This Profession of Arms
This Profession of Arms: A Military Officer Breaking the Silence After War by Dale, The Bridge
On April 17, 2014, William S. Lind wrote that “the most curious thing about our four defeats in Fourth Generation War—Lebanon, Somalia, Iraq, and Afghanistan—is the utter silence in the American officer corps.” I suppose Mr Lind’s point was that the US military was being too complacent in its critique of itself as well as Washington’s management of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Yet, I am not writing to debate the “defeat” of the US in 4GW but rather to break the silence that he says is prevalent in the US military. This is my humble contribution.
Recently I read an interview in which David Maxwell, a former USA Special Forces officer now at Georgetown University, offered his thoughts about writing and learning for junior officers in this profession of arms. Personally, I received this as a challenge as well as an exhortation to contribute. There are plenty of other military professionals that write and publish. I am now far enough removed from my deployments in the Long War that I felt that it is now my time to offer my thoughts to the discussion about the nature of war and its future…
