Every leader in the Army can become better at leading soldiers. Reading books and articles by and about combat leaders can give good insight into improving leadership skills. One should be familiar, too, with the documents that our Nation was founded on – the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. Reading about past leaders and knowing our history as a Nation and Army lets you better understand your role as an NCO. It also lets you realize that many soldiers before you encountered and overcame some of the same problems you face.Additional suggested readings are available from the Center for the Army Profession and Ethic. 

RECOMMENDED PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENTREADING LIST FOR NCOs

CPL - SGT

• Stephen E. Ambrose, Band of Brothers: E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne from Normandy to Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1992. (335 pages)
• Tom Brokaw, The Greatest Generation. New York: Random House, 1998. (412 pages)
• T. R. Fehrenbach, This Kind of War: A Study in Unpreparedness. Washington, DC: Brassey’s Inc. 1994 (483 pages)
• Charles E. Heller and William A. Stoft, editors, America’s First Battles: 1776-1965. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas. 1986. (416 pages)
• David W. Hogan, Jr., 225 Years of Service, The US Army 1775-2000. Washington, DC: Center for Military History, 2000. (36 pages)
• John Keegan, The Face of Battle. New York: Vintage Books, 1977. (354 pages)
• Harold G. Moore and Joseph L. Galloway, We Were Soldiers Once and Young. New York: Random House. 1992. (412 pages)
• Anton Myrer, Once an Eagle. New York: USAWC Foundation Press, 1995. (817 pages)
• Michael Shaara, The Killer Angels. New York: Ballantine Books, 1974. (355 pages)

SSG -SFC

• Stephen E. Ambrose, Citizen Soldiers. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1997. (480 pages)
• Edward M. Coffman, The War To End All Wars: The American Military Experience in World War I. New York: Oxford University Press, 1968. (412 pages)
• Samuel P. Huntington, Soldier and the State. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard University press, 1957. (534 pages)
• Gerald F. Linderman, Embattled Courage: The Experience of Combat in the American Civil War. New York: The Free Press, A Division of Macmillan, 1987. (357 pages)
• Charles B. MacDonald, Company Commander. Springfield, NJ: Burford Books, 1999. (278 pages)
• S.L.A. Marshall, Men Against Fire: The Problem of Battle Command in Future War. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 2000. (224 pages)
• Alan R. Millett and Peter Maslowski, For the Common Defense, A Military History of the United States of America. New York: The Free Press, 1984. (621 pages)
• Robert H. Scales, Jr., Certain Victory. Washington, DC: Brassey’s Inc., 1998. (448 pages)
• Mark A. Stoler, George C. Marshall: Soldier-Statesman of the American Century. Boston, MA: Twayne Publishers, 1989. (252 pages)
• Tom Willard, Buffalo Soldiers. New York: Forge Press, 1997. (336 pages)

MSG - CSM

• Roy E. Appleman, East of Chosin: Entrapment and Breakout in Korea, 1950. College Station, TX: Texas A&M University Press, 1987. (399 pages)
• Graham A. Cosmas, An Army for Empire: The United States Army and the Spanish American War. Shippensburg, PA: White Mane, 1994. (349 pages)
• Robert A. Doughty, The Evolution of US Army Tactical Doctrine, 1946-1976. Fort Leavenworth, Kansas: Combat Studies Institute, 1979. (57 pages)
• Antoine Henri Jomini, Jomini and His Summary of the Art of War. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Stackpole Books, 1965. (161 pages)
• Charles B. MacDonald and Sidney T. Mathews, Three Battles: Arnaville, Altuzzo and Schmidt. Washington, DC: Center of Military History, 1952. (443 pages)
• James M. McPherson, Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era. New York: Oxford University Press, 1988. (904 pages):
• Roger H. Nye, The Challenge of Command. Wayne, New Jersey: Avery Publishing Group, 1986. (187 pages)
• Dave R. Palmer, Summons of the Trumpet: US-Vietnam in Perspective. San Rafael, CA: Presidio Press, 1978. (277 pages)
• Martin Van Creveld, Supplying War: Logistics from Wallenstein to Patton. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1977. (284 pages)
• Russell F. Weigley, The American Way of War: A History of United States Military Strategy and Policy. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1977. (477 pages)

OTHER BOOKS OF INTEREST TO THE NCO

• William G. Bainbridge, Top Sergeant: The Life and Times of Sergeant Major of the Army William G. Bainbridge. New York: Ballantine Books, 1995. (357 pages)
• Roy Benavidez, The Three Wars of Roy Benavidez. San Antonio, TX: Corona Publishing Company, 1986. (293 pages)
• Stephen Crane, The Red Badge of Courage: An Episode of the American Civil War. New York: Random House, 1998 (reissue). (308 pages)
• Arnold G. Fisch, Jr., The Story of the Noncommissioned Officer Corps: The Backbone of the Army. Washington, DC: Center of Military History, 1989. (250 pages)
• Ernest F. Fisher, Jr., Guardians of the Republic: A History of the Noncommissioned Officer Corps of the US Army. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 2001 (475 pages)
• Mark F. Gillespie et al, The Sergeants Major of the Army. Washington, DC: Center of Military History, 1995. (180 pages) (new edition due in 2003)
• Sun Tzu and Sun Pin, The Complete Art of War. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1996. (304 pages)