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For all of his personal faults and shortcomings - and there were many - General George S. Patton was a leader. He won battles. In fact, as a battlefield commander his contributions probably more than any other American general led to the Allied victory in World War II. Patton knew how to lead. He knew how to get the most out of his men to achieve victory. Did General Patton ever make any mistakes? Sure he did, as we all make mistakes. But General Patton learned from his mistakes and then he put them behind him and moved on to...

John McCain is being hailed by the press as a "genuine war hero." But is he a war hero in the conventional sense like Audie Murphy and John Glenn? Or is his "war hero" status the creation of a very slick publicity campaign that plays on flag, duty, honor and country? For sure, McCain has the fruit salad - a Silver Star, a Legion of Merit for Valor, a Distinguished Flying Cross, three Bronze Stars, two Commendation medals plus two Purple Hearts and a dozen service gongs. On a purely medal-count basis, he outweighs Murphy and Glenn, who both for...

NOTE: Although Hillary Clinton touts her foreign policy experience, being right there with her husband, the New York Times' Patrick Healy reports that she did not have a security clearance and did not sit in on NSC briefings. Now recall this from the late David Hackworth. Monica Lewinsky did have TOP SECRET clearance. Perhaps she should be the one in the Dem primaries touting her experience. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ DEFENDING AMERICA David H. Hackworth 17 March 98 LOOSE LIPS, SINK SHIPS.. While at the Pentagon, Monica Lewinsky traveled with Defense Secretary William Cohen, sat in on briefings where the highest secrets...

Bolger is a gentleman to be sure—polished and articulate—but like a Patton, he is always leading from the front. He regularly goes out on combat operations with his men, and like the fictional General Maximus in the movie “Gladiator,” the real-life fighting General Bolger inspires his subordinates with the salutation, “Strength and Honor!” ... In an exclusive two-part interview with Townhall.com, Bolger discusses the training and standing-up of the new Iraqi army and what motivates the Iraqis to fight. He also explains why Iraq is not devolving into “civil war,” and how we are systematically quashing the insurgency in that...

GOD'S SPEED On May 4, 2005 Col. David Hackworth US Army Ret. lost his final battle to cancer in Mexico. He was 74-years-old. Hack, as he liked to be called, was a victim of Agents Orange and Blue, defoilants used during the Vietnam War. Hackworth spent 5 years in Vietnam and most of it in the field, "Bush" we called it a nickname for the jungle. As a result his exposure to these killer agents was high. Any veteran of the Vietnam War who spent a great deal of time in the field, including myself, is at risk of having...

ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY – It is my privilege to inform you that Hack is back on permanent duty. Col. David Haskell Hackworth USA (Ret.) has joined several hundred thousand of his fellow soldiers guarding the hallowed ground of Arlington after a Memorial Service at nearby Fort Myer this morning. More than 600 former comrades, fellow soldiers and friends gathered in the soaring Fort Myer Memorial Chapel to shed tears of sorrow over his passing, to hear some of his favorite songs and psalms, and to laugh and betimes listen in awed silence as fellow veterans and journalism colleagues recounted his...

Tomorrow, the US military will lay to rest Colonel David H. Hackworth -- among its most decorated heroes of all time -- at Arlington National Cemetery. The top brass is not expected to attend. Hackworth's most enduring foe was not the communists he fought. He earned a a chestful of medals, including two Distinguished Service Medals, 10 Silver Stars, eight Bronze Stars, and eight Purple Hearts. His adversary became the US military bureaucracy, which he railed against for 30 years on grounds that it failed to put the troops first. He also opposed military action in Bosnia, Kosovo, and especially...

David Hackworth: Unforgettable soldier By W. THOMAS SMITH JR. GUEST COLUMNIST Col. David H. Hackworth was not your typical television talking head. He was a military analyst to be sure. He understood tactics, strategies, defense technologies and the disposition of military forces. The man knew how to fight, and he knew how to report on and write about fighting. But soldiers and their well-being were always his priorities. After all, Hackworth had been a combat soldier for much of his adult life -- and for most of his teenage years -- before becoming a best-selling author and syndicated columnist. Lying...

THE PASSING OF A SOLDIER'S SOLDIER Best-selling author, Col. David H. Hackworth, dead at 74 By W. Thomas Smith Jr. Col. David H. Hackworth was not your typical television talking head. He was a military analyst to be sure. He understood tactics, strategies, defense technologies, and the disposition of military forces. The man knew how to fight, and he knew how to report on and write about fighting. But soldiers and their well-being were always his priorities. After all, Hackworth had been a combat soldier for much of his adult life – and for most of his teenage years –...

TIJUANA, Mexico - Retired Army Col. David Hackworth, a controversial columnist who began the Tiger Force unit that later committed a string of atrocities in Vietnam, died this week. He was 74. ~snip~ As a 15-year-old orphan in Southern California, Mr. Hackworth joined the Army at the end of World War II, surviving four battle wounds in Korea. His heroics earned him a Silver Star, a battlefield commission to second lieutenant, and his own commando unit. A decade later, he would use his commando experience to form Tiger Force in November, 1965. In a war where traditional units were sitting...

When I was 17, I purchased a copy of About Face by Colonel David H. Hackworth (U.S. Army, Retired). I do not remember what prompted me to purchase it. All that I remember is that I was absolutely captivated by it. The book is the autobiography of Colonel Hackworth. Colonel Hackworth is among the most highly decorated soldiers in our nation's history and had a full seven years of combat under his belt. As one would assume of such a man, his autobiography read as a series of war stories. His story is one of a man who loved his...

Retired Army Col. David Hackworth, one of the most decorated veterans in U.S. history who became a vocal advocate for military reform, died yesterday in Mexico at 74. Hackworth returned from Vietnam as a strong critic of the war, later becoming a journalist and author of several best-selling books. He had written a weekly column for WorldNetDaily for seven years. Hackworth was in Mexico for treatments of bladder cancer, which he had battled for some time. "He died in my arms yesterday morning," his wife, Eilhys England, said today. Hackworth pushed for streamlined military and improved conditions for troops. "Hack...

Inside the neo-con PentagonOfficer reveals how Bush appointees suppressed facts and twisted truth to drive America to war with Iraq . In July of last year, after just over 20 years of service, I retired as a lieutenant-colonel in the U.S. Air Force. My career started in 1978 with the smooth seduction of a full four-year ROTC scholarship. It ended with 10 months of duty in a strange new country, observing up close and personal a process of decision-making for war not sanctioned by the Constitution. ~snip~ The education I would receive there was intense, fascinating and frightening. While the...

Retired Army Col. David Hackworth, a decorated Vietnam veteran who spoke out against the war and later became a journalist and an advocate for military reform, died Wednesday in Mexico, where he was receiving treatment for bladder cancer, his wife said. He was 74. "He died in my arms yesterday morning," his wife, Eilhys England, said Thursday. Hackworth, a syndicated columnist for King Features, advocated a streamlined military and improved conditions for troops.

Colonel David H. Hackworth (USA, Ret.) recently published a very timely column titled "A Tale of Three Sergeants" at SFTT.org. It raises important questions regarding recruiting and promotions. He asks a particularly frightening question, rhetorical to those of us who are in the Army, that should cause alarm among those who do not understand the damage that was done to the Army when it was so dramatically downsized in the 1990s and the continuing damage being done to the Army by our lackluster recruiting standards and promotion standards - or lack thereof. Hackworth writes: "But as this is being written,...

DefenseWatch "The Voice of the Grunt" 03-21-2005 Hack's Target Open Letter to a Marine General Lt. Gen. John E. Sattler Commanding General, I Marine Expeditionary Force Somewhere near Fallujah, Iraq General, Congratulations on your splendid Marines’ retaking of Fallujah last November. The mission was accomplished in the proud tradition of Iwo Jima, the Chosin Reservoir and Hue City. During the past four months, your force also cleaned the clocks of some of the baddest guys going in Anbar Province, one of the toughest killing fields in Iraq. I’m convinced that if other units mirror your performance and the American people...

Lt. Gen. John E. Sattler Commanding General, I Marine Expeditionary Force Somewhere near Fallujah, Iraq General, Congratulations on your splendid Marines' retaking of Fallujah last November. The mission was accomplished in the proud tradition of Iwo Jima, the Chosin Reservoir and Hue City. During the past four months, your force also cleaned the clocks of some of the baddest guys going in Anbar Province, one of the toughest killing fields in Iraq. I'm convinced that if other units mirror your performance and the American people hang in there, we'll see light at the end of the Iraqi tunnel by the...

'ARMY REGULATIONS WERE WRONG' David Hackworth, a retired Army Colonel, has made a career out of badmouthing America’s military brass. According to Hackworth the generals and admirals are a bunch of bums. He routinely refers to them as "Perfumed Princes" in his syndicated news columns. I first met Hackworth during my third and final tour in Vietnam in 1970-71. Hackworth was a LTC (soon to be promoted to Col.) commanding the 44th Special Tactical Zone (STC) in IV Corps. I was a Major commanding a 70 man ranger unit assigned as advisors to the ARVN 42nd Ranger Group in the...

West Bend Man Accused Of Pretending To Be Marine Another Veteran Noticed Michael Schuster Wore Medals, Ribbons Wrong POSTED: 12:07 pm CST March 9, 2005 WEST BEND, Wis. -- A man accused of impersonating a Marine Corps officer is facing federal charges. Michael Schuster is well known in veterans circles in West Bend. He's played taps at dozens of veterans' burials, wearing a Marine uniform with military decorations and medals. He was the featured speaker at last year's Memorial Day observance. The 52-year-old claimed to have served in Vietnam, achieving the rank of major. But at least one veteran who...

Writing in the Washington Post, Tina Brown said that Dan Rather came across in the CBS panel report on the "Rathergate" scandal as "an empty trench coat" because he had very little to do with the actual report that went on the air. It seems clear she didn't read it. In a bombshell ignored by most media, the report reveals that Dan Rather personally assured CBS News President Andrew Heyward that the discredited Bush National Guard story was not only true but "very big." The report, prepared by former Attorney General Dick Thornburgh and Louis D. Boccardi, former president of...