Interviews

Filter By Conflict

White_down_arrow

Filter By Location

White_down_arrow

Bosnia & Herzegovina

Central Pacific

Dominican Republic

Korean Peninsula

Solomon Islands

European Theater

Pacific Theater

Central America

Atlantic Theater

Sinai Peninsula

Filter By Theme

White_down_arrow

Concentration Camps

Faith and Religion

Liberating France

Military Techniques

Mountain Combat

Returning from War

Taking on a New Command

Wartime Decisions

Women in Service

Counterinsurgency

Writing the Soldier's Life

West Point History

Military Families

Spring 1976 Cheating Incident

Cyber Security and Warfare

Race in the Military

IED (Improvised Explosive Device)

Life After Military

Military Family

African American Military Experience

Nuclear Weapons

Joint Task Force 6

September 11, 2001

Sexual Harassment / Assault

Detention Operations

Don't Ask Don't Tell (DADT)

Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA)

Modern War Institute

GWOT Global War on Terror

USMLM United States Military Liaison Mission

Gold Star Families

Cuban Missile Crisis

Jewish Military Experience

Vietnamese Marine Corps

Vietnamese Navy

North Vietnamese

CASA Civilian Aide to the Secretary of the Army

Military Medicine

Native American

Strategic Air Command

Mounger Writing Center

Iran Hostage Crisis

U.S. Olympic Team

After graduating from USMA in 1966 and serving a tour in West Germany, Robert Scales assumed command of an artillery battery in South Vietnam in May 1969. He and his unit were immediately embroiled in the fight for Dong Ap Bia, which became known as "Hamburger Hill." A month later, his position was overrun in a sustained attack by North Vietnamese regulars, during which his unit suffered numerous casualties. He dedicated the rest of his career to improving the training, equipment, and structure of the U.S. Army, commanding the Field Artillery School, shaping priorities at TRADOC, and serving as commandant of the Army War College. He later became an author and commentator on military and national security affairs. In this wide-ranging interview, he discusses a myriad of topics, including his time at West Point, his experiences as a combat leader, the reinvigoration of the Army after Vietnam, the Persian Gulf War, and his concerns over the U.S. military's persistent emphasis on technology.

From Dream To Reality: Building The Vietnam Veterans Memorial

Commissioning Into The Coast Artillery: The Rich And Varied Career Of A 1939 Graduate Of West Point

“This Wasn’t Supposed To Happen To Me”: A Seriously Wounded Marine Gives Back

“Just Be Good At What You Do”: Charting Success At West Point And In The Army

Changing Hearts With Love: From Special Forces To Missionary Work

“Gladly Accepting Hard Missions”: In Vietnam, Panama, and Beyond

Making A New Life In America: A Vietnamese Navy Veteran Starts Over

To Coach, Teach, And Mentor: Careers In The Military And Collegiate Athletics

“An Experience That Can’t Be Duplicated”: Service In Vietnam With The 173rd Airborne Brigade

“You’re Always Welcome Here”: A Taste Of Home With AAFES And Tom Shull

Creating A Mission And Building A Team: The Importance Of Community In The Army And In Business

A Survivor Of Ground Zero: An Army Ranger’s Experiences On Active Duty And In The National Guard

“Support The Guys On The Ground”: Flying With The Kingsmen In Vietnam

“I Love West Point And Everything It Stands For”: From The Army Air Corps To The Air Force And Beyond

"You Want My Tanks to Do What?!" An Armor Officer in Germany and Vietnam

A Rhodes Scholar And Armor Officer In Germany And Vietnam

“Lieutenants, You’re Going To War Somewhere”: A Marine Officer During The War In Iraq

“Do It Right The First Time”: A Navy Veteran Discusses Guided Missile Cruiser Service Off Vietnam And Four Decades In Emergency Management

“Stick With Me, I’ll Show You What It Means To Be A Pathfinder”: Learning The Ropes With The 101st In Vietnam

“A Year From Now You’ll Be Dead For Six Months”: Service In Vietnam With The 5th Cavalry

“In The Confusion Of Combat, You Don’t Think Very Well”: Fighting And Surviving The Battle Of Welz

Not Necessarily the Approved Solution: Having the Instincts to Get the Job Done

“Take Charge and People Will Follow You”: Authenticity in the Military and in Business

“Getting Things Done”: The Army Work Ethic In The Military And In Business

“Serve With Integrity”: Barney Forsythe Reflects On His And His Father’s Service To The Nation

The WWII Adventures Of A Seaplane Machine Gunner Chasing U-Boats

“Medicine Is An Art Using Applied Science”: Reflections From A Doctor From The Class Of ‘77

“The Navy Was Good To Me”: Maintaining Aircraft Off Yankee Station

“Cleared In Hot On My Heading; Hit My Smoke”: From A Bird Dog To A Misty FAC To The Hanoi Hilton

“Make Sure To Check All Parts Of Your Operation”: Leadership Lessons From A West Point Commandant

“The Fine Art Of Motivating And Leading American Soldiers”: West Point, Vietnam, And The Evolving Army

“My Life Is A Series Of Happy Incidents”: Memories Of A Dustoff Pilot

“The Most Formative Years of My Life”: A 1994 West Point Graduate Balances Career, Family, and Community Service

Flying With The Seawolves: A Naval Academy Graduate Pilots A Gunship In Vietnam

Taxed And Toughened: Achieving Balance In A Dual Military Family

“You Join The Infantry To Shoot Stuff And Blow Stuff Up”: Two Iraq Deployments With The Screaming Eagles

Pride In America: Defending Freedom And Protecting People

“Loyalty Goes Up And Down”: Leading American Soldiers In Service Around The World

“Where The Rubber Meets The Road”: A Sergeant’s Story, From Firestone To Vietnam

On the Front Lines of Freedom: Team Derrick in Korea, Germany, and Desert Storm

“No Pity”: Recovering From Wounds And Continuing To Serve The Country

"For You, the War is Over": A Jewish U.S. Army Soldier in a German POW Camp

“Broken Bones, A Big Heart, And Not Quitting”: A Special Forces Officer With A Mission

“I Always Liked Where I Was”: Air Defense In The U.S., Greece, Vietnam, And Germany

Leading Helicopter Innovation In Vietnam And Beyond

“You’re Not Crying For Them; You’re Crying With Them”: A Vietnam Veteran Helping Others

Healthy Competition: West Point And The American Dream

Building Roads, Managing Resources, And Teaching Physics: An Engineering Career Both Diverse And Satisfying

“Being Part Of The Action”: A Lifetime Of Service In The Army And In State Government

Modernizing West Point’s Academic Administration: An Artillery Officer Returns To The Dean’s Staff

“From Here On, Everything’s Tactical”: An Engineer Officer In Panama And Vietnam

“Learning How To Win (The Right Way)”: Brothers, Football, and Service To The Nation

The Will to Fight: Hamburger Hill, the Revitalization of the Army, and the Contours of American Military Policy

“All Of The Bad Times Are Overwhelmed By The Positives”: Tenacity And Determination At West Point And In The Air Force

The Conscientious Objector And The Platoon Leader

Megahertz And Methodism: A Vietnam Vet On Ministry, Ham Radios, And Lifelong Service

“Changing The Answer To Yes”: Commanding Engineers In Combat And Taking Care Of Families On Post

“I’d Get To See It All, Exploding Right There In Front Of Me”: A Forward Observer In Vietnam

“I Planned To Go To West Point For As Long As I Can Remember”: A ’67 Graduate In Vietnam And Berlin

“A Symbol Of What’s Right With America”: West Point, Army Service, And School Administration

“A Mighty Fine Pile of Rock”: An Engineer Officer On Building Infrastructure and Leaders

“Move To The Sound Of The Guns”: A Culture Of Dedicated Leadership On The Battlefield, At West Point, And In The Army

A Life Together In The Army: Vietnam, The Home Front, And Service To The Nation

An Army Wife Teaching, Raising A Daughter, And Worrying About Her Husband In Vietnam

“Anyone Can Be American”: From Vietnamese Refugee To White House Lawyer In Thirty-Two Years

“The Night Before A Mission Was The Worst”: From Serving In Vietnam To Writing Civil War History

“In A Matter Of Eleven Days, I Became An Old Guy”: With The Rakkasans At Hamburger Hill

“I Wasn’t Quitting”: Determination At West Point And As A Field Artillery Officer And Comptroller In The Army

“Live Life With A Purpose And Serve Others”: The Story Of Ray and Rich Enners

You Can Take Any Experience And Make A Joke Of It: Life Imitates Art For The Creator Of Beetle Bailey

Cut Off And Alone At Night On Hamburger Hill

“Let The West Pointer Do It”: Leadership In The Military, Diplomatic Corps, And Academia

Building Cohesive Units And Teaching Leadership: A Naval Academy Grad Reflects On The Evolving Marine Corps From The 70s To The 90s

Letters To Papa Gorilla: A Pathfinder’s Wife On The Homefront During The Vietnam War

"Into Harm's Way"

“Don’t Follow A Single Track”: Adapting Leadership Lessons From West Point And The Army In The Business World

“He Seemed To Be Living In Two Different Worlds”: A Spouse Deals With Post-Traumatic Stress Following The Vietnam War

“The Fear Of Letting Someone Down Is Stronger Than The Fear Of The Enemy”: Memories of Serving With D/1-5 Cavalry

“A Helluva Way To Earn A Living”: A Vietnam Veteran On Service, Business, And West Point

“Quality Is Our Recipe”: Transforming Grit, Determination, And Heart Into Success

Life Is A Highway: A Professional Engineer From The Class Of ’65 Reflects On Combat, Construction, And Community

“The Army Is Like A Family”: Memories Of A Cold War Army Spouse

“If You Don’t Do Your Job, People Are Going To Die”: 18,959 Bonus Days Of Life

Service As A Component Of Citizenship: A Former Army JAG On Business And Philanthropy

Sharing Vietnamese Cuisine And Culture: A Restauranteur In Ho Chi Minh City

“We’d Hunt Them Or They’d Hunt Us”: Service In Vietnam And The Persian Gulf

“If You Don’t Do It Right, You Can Make A Mess Of It”: Pathfinder Operations In The Tropic Lightning

Like A Brick Wall Falling On You All At Once: A Judge Reflects on West Point, Vietnam, and His Career

“My Heart Wants To Go Back To Sudan”: A Lost Boy Transforms The Next Generation Through Education

“Some Good Days, Some Bad Days”: A WAC Serving In Vietnam

“Your Character Is Your Destiny”: Providing The Leadership To Bring People Together As Ambassador And Dean

Learning To “Out-Guerrilla The Guerillas” With The Tiger Force In Vietnam

Strengthening the Bond: A Graduate Pays it Forward

The Challenges of Protecting the “Street Without Joy”

The “F” As A Badge Of Honor: Surviving The Class Of ’77 Honor Scandal

“They Don’t All Hit The Targets:” A Television Visionary Recounts His Experiences as a B-17 Crewman

To Teach And Preach: From Vietnam And Special Forces To The Pulpit

“You Know It’s Serious When You Fix Bayonets”: A Tiger Battling In Vietnam

“Have The Courage To March To A Different Tune”: Life As A Civil Engineer In The Army And In The Community

Kitsy Westmoreland On Service, Family, And The Army Life

“You Learn As You Go”: Service As A Combat Medic In The 173rd In Vietnam

“A Level Of Absurdity”: War And Corruption In Vietnam

“We All Succeed Together”: Leadership, Training, And War

“Be Kind And No Surprises”: Applying The Department Of Social Sciences Ethic In The Army And Business

“West Point Means Home”: Service In The Army And In Telecommunications

“My Ass Was Not Worth More Than Theirs”: Combat Leadership in Vietnam

A Lifetime of Leadership: Standards, Respect, and Competence

From Air Defense Officer to Entertainment Pioneer

“We Wanted A Man Of Utmost Integrity”: Success In The Military And In Civilian Life

Starting A Family Tradition: The First Of Three Generations Of West Pointers

Tending His Flock Under Fire: A Chaplain Serving With Tiger Force In Vietnam

“I Was Always Happy And Thankful”: From WWII Germany To Post-War America

“Don’t Give Up”: A Veteran’s Wife, Ex-Wife, and Current Girlfriend Discusses Dealing With Post Traumatic Stress

Escaping From South Vietnam: An Air Force Squadron Commander Ditches His Helicopter At Sea

Fleeing Vietnam With The Boat People: The Story Of The Captain Of A Refugee Vessel

Seeking To Protect The Force: Experiences With The Wound Data And Munitions Effectiveness Team

“Same Language, Same People”: An ARVN Soldier On The Wars Of Vietnam

“I’ve Never Done Anything Else But the Army”: Fighting To Commission And Serve The Nation

“Be Competent, Take Care Of Your Soldiers, And Get Buy In”: An Engineer And Olmsted Scholar On Service In Vietnam And In Foreign Relations

“The Bigger Picture Is Serving The Country”: The West Point Story Of Three Smiths

At The Commander’s Shoulder: A Marine Radio Operator In Vietnam

“My Country Asked Me To Serve, And That’s What We Did”: Drafted For Vietnam

“The Military Made Me Who I Am”: Germany, Vietnam, And The 101st Airborne Division Association

“I Feel At Home Around The Military”: A Naval Academy Graduate And West Point Parent

A Part Of Something Larger Than Himself: Life Under The Stars As A West Point And Olympic Gymnast

“Being At Sea Was What I Liked”: A Naval Ensign Leading Landing Craft Ashore At Inchon

Before and After "The Anderson Platoon": A Lifetime of Leadership, Service, and Achievement

“You Take Care Of Your Men, They’ll Take Care Of You”: A Platoon Leader In D/1-5 Cavalry In Vietnam

A Veteran Of The Navy And Army On Service, Teamwork, And Show Business

Turnaround: Applying Army Experience in the Business World

From Dropping Bombs to Entertaining Troops: A Showman Serves in the Army Air Corps

A Homecoming Queen Comes Home To West Point: The Love Story Of Rosemarie And Dave Kuhn ‘65