If Not Now, When?: Duty and Sacrifice in America's Time of Need

Although I gave this work only three stars, I still recommend it to everyone, especially to those who have never served their country in any capacity (unless being very well paid) yet dare to call themselves patriots. The book is about Jack Jacobs's career in the US Army and afterwards, and although he often seems larger than life, I found his story and recollections to ring true for many of the military officers I have known. It is easy (and very human) to exaggerate slightly and always put oneself in a positive light, but those incidents in this work that might fall into that category seemed to me to be fairly inconsequential. Jacobs is a courageous hero not in the vastly overused sense of the word encountered today where every little baby fights valiantly for life or somebody saves a dog stuck in a drainpipe, but in the sense that he made choices to do his duty to his country, knowingly placed his life at risk for his country and fellow combatants, and did not falter in performing that duty. For this and for producing this book, the author is to be commended. Jacobs's description of what it takes to earn a medal is absolutely accurate (except for those medals handed out like candy for political and career reasons to officers): one's selfless act must be observed by higher ranking individuals or those they trust, the person requesting the medal must be able to write well, the potential recipient cannot have created enemies of those in the endorsement of approval chain, and the timing must be such that higher-ups are disposed to award the medal at that time for political or morale reasons. None of this detracts from the act itself, but does emphasize what Jacobs himself says -- that an given award really represents the actions of many soldiers doing their duty to the best of their ability and who would be equally deserving of the medal had the circumstances surrounding their actions been different. As one who has written commendations for medals and seen the process up close, I can assure other readers that what Jacobs says is dead on. For this if for nothing else, Jacobs deserves our respect and admiration. The description of the National War College was priceless, as were Jacobs' comments on General Shinseki's assessments of the troop strength (much greater than Runsfeld's) needed for Iraq that were so flippantly dismissed by Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz. Out history is littered with incidents of civilian incompetence and intrusion in military affairs, and this was no exception. Shinseki paid the price for being right as his career essentially ended at that point, but Shinseki did pull out all the stops in an attempt to safeguard his troops and accomplish the mission. At his level, Shinseki's humble acquiescence to incompetent civilians was inappropriate. So why not five stars? Well, much of the book rocks along as if written by a journalist with personal color that may be interesting to read for some, but which I tended to skip over until another nugget of information popped up. Jacobs's career after leaving the Army could have been left out as it was not germane to the tenor and thrust of the book. Even his reasons for leaving the Army to provide for his family should have been left out as being almost a betrayal of the very concepts of duty and sacrifice that Jacobs presents as the centerpieces of his story. In effect, he says there are limits to the duty and sacrifice one should be willing to make to one's country. Maybe so, and I also resigned my commission for personal reasons, but I could see a limited future in the Army whereas Jacobs clearly was on the fast track to becoming a general officer where he could possibly make substantial and positive impacts. Now I don't mean to criticize him for that decision, but including that part of his life in this book was a major distraction to me. One does not always have to be brutally honest and display all one's warts, particularly when there is a higher purpose at hand. In effect, his inclusion of his career after leaving the Army made this work much less inspiring that it could have been. All in all, this is a work containing much that should be learned by the American civilian population and especially its young people. I heartily recommend it to all.

I had known about Col. Jacobs as a Medal Awardee for a number of years from his appearances on MSNBC.However, I did not know of his background prior to Vietnam. As a Vietnam Vet with three tours as anInfantryman I was curious. A fellow Vietnam Vet loaned me his copy. I found it to be a very compellingstory.I have 2 sons, one that served as a Dustoff Pilot in Desert Storm and one that has not served.Both of themhave an interest in Leadership and what makes for good leadership. So, I bought a copy for each of them.As a fellow Grunt I can full well appreciate Col Jacobs story, where he came from and where he has been.It is a testimony to bringing back The Draft, Military Service for all young men. We have a Nation ofyoung folks who have never served anything but their own selfish desires. A Congress and Politicians ofall types that have never served. Is it any wonder that our politics have taken on such a divisive andand hateful tone. Working together to accomplish common goals is the last thing these politicians thinkof.Military service teaches you cooperation, compromise for the common good, responsibility to your fellowsoldier and to your unit. It teaches patriotism, love of Country and how lucky we are to be born Americans.Which is something sorely lacking in our political leadership.The motto of the 1st Infantry Division, The Big Red One is, "NO MISSION TO DIFFICULT, NO SACRIFICE TO GREAT,DUTY FIRST." That is pretty simple. A Motto anyone can understand. A Motto for everyday life. Although, Col.Jacobs never served with The Big Red One, he never the less epidermises it's ideal.

I'm late in reading Jack Jacobs "If Not Now, When?" and am glad I did. I found it to be a tremendous read from start to finish. The story leading to the award of the Medal of Honor is riveting and the stories related to the workings of the U.S. Army factual. It is more than a biography of a Medal of Honor recipient, it provides sound principles of leadership, some stated clearly and some tucked away in the narrative. His discussion of civilian control of the military is crystal clear and pertains to what is going on at this very moment. My take is, over his lifetime, Jack Jacobs painted a fair picture of a man who did not let the Vietnam war define him. One of the few negative reviews alluded to Jacobs' "arrogance" - I found him to be an honest guy, warts and all. I would imagine that the reviewer has pretty low self esteem. Given that he retired from the Army as a full colonel with only twenty years active duty, Jack Jacobs obviously received one or two promotions ahead of his contemporaries ("below the zone" promotion). That he did not go overboard with self aggrandizement tells me he's a guy with whom I could really enjoy drinking a beer. As Mr. Ebert would have said "I give Jack Jacobs two thumbs up."