Soldier for Life: Leader Lessons from the 12th Sergeant Major of the Army Jack L. Tilley

This book is more than just an autobiography of Jack L. Tilley, the 12th Sergeant Major of the Army, it is a series of leadership lessons based on selected stories from his more than 35-year career. The last Vietnam veteran to serve in that position from 2000-2004, SMA Tilley was at the Pentagon when terrorists crashed a plane into the nation’s largest "office building" on September 11, 2001. He and his co-author, Dan Elder weave a story beginning with Tilley's enlistment into the United States Army in the summer of 1966, his deployment to Vietnam, his ascension to positions of great responsibility, and describe influential events leading up to his eventual selection and assignment as the 12th Sergeant Major of the Army. Unique to his story are the "Understanding Tilley" segments that close each chapter where Tilley reflects on the chapter events, describes how those events influenced him, as well as explore lessons that the reader can use in their own journey.

Daniel (Dan) K. Elder entered the Army in Dec 1981 and served in a variety of enlisted leadership positions from squad leader to senior enlisted advisor of an Army Command. He served in tactical, operational and strategic assignments culminating in his selection as the command sergeant major of the Army Materiel Command, Fort Belvoir, Va. He was selected as the first Senior Enlisted Fellow for the Association of the United States Army and was inducted to the U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy "Hall of Honor" on August 12, 2010 and to the US Army Ordnance Corps Hall of Fame in May 2012.