Prodigal Soldiers

Documenting the transformation of the U.S. military from Vietnam to the Gulf War, a history of a generation of officers examines changes in ideas about war, ending the draft, racial tensions, and integration of women into the ranks. 30,000 first printing.

Freelance journalist Kitfield relies heavily on personal accounts in this story of the officers who reshaped the U.S. Army and Air Force after the experience of Vietnam and then led our troops in Operation Desert Storm. In the 1970s the U.S. began to adjust to a professional military after depending on the Selective Service system. In the 1980s, increased defense budgets enabled the modernization of arsenals and the stockpiling of supplies and equipment, while cumbersome higher command systems were simplified. By the time of Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990, America's military leaders were eager to demonstrate what 20 years of reform had wrought. This is a highly favorable account of that effort.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Kitfield's history of the recovery of U.S. armed forces from the Vietnam War up to their victory in the Persian Gulf is comprehensive, readable, frequently fascinating, and sometimes moving. It focuses on the careers of several men who were junior officers in Vietnam, personally participated in the reforms, and eventually held high rank during the Gulf War. Along the way, Kitfield imparts an enormous amount of information about U.S. military life, the Goldwater reforms, the management of the armed forces (or its absence), and several unsung heroes, such as Tactical Air Command's General Creech, who never made headlines but to whom the country has reason to be grateful. Kitfield does tend toward a promilitary stance, but it is not a mindless one, and while telling the tales of the command post, he also shows how the reforms looked in the front line. Neither Kitfield nor his subjects are without flaws, but both have labored to good purpose and deserve to be commended for a job well done. Roland Green

The transformation of the American armed forces from the dispirited shell-shocked military at the close of the Vietnam era to the superbly trained, highly motivated, and universally respected victors in the Persian Gulf War is as dramatic a tale as any in American military history. Kitfield, an award-winning journalist on defense issues, follows the careers of dozens of army, navy, air force, and marine officers from their early service years in Vietnam to their success as commanders in the defeat of the Iraqis. While organizational and technical issues play a role, the book concentrates on the human aspect of this startling redirection of the U.S. military. A useful supplement to Michael Gordon's The Generals' War (LJ 12/94) and Al Santoli's overlooked Leading the Way (LJ 9/15/93), this is an essential addition to Vietnam and Persian Gulf War collections. Strongly recommended for academic and public libraries.
John R. Vallely, Siena Coll. Lib., Loudonville, N.Y.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.