize that war/conflict becomes inevitable when civilized men forfeit vigilance, virtue and valor, in favor of consensus and security.

Rating:
Summary: An Explanation of the American Way in Battle
Review: Warfighting offers the capstone examination of the American way in battle- of how free men structure themselves to achieve victory against the enemy. And unlike many military treatments, this manual offers a host of ancillary applications for life: anyone who is part of a team would benefit from Warfighting's maxims. The brief, yet penetrating historical analysis of the Grant v. Lee campaigns of the American Civil War justifies this book. The logical dissection of purpose, strategy, tactics and leadership make Warfighting what I consider to be an essential text in any thinking person's library.

The ideas in this manual represent not only guidance for military success, but for thinking and acting in general.

Rating:
Summary: A Realistic Look at Success
Review: Warfighting was written with the intent of informing Marine Officers about the Commandant's vision of what Marines should think about combat. This manual is about more than just conducting military operations; it sets forth the framework for success in all endeavors. Completely lacking in detail, this manual puts forth ideas that encourages the reader to fill in the details themselves. Whether you are fighting a war of mobility or planning an upgrade for your company's IT infrastructure, Warfighting suggests the mindset that you should have to create success. If you are looking for a step-by-step tutorial on success, please buy a book written by a consultant. Warfighting is meant for people who value adaptability, creativity, personal initiative, and the ability to improvise to overcome obstacles as they present themselves, not people who fear uncertainty.

Rating:
Summary: A Realistic Look at Success
Review: Warfighting was written with the intent of informing Marine Officers about the Commandant's vision of what Marines should think about combat. This manual is about more than just conducting military operations; it sets forth the framework for success in all endeavors. Completely lacking in detail, this manual puts forth ideas that encourages the reader to fill in the details themselves. Whether you are fighting a war of mobility or planning an upgrade for your company's IT infrastructure, Warfighting suggests the mindset that you should have to create success. If you are looking for a step-by-step tutorial on success, please buy a book written by a consultant. Warfighting is meant for people who value adaptability, creativity, personal initiative, and the ability to improvise to overcome obstacles as they present themselves, not people who fear uncertainty.

Rating:
Summary: The book that shook up the US Marine Corp
Review: When General Al Gray became Marine Corp Commandant in 1987, he did a lot of things that shook up the high command of the Marines. He did a lot of things a lot of people didnt like. One of the things he did was try to shift the Corp's focus away from cold war style centralized chain of command warfighting styles to a more decentralized, "maneuver warfare" style of combat. Many of his ideas were based upon Sun Tzu "The Art of War" and his experiences fighting the Asian communists in Vietnam, who thought and fought totally differently than the American military did.

"Warfighting" is a direct result of General Al Gray's tenure as commandant of the Marines in that "overhaul" period from the late eighties thru the early nineties. I found this book to be outstanding and would recommend it to anybody whether they are in the military or in the business or legal world. Its a way of thinking...a state of mind. Its truly well written.

The basic codeword for this book is "decentralized." It preaches that every Marine is a leader, down to the lowliest enlisted man. If a Marine sees an opportunity to effectively engage an enemy, he should not do the old style, centralized chain of command mode of operation of requesting "permission" and passing it up thru the chain of command and waiting for a reply to come back down. Rather than waiting for orders to come down thru the chain of command, junior Marines should instead seek out weaknesses and gaps in the enemy on their own, whereever they can find them and exploit them using their own initiative. He should just make a decision on his feet, in the location he is in and as the Nike commercial says "just do it."

In other words, it preaches a warfighting philosophy of operating on your own, without micromanagement from above. Having to constantly ask permission thru a bureaucratic, centralized chain of command and making a lot of requests is simply not a part of the maneuver warfare fighting philosophy.

I would recommend reading Sun Tzu "The Art of War" before reading this book. You will get more out of it if you read Sun Tzu first.

Eric

Rating:
Summary: Manual for Victory
Review: While speaking from a military perspective, this book is essentially a manual for victory in campaigns of all kinds, whether military, commercial, or political. The core philosophy of "ruthless opportunism" is supported through a diligent exposition of the nature, theory, training, and conduct of war. Gray's approach is unremittingly demanding in every dimension of human capacity, and nothing less could be the price of triumph.