Elite Souls / Association of the United States Army (ePub)

The great nineteenth century French military thinker,¿Ardant¿düPicq, argued that selfless courage is rooted in a higher moral¿purpose,¿and is found among¿"Elite Souls."¿This is a book about five¿such¿"Elite Souls,"¿all¿highly decorated young West Point¿graduates¿and¿recipients of¿the¿USMA's¿Ninninger¿Medal.¿¿

Elite Souls¿outlines¿the¿importance¿of¿building¿and developing¿moral¿character¿in¿military leaders, while arguing that¿a rigorous academic education¿is also essential¿in creating young officers capable of the kind of creative¿and¿critical¿thinking necessary in the complicated¿wars of the twenty-first century.¿ Dr. Raymond suggests that¿West Point's servant-leader model¿is critical¿in fostering the kind of intense¿selflessness ideally seen¿between junior officers, their¿NCOs,¿and soldiers. Finally,¿Elite Souls¿makes¿the case¿that¿inspirational commanding officers¿are¿also key.¿¿¿¿

In this book, Dr. Ray Raymond argues that each of the recipients of the¿Ninninger¿Award entered West Point primarily for moral reasons and that the Academy's rigorous academic, military, and developmental methods strengthened those values.¿West Point produced young military leaders who were exceptionally well-educated and¿trained¿tödeal with the complex challenges of war in Iraq and Afghanistan in the early twenty first century.