High Quality Senior Marine Corps Officers

Author : Edgar F., Edgar F Puryear, Jr.
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781463798819
Total Pages : 540 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (988 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Download or read book Marine Corps Generalship written by Edgar F., Edgar F Puryear, Jr. and published by . This book was released on 2009-12-01 with total page 540 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Marine Corps Generalship is a history of the Corps, developed around a study of the character and leadership of senior Marine Corps generals, their insights and thoughts on why they believe they were successful leaders, their analysis of the success of other senior Corps leaders, and how their leadership has contributed to winning wars and provided the high standard of preparation and readiness, particularly of the expeditionary force, that very likely has prevented many wars. There are many thousands of books and articles written on leadership, and many autobiographies, memoirs, biographies, and military histories. What does Marine Corps Generalship have to offer the reader about leadership that has not already been said? The most important aspect of this book is its prevailing theme: the role of character in successful leadership within the American military. Character is a leadership quality that cannot be defined, it must be described; the descriptions of leaders and their words quoted herein give life and discernible meaning to the term. The personalities of these prominent and successful leaders in war and peace capture the elusive definition of true character. After researching and writing on Army, Navy, and Air Force senior leaders, I now have had the opportunity to research and write Marine Corps Generalship, having personally interviewed retired Commandants Louis H. Wilson, Robert H. Barrow, Paul X. Kelley, Alfred M. Gray, Jr., Carl E. Mundy, Jr., Charles C. Krulak, James L. Jones, and Michael W. Hagee, as well as a number of other senior Corps generals. Throughout its history, the Marine Corps has been blessed by the service of exceptional generals of great character and leadership, so selecting the generals to be discussed in this book was not an easy task. Concentrating on the Marine Corps Commandants was an obvious choice because of their stature, which is unequaled by that of the other Service chiefs. The Commandant has a more significant role and responsibility than those of the Chief of Naval Operations or the Chiefs of Staff of the Army and Air Force. Choosing the Commandant and time period at which to start this study was really not so difficult-I decided upon Major General John A. Lejeune, Commandant from July 1, 1920, until March 4, 1929. He has been referred to as the "Father of the Modern Marine Corps," and his exceptional contributions have been long lasting and far reaching, which Marine Corps Generalship is clear to any student of the history of the Corps. Starting with General Lejeune, I cover many of the succeeding Commandants through General Michael W. Hagee. It is not possible in a single book to cover all of the giants of the Corps, but I have selected in addition to the Commandants others who have made significant contributions. The selection in part was based upon the availability of resource material as well as their respective service to the Corps, and the suggestions of senior Corps leaders I interviewed. They include Lieutenant General Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller, one of the greatest legends of the Corps, the only Marine officer to be awarded five Navy Crosses; and Lieutenant General Victor H. Krulak, who was informed by the Secretary of the Navy and the Secretary of Defense that he was going to be Commandant, but politics intervened and it did not happen. Commandant Louis Wilson (1975-1979) said of Krulak: "He obviously has had much more influence than many Commandants of the Marine Corps. . . . In almost every incident as I look back, his gut feelings and his perspective were right on, he had great feelings for the future." Major General Smedley D. Butler, another great legend of the Corps, was commissioned in May 1898 as a lieutenant at age 16, was awarded two Medals of Honor, and, as the senior general in the Corps, expected to succeed Major General Wendell Neville as Commandant in August 1930.