April 2026 | The New Jersey Police Chief Magazine 18
As a law enforcement leader, you have chosen a highly challenging profession, one that takes a lifetime to master. While practical experience, realistic training, and formal education are indispensable for the development of first-class police leaders, so too is independent study. A program of independent reading keeps the mind fresh and enhances professionalism.
While I wish I could take credit for the above statement, it is in fact a( very slightly) edited restatement from the“ U. S. Army Chief of Staff’ s Professional Reading List.” i As I have written on many occasions, I do not hold myself out to be an expert on leadership. I have, however, done some deep reading from those who are experts in this area. I am, of course, well aware that you who are reading this have also spent much time and effort in the study of leading and leadership and are likely well versed in the literature focused on developing police leaders.
With the above in mind, I offer the following idiosyncratic, non-scientific, highly personal reading list on this topic for your consideration.
AMERICAN GENERALSHIP Character is Everything: The Art of Command By Edgar F. Puryear
A personal favorite, one of my‘ go-to’ books when asked for a recommended reading on the topic.
The book seeks to define and explain leadership as practiced by American generals from George Washington to Colin Powell. Through examples and anecdotes a reader is able to listen to, so to speak, these leaders discuss their own experiences. As Puryear writes in the book’ s Introduction, one of the purposes of the book“ is to determine how these leaders developed and obtained their insights on how to lead successfully.” A great and thought-provoking read.
In preparing for this year’ s Italian Campaign Staff Ride I came across a thesis by Major Glenn L. King entitled from Salerno to Rome: General Mark W. Clark and the Challenges of Coalition Warfare which analysed the actions of the United States Army under the command of Lt. General Clark during the Italian Campaign in WW2.
The central argument appears to be that Clark’ s decision-making was heavily influenced— and often compromised— by the complexities of the Allied coalition command structure and deep-seated personality clashes, so it is my intention to look in depth at these areas and contrast these with the other senior personalities involved in the campaign.
What I found were a number of Key themes that include:
• Inexperience vs. Ambition: Clark is portrayed as a brilliant staff officer and trainer who was nonetheless inexperienced in highlevel field command. His rapid promotion over senior officers created a need for him to " prove himself," fueling an intense ambition that sometimes superseded strategic logic.
• The " Anglo-American " Friction: Clark commanded the U. S. Fifth Army, which was subordinate to the 15th Army Group commanded by British General Sir Harold Alexander. I believe that Clark harbored a deep suspicion of British motives, believing Alexander and Prime Minister Winston Churchill intended to use American troops( and hence, American lives) to further British imperial interests rather than defeat Germany efficiently.
• The Race for Rome: Clark made a controversial decision to disobey Alexander’ s orders to cut off the retreating German 10th Army at Valmontone. Instead, Clark turned his forces toward Rome to capture the city before the Normandy landings( D-Day) stole the headlines. I believe that this was a failure of coalition warfare, where national and individual prestige( capturing the Axis capital) was prioritized over the destruction of the enemy army.
So, what can we learn from working in a coalition with different multinational personalities, albeit mainly US / UK, that may be of significance to law enforcement leaders operating in a multi-agency world?