Hazardous Duty: A Colonel's Shocking Exposé of High Command Incompetence and Corruption from Desert Storm to Bosnia

by David H. Hackworth

The author of the phenomenal New York Times bestseller About Face, Colonel David H. Hackworth is one of America's most decorated soldiers, having served at the end of World War II, and in Korea and Vietnam. Retired from the military since 1971, he has completed second tour of battlefield duty -- this time as a war correspondent -- accompanying our nation's fighting men and women to the Persian Gulf, Bosnia, Somalia, Korea and Haiti. What he learned of high-level military incompetence, futility and corruption in the heat and fury of Desert Storm -- and in the desperation of the Balkans and Mogadishu -- is shocking, frightening and infuriating...and it must be told. Hazardous Duty is a necessary wake-up call for military reform -- a no-holds-barred, no-punches-pulled exposé that calls America's top political and military leaders to account for selling out duty, honor and country. It is riveting, real-life adventure of courageous warriors on the world's new battlefields -- and of their systematic betrayal by the weakness of an increasingly wasteful and inept high command. It offers essential solutions to problems that must be addressed if our nation is to remain the foremost military power in a volatile and ever-changing world.

Genres: Military Fiction, History, War, Nonfiction, Military History, American History, Biography

368 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

Colonel David Haskell Hackworth, also known as "Hack", was a highly decorated soldier, having received 24 decorations for heroism in combat from the Distinguished Service Cross to the Army Commendation Medal. He was a prominent military journalist. During his time as a journalist, Hackworth investigated many subjects, including an assertion into the accused improper wearing of ribbons and devices by Admiral Mike Boorda, an investigation which is speculated to have driven Boorda to committing suicide.

Hackworth is also known for his role in the creation and command of Tiger Force, a military unit formed during the Vietnam War to apply guerrilla warfare tactics to the fight against Vietnamese guerrillas.

Reviews

[Scott Holstad · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent book written by a military hero who sees a lot wrong with the military industrial complex, politics, and the military itself, calls it like he sees it, and offers solutions to the problems he points out. It should be required reading for just about anyone.

I've been reading Hackworth since the 1990s when he was writing for Soldier of Fortune magazine. He's dead now, which is a shame, but he served in post-World War II Europe, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. In this book, he comes back as a war correspondent accompanying our military to the Persian Gulf, Bosnia, Somalia, Korea and Haiti. What he discovers along the way is horrifying.

I could write a LOT about this book and quote a lot from the book, but I don't have the time or energy for that. Suffice it to say that this book was published in 1996 while Clinton was in office, so much of the time Hackworth, a conservative, reams Clinton. I'm a Clinton lover, so I didn't enjoy that, but at least Hackworth was bipartisan, because he rips Reagan and Bush 1 too. He interviews the grunts, as well as numerous officers, to get at the truth that today's generals and admirals are political pansies, looking out for their own advancement, not giving a damn about the troops. He takes issue with our spending billions on super duper weapons we'll never use or are terrible to begin with while not issuing armor to our fighting vehicles, body armor to our troops, meals, logistical nightmares, etc. It's very demoralizing and he consistently demonstrates how NOT ready our military is for action. Here's one quote:

"Our modern generals put first priority on their headquarters. In days of old, General Ulysses Grant would hit the field with six or seven aides and they traveled light and slept on the ground. The rest of his men were fighters. Today, inflation of military brass and headquarters staff is so bad is should embarrass us. At the end of Word War II we had a military force of 13 million. Today we have a total of 1.5 million active soldiers and sailors. But we have more generals now than we had during World War II. We also have more bureaucrats so that all those generals won't be lonely. In 1945, with 13 million under arms engaged in a multitheater, multinational alliance, the War Department had about eight undersecretaries, assistant secretaries, and special assistants. Now with about those 1.5 million in uniform, we have somewhere in the neighborhood of fifty undersecretaries, deputy secretaries, assistant secretaries, and special assistants. All draw six-figure paychecks and have aides, offices, and all the other trappings of Pentagon royalty."

Wow. That's just a tiny portion of what this book holds in it. In addition to going to the theaters of military action already mentioned, he also goes to South Korea to assess our combat readiness and finds it sadly lacking too. He thinks we should just get out. After all, what are our 6,000 fighting men and women out of 34,000 troops stationed in South Korea going to do when a million North Koreans come pouring over the border? Additionally, South Korea has an army of five million with better weapons that we do. It's nuts. We have to have parts FedExed to us because the military can't handle the logistics. Amazing.

Later, he writes, "The essence of leadership is integrity, loyalty, caring for your people, doing the honorable thing. Over and over since Vietnam, I have seen political expediency killing these values. When slickness and cheap compromise run the show, people who refuse to cave in and play the game get zapped. And when that happens, the ultimate loser is our country."

Hackworth also has things to say about our government's priorities, writing that we spend over 300 billion a year on defense, but only 10 billion on education. Point taken.

Towards the end of the book, Hackworth offers a series of suggestions to serve as solutions for curing what's wrong with the military. After showing how inter-service animosity has hurt the country and cost our country countless millions, he begins by suggesting that the Army and the Marines be merged, while the Air Force be entirely eliminated. He would put the Navy in charge of all strategic missiles, and get the missiles moved from land to subs asap. He would form a new agency to take control over all of the cargo demands of the forces, and reconfigure the Pentagon, eliminating the separate service chiefs and civilian secretaries of the Army, Navy, and Air Force in favor of a combined Defense Force headquarters run by one civilian Secretary of Defense. He would eliminate the current evaluation reports that encourage unwarranted promotions, merge the National Guard and the Reserves into one organization to cut waste and more. He would also merge the duplicate, non-war-fighting functions of the services -- intelligence, medical, legal, R & D, logistics, training, etc. -- so that we have one and not four separate entities. He would do a whole lot more to get the military back to where it once was, and these suggestions should be read and considered by all military officers and thinkers.

In addition to stats, criticisms, and suggestions, this book also has a lot of exciting stories of harrowing experiences that Hackworth endures to get the real picture. This is a great book to read and I think many people would like it if they give it a chance. Highly recommended.

[Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

In his own words, the man is a stud. I would absolutely love to see this style of book written by someone as credible and with no holding back, no bs, straight talk, in your face and not caring whose feelings are hurt. Refreshing honesty. The only downside is that it’s dated. The author passed away in the 2000’s but his key points and the basis of the book remain. I didn’t agree with 100% of the things he said but I agreed with a lot of it. I think that’s due to the time gap of 28 years or whatever it’s been? Anyways, I recommend this one if you enjoyed “About Face” or his other works.

[Martha McSweeney Brower · Rating 5 out of 5]

This man knows what he's talking about when it comes to the military. I read his other book, "About Face" and loved that, too. It's disheartening to hear his side of the military, but it inspires me to pay closer attention to our military industrial complex and the politicians who continuously feed it instead of our education system.

[Nicholas Basile · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hackworth epitomizes the term "soldier". He has seen it all and done it all and even with his less than ceremonious exit from the Army, he still stays true to his core beliefs. As a reporter Hackworth exposed the military missteps and oversights for what they truly were and is a continuously strong advocate for today's "grunts."

[Peter Kiss · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exceptional exposure and critique of the U.S. Military between the 80s up until the mid 90s. Unfortunately, things have only gotten worse, but I am grateful that someone like Hackworth had the courage to blow the whistle instead of lusting after the greed so many others have succumbed to in the military industrial complex.

[solo · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5★ rounded up. essentially one long rant. a lot of it does make sense, but in a very generic "this world is so imperfect!" kind of way, as it's largely a rant against the human nature. with almost 30 years of hindsight, some of it proved quite prescient, while some - went wide off the mark. a couple interesting bits about the Gulf War worth looking up. and yes, he is quite full of himself...

[Bill Cole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Col Hackworth served honorably in 3 wars, and knows what he talks about. He later served as as war correspondent in the various other engagements, Bosnia, etc. He found high level military incompetence and corruption. This not in the enlisted ranks but in the higher level officer ranks.
Seems the "woke" that we read about today was going in the military back then.

[Shane · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really amazing display of Hackworth's opinion. Highly suggest reading 'About Face' first to see what created this poignant and cutting critique of the military industrial complex and the overly bureaucratic command echelons of the US military towards the end of the cold war.

[Raymond · Rating 5 out of 5]

Decent book by an Army Legend.

He was always a soldiers soldier. And I totally support his reasoning.

But sadly, it is an age of politics, and he was never a political soldier.

A pure soldier. What the military needs.

[A Cesspool · Rating 5 out of 5]

eye opening

[Steve Woods · Rating 3 out of 5]

David Hackworth's name came to my attention as on of those middle ranking officers (Co John Paul Vann another) who had figured out that the Vietnam War was a debacle before anyone else and who were prepared to make their views known. they were all combat soldiers with plenty of filed experience in Vietnam and elsewhere, they knew what they were talking about but the vested interests in the military, politics and the military industrial complex wanted not a bar of it, so all of them torpedoed their won careers by speaking up.

This book is about other episodes, more recent than Vietnam and Hackworth paints a picture of a poorly supplied, badly led, ill prepared US military and he should know. His assessment does not inspire confidence particularly since I and any soldier who has served in Combat has seen evidence of the same shit. If his assessment is accurate then when the Chinese are ready then we are screwed because none of his descriptions will apply to them, you can bet on that much.

My main complaint about the book is that Hackworth comes across as being just a bit too full of himself.

[Samuel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hazardous Duty is a MUST READ for anyone currently in the military service and should be mandatory for each promotion thereafter.

Hackworth is a straight shooter and doesn't bullshit the reader. This book lays out the problems with the Military Industrial Congressional Complex that has become so bloated it may be our own biggest obstacle. On this course, the US is set to crash and burn like all other great empires before because of political correctness and lack of common sense. There are ironically not enough truth tellers and warfighters in the upper ranks of the military.

[Allen Perry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written and even though it discusses events nearly a decade past the book still teaches important lessons we must learn but obviously have not. I'm not sure his solutions to all the problems are right on target but he definitely sees the problem clearly and defines it well. This should be required reading on every young officers reading list.

[Christel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Book!!! Hack was the man!! A true voice for the American fighting man. Hackworth tells it like it is and asks questions of the higher ups. Just a shame we lost him

[Jeramie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This should be a required reading for every voter in the US!