Consequences of Command: The Need for Strong Leadership at Crucial Times

Exploring sixteen historic leadership failures, this work analyzes how flawed decision-making at critical moments yields catastrophic results and distills practical lessons for making sound judgments under pressure.

Lieutenant General Foley was commissioned in the U.S. Army as an Airborne Ranger Infantry lieutenant and rose through the ranks to become commanding general of Fifth U.S. Army. During his career he received an MBA, graduating cum laude from Fairleigh-Dickinson University, was appointed commandant of cadets at West Point, became president of a military junior college, received the Infantry Doughboy Award and was named a Distinguished Graduate of the U.S. Military Academy.

In his command assignments, he realized that not only the decisions they make, but the words leaders speak, the actions they take, and the orders they give, are profoundly consequential as they directly impact people’s lives. He resolutely acknowledges that soldiers are a military’s most precious asset. He also believes that soldiers who trust their commanders won’t waver in the face of difficult tasks and will exhibit an indomitable spirit inspired by the respect they have for their leaders and the camaraderie they have with their fellow soldiers.

In Consequences of Command, General Foley pinpoints leadership failures in 16 case studies spanning two centuries. He identifies what and how these occurred and what could have been done differently. Each case concludes with a comprehensive list of lessons that summarize tenets, principles, and traits essential to leadership at crucial times.

Building upon these examples, General Foley discusses the necessity for leaders to frequently get out of their headquarters and visit soldiers, and emphasizes the need for leaders to be tough enough to enforce organizational values, standards and policies, ensure that everyone is treated with dignity and respect, and sustain the positive command climate essential for success.

Table of Contents

Author’s Note
Introduction

1 Napoléon
2 Fredericksburg
3 Vicksburg
4 Pandemic
5 “Billy” Mitchell and Air Power
6 B-29 over Nagasaki
7 Task Force Smith
8 Rifle Company Commander in Vietnam
9 USS Pueblo
10 Mỹ Lai Massacre
11 Desert One
12 Challenger Spacecraft
13 Mogadishu
14 Submarine Emergency Surface
15 Black Hearts
16 Combat Outpost Keating

Afterword
Acknowledgements
Endnotes
Bibliography
Index

Lieutenant General Robert F. Foley graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in 1963. He served as an infantry company commander during the War in Vietnam, a mechanized infantry battalion and armor brigade commander with the 3rd Infantry Division in Germany, assistant division commander, 2nd Infantry Division in Korea, deputy commanding general of Second U.S. Army, commanding general, U.S. Army Military District of Washington and commanding general Fifth U.S. Army. His awards include the Medal of Honor, two Distinguished Service Medals, six Legions of Merit and the Purple Heart. General Foley and his wife, Julie, reside in Alexandria, VA, and have two sons, a daughter and seven grandchildren.