To change human behavior, one must often create a significant emotional event.
This is a book of many such events.
A strong leader and commander must, out of absolute necessity, instill an abiding sense of discipline and accountability in those he leads – that is the very essence of military leadership transitioned into command. Some refer to this as the creation of a leadership climate. Whatever name one gives it, every soldier who has served under a hard commander knows exactly what it means.
As an Army, we acquire our leaders and commanders through a number of structured institutions. At its pinnacle is West Point. It is designed to produce the leaders and future commanders who will lead our forces in peace and war. It is a costly investment, and it is insufficient in providing the numbers required to man our Armies, Corps, Divisions, Regiments, Brigades, Battalions, Batteries, Companies, and Platoons.
Beyond the fighting elements, the Army also requires leaders for its schools, training centers, administrative commands, logistics structure, and special units. Each of these requires skilled officers and commanders. To augment what West Point provides, the Army depends heavily on the Reserve Officer Training Corps, embedded within our colleges and universities. Another source is Officer Candidate School, which develops selected enlisted soldiers into officers. In times of war, very few may even receive battlefield commissions.
Even with all of that, we still do not have enough officers to lead the most basic elements of the force: the platoons, squads, and teams. For that level of leadership, we depend upon noncommissioned officers. The NCOs are, and always have been, the backbone of the United States Army.
Once acquired, all such leaders are further developed as they progress in rank, responsibility, and command. This is done through basic and advanced courses, the Command and General Staff College, the War College, and by sending selected officers back into colleges and universities for additional professional development.
As the old saying goes, you can never get enough of a good thing.
Al Conetto, with Paul Rutowski now carrying the work forward, has given us a picture of one such officer: Colonel Richard Henry Boland.
Colonel Boland was a product of this complex system, though it would be a gross understatement to say he was merely a product of any institution. He was controversial, raw, unconventional, and impossible to place neatly into any category. He certainly bent the rules. Some will say he broke them. The reader will either admire him or acquire a deep disdain for him. Few, if any, will find neutral ground on which to stand.
This book deliberately exposes the good, the bad, and all too often, the ugly.
Much of what you will read comes from stories and events told and retold by those who served under his command. Many of these stories, over time, suffered from embellishment and exaggeration. It is extremely difficult, from this distance, to fully appreciate the environment surrounding each event. If the circumstances were better known, one's judgment might be better informed.
But that is not always possible.
The stories are true. They are not fiction.
Those who knew him well see him as a leader, a soldier's soldier. He was uncompromising as regards discipline and accountability. At times, he was harsh, "over the top," and just plain wrong. To make an excuse in his presence was to ignite the wrath that followed.
His superiors often found him difficult.
His subordinates often found him impossible.
One would be hard-pressed to find an officer who didn't question his techniques or behavior. On the other hand, one would find it next to impossible to identify enlisted soldiers or NCOs who did not respect him or want him as their leader when the chips were down.
What accounts for the difference?
From a "grunt's" point of view, they saw a commander determined to get the job done, an expert in executing the fundamentals of infantry in battle (find, fix, fight, and finish), and no matter what, "hell bent" to bring his boys home -alive.
That was Colonel Boland.