BIOGRAPHY

American Soldier by General Tommy Franks

An excellent autobiography and insider look at the war on terrorism

This was like reading two books. The first half follows Franks growing up in a sometimes poor family in Oklahoma and Texas. He enrolled in the University of Texas, Austin, where he flunked out after two years. He decided to join the Army, where he settled down. After finishing basic and going to cryptography school, he applied for and was accepted into OCS (Officer Candidate School) at Fort Sill, Oklahoma to become an artillery officer. Franks then shipped out to Vietnam, where he served as an artillery observer with the 9th Infantry Division. He spend a lot of time in the field where he was in numerous fire fights. He also flew as an observer in light aircraft and helicopters. He was wounded several times and shot down once. He served with some good men and learned valuable lessons which he would later apply throughout his Army career. After leaving Vietnam, he decided to stay in the Army, where he was put through school to finish his college degree. He then went on to numerous postings around the world where he built a reputation of honesty and hard work and continuously rose in rank. When desert Storm commenced, he was promoted to Brigadier General and served as assistant division commander of the 1st Calvary Division.

General Franks was promoted and put in command of Central Command (CENTCOM) before 9/11/2001. His command covered North Eastern Africa, the Middle East, and parts of Asia. After 9/11, Franks and his team were responsible for planning and executing the operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. America was fortunate to have a soldier of intelligence, spirit, flexibility, and energy to lead these dangerous operations. In addition to doing their utmost to keep our troops safe, CENTCOM also had the responsibility to deal with staggering logistical problems, humanitarian aid, and limited combat resources. Franks also had to deal with the Press, which rarely puts a positive slant on military operations. Today the Press is still whining about the lack of WMD, but use of WMD was deemed a real threat during the Iraqi operation. He also had to deal with leaks to the press from military insiders with their own agendas.

This book also offers a fascinating insider's view of President Bush; his willingness to take the advice of his military and political leaders, and his ability to make hard decisions and take responsibility. Secretaries Rumsfeld and Powel are depicted as no-nonsense hard working men, with the best interest of our country in mind. Though they did have differences in how to approach the many problems, they still worked well together.  On the other hand, Tenent of the CIA talked a good game, but provided little intelligence of any use.

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Reviewed by Ken Smith August 2004


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