American Soldier
General Tommy Franks
(Reviewer - Rebecca Brown)
2004 ReganBooks
ISBN: 0060731583

As CIC of US CENTCOM post-9/11, he led American & Coalition forces in Afghanistan & Iraq.

Commissioned a Second Lieutenant in 1967 as a distinguished graduate of the Artillery Officer Candidate School, Fort Sill, Oklahoma, Tommy Franks was assigned to the 9th Infantry Division, Republic of Vietnam. He also served as an Assistant Division Commander during Operations Desert Shield/Desert Storm. General Franks has been awarded three Defense Distinguished Service Medals, two Distinguished Service Medals, & four Legion of Merit awards. His other decorations include three Purple Hearts, three Bronze Stars, an Air Medal, & an Army Commendation Medal -- all with “V” for valor. In 2004 he was named a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire.

In American Soldier, (ably ghost-written by Malcolm McConnell), General Franks retraces his journey from small-town boyhood in Oklahoma & Midland, Texas, through a lifetime of military service -- including his heroic tour as an Artillery officer in Vietnam, where he was wounded three times.

A reform-minded Cold War commander & a shrewd tactician during Operation Desert Storm, Franks took command of CENTCOM at the dawn of what he calls a “crease in history” -- becoming the senior American military officer in the most dangerous region on earth -- the Middle East.

Drawing on his own recollections & military records declassified for this book, Gen. Franks offers the first insider's account of the war on terrorism that has changed the world since September 11, 2001.

He puts you in the Operations Center for the launch of Operation Enduring Freedom just weeks after 9/11, capturing its uncertain early days & the historic victory that followed. He traces his relationship with the demanding Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, as early tensions over the pace of the campaign gave way to a strong & friendly collaboration.

When President Bush focused world attention on the threat of Iraq, Franks seized the moment to implement a bold new vision of joint warfare in planning Operation Iraqi Freedom. Rejecting Desert Storm-style massive troop deployment in favor of flexibility & speed, Franks was questioned by the defense establishment -- including Secretary of State Colin Powell. Yet his vision was proven on the ground: Within three weeks, Baghdad fell.

American Soldier is filled with revelations as Franks describes the covert diplomacy that helped him secure international cooperation for the war, & reveals the role of foreign leaders -- & a critical double agent code-named “April Fool” -- in the most successful military deception since D-Day in 1944.

He speaks frankly of intelligence shortcomings that endangered our troops, & of the credible WMD threats -- including eleventh-hour warnings from Arab leaders -- that influenced every planning decision. He offers an unvarnished portrait of the “disruptive and divisive” Washington bureaucracy, & a candid assessment of the war's aftermath.

In the end, as American Soldier demonstrates, the battles in Afghanistan & Iraq remain heroic victories -- wars of liberation won by troops whose valor was “unequalled,” Franks writes, “by anything in the annals of war.”

That having been writ in its press release, Gen. Tommy Franks' memories as a career officer from Vietnam & its aftermath, through the decades of attrition, overcoming discipline & drug problems, as the military transformed into the all-volunteer force it is today, through the dispirited 70s & 80s in Germany, are fascinating & inspirational.

As we watched embedded reporters' feedback from Operation Iraqi Freedom, & this lanky, aging warrior occasionally emerged before cameras, I had muttered to my beloved Veteran that that was one soldier's history I wanted to learn. My contacts at ReganBooks & HarperCollins assured me he was writing his memoirs. I waited, impatiently.

American Soldier is all I had hoped it would be. Entirely Tommy Franks' homespun voice: clear, concise & detailed, lightly flavored with his family life, spiced with his charming & everso lame humor, & packed with photos. This is a rough-hewn, self-deprecating tall Texan who writes poetry who, working 24/7 on behalf of his men & his country, commands respect & loyalty. A no-nonsense tactician with a vision for the new military, who never forgot the troops he sent into harm's way, nor the politicians he had to work with.

While not controversial by today's standards of tell-all, back-biting memoirs, there are many nuggets which set the record straight about life in the military, past & present, from anti-military disarray & dishevelment of the post-Vietnam era, through Cold War fields & political manuevers, to the years leading up to the Gulf War, & its “CNN events”, into the cauldron of the Middle East (CENTCOM), 9/11 & its afterwards, & the months leading up to Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan, & the reasons for Operation Iraqi Freedom. & its successful engagement.

Absolutely outstanding! I could not put it down. At 590 pages, it's rich with details of the intricacies of command & how a modern American general, his President & Cabinet prepare for war. A keeper for many reasons, mostly because this is one American Soldier who's hand I would like to shake.

More from Malcolm McConnell:
Adventures in Ocean Exploration: From the Discovery of the Titanic to the Search for Noah's Flood by Robert D. Ballard
The Healing Power of Faith: How Belief and Prayer Can Help You Triumph Over Disease by Harold Koenig
The Last Mission: The Secret History of World War Ii's Final Battle by Jim Smith
Into the Mouth of the Cat: The Story of Lance Sijan, Hero of Vietnam by Malcolm McConnell
Generally Speaking: A Memoir by the First Woman Promoted to Three- Star General in the United States Army by Claudia J. Kennedy
The Master of Disguise: My Secret Life in the CIA by Antonio J. Mendez, & many more!
(10/24/04)

Rebecca