Command Legacy: A Tactical Primer for Junior Leaders

by Raymond A. Millen

PRAISE FOR THE FIRST "Millen reminds me of Erwin Rommel, George Patton, and Dwight Eisenhower, who also put their concentration as junior officers on the small units.” —Stephen E. Ambrose, author of Band of Brothers and Citizen Soldiers “Command Legacy is a first-class primer on company-level command. Wish I’d had a copy when I took over my first company as its skipper. . . . Must reading for pros.” —Col. David Hackworth, USA (Ret.), author of About Face “One of the most important soldier’s manuals developed in modern Army times.” —Lt. Col. Dominic J. Caraccilo, USA, in Military Heritage The burden of fighting wars, large or small, often rests on the soldiers and junior leaders of small infantry units. Command Legacy , the definitive source on small-unit tactics, presents one combat officer’s conclusions about how to approach tactical problems and missions and about the links among tactical theory, doctrine, and practice. It is meant to prime junior leaders for tactical operations, team building, and professional development and explains in detail what needs to be done, why, when, and by whom. It attempts to reconcile both what to think and how to think, providing a voice of experience to readers. Newly returned from a tour in Afghanistan, Lt. Col. Raymond Millen has updated the book with fresh information to reflect lessons learned in Iraq and Afghanistan, new equipment, and new methods of counterinsurgency and urban combat. From developing company doctrine, preparing for a mission, and conducting assaults to addressing such concerns of the individual soldier as supply, terrain, and weather, any leader—officer or enlisted—tasked to conduct tactical operations needs this valuable book.

Genres: Military Fiction, Military History

416 pages, Paperback

First published March 31, 2002

Reviews

[Yoon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Note: I have no military background; I was using this as research for a novel. That being said, this is a clear overview of small-unit tactics, responsibilities, rules of thumb, and a lot of notes on suboptimal things people do that screw you up in combat situations and ways to improve on those practices. The chapters are laid out in a sensible fashion, and there are tables for procedures, reasonable loads for soldiers, and so on. An excellent resource.

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written by a retired army officer, this is a manual for platoon and company grade infantry officers to teach basis infantry tactics. Contains numerous drawings and charts. It also addresses basic administrative skills.