Recommended Reading List for Army Wannabe's

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G-Man222

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Well... After speaking to over 132 Current Army Soldiers, and 80 Army Veterans, this is a full listit of FMs and books I've been recommended/have been recommended to me to read...

All general, non-MOS specific FMs...

Hopefully you'll at least take some of this stuff to heart...

I don't want crapbag Soldiers...... (towardst he Wannabe's and DEPs)

Army Ranger Handbook
http://www.scribd.com/doc/100897/ebook-US-Army-Ranger-Handbook

Army Leadership
http://www.scribd.com/doc/2938504/Army-Leadership-Competent-Confident-Agile

Other Leadership books
http://www.scribd.com/doc/6904201/Strategic-Leadership-and-the-Narrow-Mind

http://www.scribd.com/doc/8627674/To-Succeed-You-Need-to-Lead

http://www.scribd.com/doc/4049981/Managerial-quality-and-leadership

Other Army FMs

Survival
http://www.scribd.com/doc/299034/FM-2176-US-Army-Survival-Manual

First Aid
http://www.scribd.com/doc/3839506/Us-Army-Fm-2111-First-Aid-for-Soldiers

Combat Stress Control
http://www.scribd.com/doc/3458876/F...bat-Stress-Control-in-a-Theater-of-Operations

Counter Insurgency
http://www.scribd.com/doc/9137276/US-Army-Field-Manual-FM-324-Counterinsurgency

Jungle Operations
http://www.scribd.com/doc/3839503/Us-Army-Field-Manual-Fm-905-Jungle-Operations-How-to-Fight

Urban Operations
http://www.scribd.com/doc/12884752/US-Army-Urban-Operations

Every Soldier is a Soldier First

Soldier Combat Skills
http://www.scribd.com/doc/6690822/Field-Manual-US-ARMY-FM-2175-Combat-Skills-of-the-Soldier

Combatives
http://www.scribd.com/doc/6691223/Field-Manual-US-ARMY-FM-325150-Combat-Ives-HandTohand-Combat

Machine-Gun
http://www.scribd.com/doc/3459627/Military-Us-Army-Fm-3-22-68-Machine-Guns

Explosives and Demolitions
http://www.scribd.com/doc/6691256/Field-Manual-US-ARMY-FM-5250-Explosives-and-Demolitions-Manual


On my spare time, I've read almost each of these books front to back... Especially Combatives (learned how to apply) and Explosives and Demolitions, as well as all Army Leadership books listed, and have read somewhat of the others...

They are very good books, right now working on finishing up the Rangers Handbook, and Army Leadership FM


If anyone else in service, or has been in service to our military would like to add any others, feel free to do so. :)
 
Those are horrible books to read if you haven't even been to Basic. The leadership books could be good, but the rest?

The military uses the "crawl, walk, run" method of training. If you haven't been to basic (crawl) then what would you gain by urban operations (run) and demolitions (run)?

Get books like Five Years to Freedom, With the Old Breed, A Bridge Too Far, The Longest Day, Into the Mouth of the Cat, We Were Soldiers Once....and Young.....

Follow current events, history, and how the two relate. For example, we're fighting in Afghanistan, so how did we get here? Sure, "9/11" is an easy answer, but very shallow. HOW did we get to 9/11? The rise of the Taliban, the Afghan Civil War, the Soviets, three wars with the British, the Great Game.....

Worry about the books in your list after you are MOS qualified and if they pertain to your job. You'll be a better Soldier, Sailor, Airman, or Marine if you have a well-rounded understanding of the military and of history.
 
I'd also emphasize the books that talk about the sacrifice and the winning mindset of our soldiers/sailors/Marines/airmen. Get an idea about what "hard" really is. Learn that discomfort is the norm. The perspective I have on life now comes directly through the things I went through and learned in the Marines. I wish I knew what "hard" really meant before I joined. I did have some idea from my grandfather's stories of WWII and Korea, but nothing beats being there.
 
"The Bear Went Over the Mountain"

"The Other Side of the Mountain"

About Soviet and Muj tactics in A-stan in the '80's.
 
Goodbye darkness by William Manchester is a great book. Nothing beats With the Old Breed by EB Sledge as mentioned before. That book has the most plainly spoken, yet brutally accurate written portrayals of combat I have ever read. I will never forget the chapter where Sledge has to dig his fighting position through the corpse of a Japanese soldier that he has uncovered because he has to maintain the proper sectors of fire.
 
Dave Grossmans On killing and On combat. Great books. Really opened my eyes about things and helped me at the darkest hour.
Recommend to everyone.
And what comes to reading field manuals, my humble opinion is that nothing
beats the real deal: Getting your ass in the grass. You can read shit load of books about everything, but that wont work without practice.
 
I would recommend SMCT Skill level 1.

On the plane to OSUT/Basic.

Reason being, when you encounter stuff, provided you actually read it and retained anything, you'll have an inkling as to the tasks that you will end up doing. Don't pretend or even mention having read it, because you don't know shit by reading the book. What you do know is names and pictures of how shit probably aughta look... which may make life slightly easier.
 
G-Man222 said:
Hopefully you'll at least take some of this stuff to heart...

I don't want crapbag Soldiers...... (towardst he Wannabe's and DEPs)
Click to expand...

k - this ain't JROTC. when you actuallyHAVE soldiers whose care you are responsible for, then you can make a statement resembling this. 'til then, fuck off. and go read some of the books mentioned earlier, such as the ones by Hal Moore. (Garryowen.) also, read "all quiet on the western front", "band of brothers", and "black hawk down", as well as "in the company of heroes." then maybe you'll have an understanding of brotherhood and comraderie. maybe. more importantly, you'll understand why it is we bust your balls and constantly dig in your ass.

G-Man222 said:
On my spare time, I've read almost each of these books front to back... Especially Combatives (learned how to apply) and Explosives and Demolitions, as well as all Army Leadership books listed, and have read somewhat of the others...

They are very good books, right now working on finishing up the Rangers Handbook, and Army Leadership FM
Click to expand...
if that's the case, you wasted your time. the ranger handbook and other books like it is useless as a dick for a doorknob if you're a n00b with exactly 0 (zero) time in service. all you've done is read the 3rd book in a series of 5 without knowing what the fuck happened in the beginning. read SMCT SL1 FIRST, like RP said, on the way to basic. then, when you get to basic, memorize your smart books. fucking memorize them. when you know front to back what is contained in the first book, move to the second book, every so often, refresh yourself on book 1 til you have a good working knowledge of both books and can recite common tasks expected of a green-ass private in BCT. in the mean time, if you're worried about reading, you're not doing enough PT. so go grab a bottle of water, and go run. and when you're done, run some more. and then, when you're all tuckered out, do some push ups and read in the Front Leaning Rest.

another thing you can read that will help - ranks of different services. no matter which service you go in, you need to know who the fuk you're talking to in any given service and what respect is given to them based on their rank. you look like a fucktard when, as a PV2, you salute an HM3. you also look like a jack-off when you call a GYSGT "Sarn't" or "sergeant". and a CAPT and a CPT are NOT the same rank. know the difference.

the most important thing you can learn right now, is when to STFU and listen to what is going on around you, and how to LOOK for an answer before you ask a question.
 
Freefalling said:
Those are horrible books to read if you haven't even been to Basic. The leadership books could be good, but the rest?

The military uses the "crawl, walk, run" method of training. If you haven't been to basic (crawl) then what would you gain by urban operations (run) and demolitions (run)?

Get books like Five Years to Freedom, With the Old Breed, A Bridge Too Far, The Longest Day, Into the Mouth of the Cat, We Were Soldiers Once....and Young.....

Follow current events, history, and how the two relate. For example, we're fighting in Afghanistan, so how did we get here? Sure, "9/11" is an easy answer, but very shallow. HOW did we get to 9/11? The rise of the Taliban, the Afghan Civil War, the Soviets, three wars with the British, the Great Game.....

Worry about the books in your list after you are MOS qualified and if they pertain to your job. You'll be a better Soldier, Sailor, Airman, or Marine if you have a well-rounded understanding of the military and of history.
Click to expand...

I agree, who in the hell gave that kid that reading list?
 
We had to read this in our arabic class, it is a long book, quite slow and hard to get through at times, but I found it to be very interesting. From Beirut to Jerusalem is the title. I have an extra copy if anyone needs it or would like it, just PM me.
 
Isiah6:8 said:
We had to read this in our arabic class, it is a long book, quite slow and hard to get through at times, but I found it to be very interesting. From Beirut to Jerusalem is the title. I have an extra copy if anyone needs it or would like it, just PM me.
Click to expand...

That book is excellent. I highly recommend it.
 
J.A.B. said:
Green eyes and black rifles…. ;)
Click to expand...

Indeed, but it takes care of the fight, it doesn't get you TO the fight. :)

As a side rant, we have to be smart enough to handle our problems without fighting, but once we have to pull the trigger.....

unleash hell. Peace will follow. The carrot is only effective when backed up with a large stick.
 
Where you are in life right now, there are only three things you need to be reading.

-The Constitution and the Bill of Rights
-The newspaper (every day!)
-Your school textbooks
 

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