The Battle for Hunger Hill: The 1st Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment at the Joint Readiness Training Cente R

by Daniel P. Bolger

Book Overview

At the JRTC, soldiers are trained for war in a setting so real you can almost smell the smoke. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0891414533
• ISBN13: 9780891414537
• Release Date: June 1997
• Publisher: Presidio Press
• Length: 384 Pages
• Weight: 1.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 5.8" x 8.8"

Customer Reviews

An Excellent Primer for Light Infantry Training

This is another good book by COL Daniel Bolger, this time about his battalion's (101st ABN) rotations to JRTC in 1994 and 1995. Lots of great details and observations about JRTC and the OPFOR. Bolger's battalion was badly abused in its 1994 rotation and he decided to get even the next time, which was fortunately less than a year later. Bolger criticizes the Deliberate Decision Making Process (DDMP), big Tactical Operation Centers and suggests alternatives. Thought-provoking as always but I don't agree with everything he says. There is no doubt that the US Army's cumbersome DDMP is geared toward set-piece, short-term battles but Bolger's approach combines common sense with anti-staff bias to try and just avoid all that messy staff work. From the intelligence viewpoint, he is dead wrong because Intelligence Preparation of the Battlefield (IPB) does save lives and it does take time to do it right. Bolger's command instincts are good, particularly about nitty gritty items like reducing soldier loads, but there is bias here that detracts from his message. For example, sometimes he says erroneous things, like the S-2 (intelligence officer) is on the S-3's staff (the S-2 works for the commander, not the S-3). Maps are poor.

Exceptionally valuable analysis of what works vs. guerillas

"Hunger Hill" starts by showing how the "book solution" fails to deal with a guerilla warfare, just as it did in Viet-Nam. The second half of the book deals with a return to sound basics, and the discarding of much of the foolishness fostered upon us by Field Manuals. I took many valuable lessons from this book to apply when I go to JRTC, or, God forbid, when we fight for real. Bolger's techniques eleminate many ways we make the enemy's job easier, and make us far more effective in killing them. His well-defined focus on interacting with the local populace is reminiscent of Mao (remember, Mao won).The book's most valuable lesson is the thinking process and analysis Bolger applies to the problems he encounters, and the way he evaluates his tools, techniques, and doctrine, keeping and modifying some, casting away others, and adopting new ideas where necessary. This book is required reading for all officers in my light infantry battalion. I see why.

Required reading for all Light Fighters

If Col. Bolger is a member of the US Army's brain trust, we're in pretty good shape. As an officer in a Light Infantry battalion, I have taken the Colonel's lessons to heart, and those lessons have enhanced my knowledge of Low Intensity Conflict. All officers assigned to light units, no matter their branch of assignment, should read his books, Hunger Hill especially.

Tremendous contribution to the military art!

Colonel Dan Bolger's "The Battle for Hunger Hill" is an Army battalion commander sitting down with a fellow professional and sharing his mistakes and how he got it right. He is hard hitting, open and honest. This work is best read by an Army or Marine officer or senior NCO who will likely lead soldiers or marines in battle.

A good book about preparing for modern small-unit combat.

The Battle for Hunger Hill is a great book to read; a real must for small unit light infantry unit commanders who must prepare for war in the modern era. I commanded a rifle company in the 1-327th Infantry Regiment long before Dan Bolger and it's reassuring to read some of the ideas that I thought of being used in training with the regiment. Bogler reminds combat unit leaders that they must not just be tough, but they must also be smart in order to suceed in modern light infantry combat. These new leaders must be able to adapt, overcome and improvise (to paraphrase Clint Eastwood in "Heartbreak Ridge") and Bogler epitomize this new, tough and thoughtful leader who first learns then applies the harsh lessons learned after his first and unsuccessful tour of the JRTC. The end result is success not just in his next trip to the JRTC, but in the real world of modern combat missions, like Haiti, where American soldiers are sent to keep or make peace. I wish that I had the opportunity to serve with Bogler rather the leaders whom I did serve.