Small Unit Leadership, a Commonsense Approach
Essay by msfcsdfc • June 7, 2017 • Essay • 1,591 Words (7 Pages) • 1,197 Views
BOOK REVIEW ON “SMALL UNIT LEADERSHIP, A COMMONSENSE APPROACH” WRITTEN BY
COL DANDRIDGE M MALONE (RETD), US ARMY
Introduction.
1. Gentleman and women before I start my deliberation, think you are in a battle fd. Now you give sig to one of your sldr to attk, and he attk. Did you think why he does so? Because-
a. His buddies are counting on him to do his job.
b. He thinks his buddies will call him a coward if he doesn’t attk
c. He has learned that his leader knows the right thing to do.
d. He wants to please his leader.
e. He believes he will be court-martialed if he doesn’t attk.
f. He thinks he will be left alone if he doesn’t attk.
g. He believes that fol order is the right thing to do.
h. He believes he will be rewarded for attk
j. He believes that attk is less dangerous thabn not attk
k. He believes he will feel guilty if he doesn’t attk
l. He wants to prove his manhood, courage, or his worth as a sldr.
m. He hates the en.
n. He enjoys the excitement and thrill of combat.
p. Fol orders has become automatic, a habit.
2. Now gentlemen he asslt for any, or all, or some combination of the above reasons, or for some other reasons not listed. But next to there are others, they also go, and each for some different pattern of reasons which neither you nor they will ever know-but they go. They go because at that critical moment, when they are in confusion with the decision of whether to attk or hide, you as the leader, give decision that attk is their best choice. Gentlemen with this, now I am going to deliver my speech on a book, which discussed del on leadership, how you will increase your confidence as a small unit ldr. The book is “SMALL UNIT LEADERSHIP, A COMMONSENSE APPROACH” by Col Dandridge of US army (retd).
Gen Info on the Book.
3. Nature of the Book. As I read the book, It described vividly the demands of the battle fd. How to prep us, how to prep our sldr and our unit before the battle begins. The book was written for coy level ldrs. It might be a guide or a road map to help us to build small units that can destroy and defeat small en units.
4. The Writer. Col Dandridge began his army career as a private and ended as a col almost thirty yrs later. He is renowned as the army’s leading expert on leadership. Both in gar and in cbt. He has taught the subject to the students at various army svc schools incl the Army war college.
5. Publisher. The book was published by Presidio Press, 31 Pamaron Way, from USA. It was composed by Helen Epperson.
Comments on the Book.
6. Gen Comment. The small units and their ldr are the ones who fight in the battle fd. In this book, the author mainly tried to high lt on the tasks or jobs what a small unit ldr should do in the peace time to increase his ability, con, and confidence over his unit in the battle fd. The author gave a msg to the small unit ldr for four time in various places of the book- that as a small unit ldr, we should only be doing one of the fol two things:
- LEADING SLDR AND SMALL UNITS DURING BATTLE
- PREP SLDR AND SMALL UNITS TO FIGHT THE BETTLE
7. First Chapter-The Purpose of Small Unit Leadership. In the first chapter the author describes why small unit leadership is important. In one sentence he mentioned that, the purpose of leadership is to accomplish a task.
8. Second Chapter-What is Army Leadership? This chapter mainly analyzes in details why mil leadership is different from others. An elaborate attempt is made to show the different between the leadership among various levels (Generals: Conc of forces; col: Direct the battle; capt: Fight the battle). Then relation between leadership and management were also discussed elaborately. The author high lt the principle of leadership and the leadership traits in this chapter.
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