Command Legacy: A Tactical Primer for Junior Leaders, Second Edition, Revised

PRAISE FOR THE FIRST EDITION: "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.

Lt. Col. Raymond A. Millen, USA, is a regional analyst at the U.S. Army War College’s Strategic Studies Institute in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Infantry, ranger, air assault, and airborne qualified, he has served as a platoon leader in Germany; a company commander with the 7th Infantry Division (Light) in Operation Just Cause, Panama; a battalion executive officer with the 101st Air Assault Division; and a staff officer in Operation Enduring Freedom, Afghanistan. A graduate of the U.S. Military Academy, Millen earned master’s degrees from Georgetown University and the Catholic University of America, where he is currently pursuing his doctorate. He lives in south-central Pennsylvania.