Our lives are comprised of experiences that often include challenges. I’ve endured many of these challenges during combat leadership in Vietnam and the Persian Gulf, winter operations in the Arctic during the Cold War, and observations in war-torn Afghanistan, all at different ages and levels of experience and responsibility. Some were harrowing in how they occurred overseas. Others were humorous as they played out. Still more were highly educational in my attempts to achieve success in a myriad of assignments from combat in faraway lands, to the bureaucratic in-fighting on the political battlefields of Washington, D.C. My transition to industry was another kind of experience. After 34 years in the U.S. Marine Corps, I entered an unknown world with unfamiliar languages, processes, and radically different cultural experiences.

I share what I’ve learned in this narrative and within it are insights for all to absorb.

I enjoyed most of my experiences, especially when working with Americans from dissimilar backgrounds and aspirations both in the Marine Corps and throughout industry. This country is rich in traditions unlike anywhere else in the world, which makes it a special place to grow up and live. Even though we have our internal problems, being able to travel the world made me–as have many others–realize that the country is special in its own way.

What I hope the reader takes away from these pages is that history can teach us much if we will just consider the past and learn and grow from it. When we ignore the lessons of history, as we have done in recent years, we repeat mistakes with costly outcomes.

Harry W. Jenkins