Oh, the Places You'll Go!

Last night, I fell down a rabbit hole of old Infantry magazines—because what else would you do on a Monday night? Flipping through the 1990 issue, I noticed something surprising in the "Tactics and Techniques" section of the article index.

It wasn’t just the topics that stood out. It was the names.

Lt. Gen. Franklin “Buster” Hagenbeck and Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti. As field grade officers, these future general officers collaborated on “Deep Operations” in the Jul-Aug issue. Their article explored how 1-87 Infantry successfully infiltrated the Bavarian Alps during REFORGER 90. Hagenbeck rose to command 10th Mountain Division during Operation Anaconda in the early days of the war in Afghanistan, while Scaparrotti retired as the US European Command Commander. These names struck me, as Hagenbeck was the Superintendent and Scaparrotti the Commandant when I was a cadet at West Point.

Ambassador Karl W. Eikenberry. In this early post-Cold War article, then-Lt. Col. Eikenberry described how his battalion enhanced American deterrence in Europe that visibly patrolled NATO’s frontier in the Jul-Aug issue. After retiring as a lieutenant general in 2009, Eikenberry was immediately confirmed as the ambassador to Afghanistan where he oversaw the surge from 2009 – 2011. The bio accompanying his article notes that he “has written several articles for publication in military journals” including “Water Resupply and Heat Casualty Prevention” in the Nov-Dec issue.

General (ret.) William E. DePuy. Based on remarks from the previous fall to Infantry captains, DePuy’s “Infantry Combat” in the Mar-Apr issue (p8-13) charts the evolution of the Infantry and draws on his own experience in World War II, Vietnam, and as the first TRADOC Commander.

Brig. Gen. Anthony Tata. With his battalion commander, then-Cpt. Tata explored the merits of splitting the tanks in the attack of a combined arms company in the May-Jun issue (p16-19). Tata retired as a brigadier general in 2009 and has been nominated to serve as the Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness.

And then there was this gem: a letter to the editor in the Jul-Aug issue (p4) from a then-2nd Lt. Bill Ostlund, debating the Expert Infantryman’s Badge. He’d go on to serve for 36 years retiring as a colonel, mentor countless officers (myself included), and feature prominently in Wes Morgan’s book on Afghanistan.

The Profession of Arms (and the Pen)

None of these officers wrote for Infantry because they knew they’d become generals. They wrote a field grade or junior officers because they were part of the profession of arms; they valued engaging in ideas, sharpening doctrine, and pushing the Army forward.

Professional writing helps us think, teach, and lead. These guys weren’t just ticking boxes on the way to the top; they shaped the Army long before they pinned on stars.

Which brings me to why clean archives matter. If the Army’s journals weren’t preserved or accessible, this discovery wouldn’t have happened. While there remains room for improvement, one of the goals of the Harding Project is to ensure that the insights of today’s officers and NCOs remain available—not just for nostalgia, but for those who will lead the Army decades from now.

Strengthen the profession: write.