The cost of loyalty Dishonesty, hubris, and failure in the U.S. military

West Point law professor Bakken debuts with a blistering, top-to-bottom critique of America's armed forces. Placing revelations about the ongoing epidemic of sexual assault within the military and scandals such as the cover-up of the friendly-fire death of former NFL player Pat Tillman in Afghanistan in 2004 in a broader context, Bakken revisits the conspiracy to conceal the My Lai massacre in Vietnam and documents misrepresentation of admissions rates, violent behavior, increased "dissociation from civilian society," and prioritization of loyalty over truth at U.S. military academies. He also notes the irony that the American public's increased deference to the armed services has coincided with "seventy-five years of losses" since WWII. Bakken's insider perspective, litany of shocking examples, and evidence-based approach combine to paint a grim picture of failures by U.S. political and military leaders and their implications for the future. Though his suggestions for reform, including abolishing the Uniform Code of Military Justice and turning service academies into civilian universities, seem far-fetched, this essential and disturbing account illuminates the state of the problem. (Feb.)

A West Point professor deconstructs the many failures of America's most beloved institution: the armed forces.Bakkenthe first civilian hired to teach law at West Point who was also a whistleblower and won a retaliation case against the U.S. militarydelivers an angry polemic, arguing that America's military is commanded by men of limited intelligence but self-serving loyalty to their institution. This didn't matter before World War II, when peacetime forces were tiny and neglected. Since 1945, however, they have swollen massively, dominating civil society and operating free of constitutional restraints thanks to several Supreme Court decisions and fawning civilian leaders. Fervently admiredapproval in polls never drops below 70%the military has attained untouchable status from its commander in chief. Every president after Dwight Eisenhower has proclaimed unqualified esteem, and Congress, which last declared war in 1942, has surrendered its authority. Yet despite performing with spectacular incompetence in most wars since WWII, no general has been fired. Bakken places much blame on the service academies (West Point et al.), mediocre institutions awash in money whose draconian discipline and teaching methods date from their founding. Most instructors are junior officers with no specialty in their subject who rotate through for a few years, following a rigid syllabus from which they cannot deviate. Readers may pause in their fuming to recall that brilliant people rarely choose a career in the militaryor law enforcement. Rather, members of the military join for the action and value courage and loyalty above all. They consider themselves a band of brothers, indispensable defenders of the nation, most of whose effete citizens lack their selfless dedication. Warriors have always believed this, which is a mostly harmless situation unless they are calling the shots, which the author states is happeningand they are making a mess of it.A provocative, disturbing argument that a democracy is in trouble when it venerates the military unconditionally. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.