March 13, 2013 – Mr. Thomas E. Ricks

History has been kind to the American generals of World War II and less kind to the generals of the wars that followed. In part, this is the story of a widening gulf between performance and accountability. During World War II, scores of American generals were relieved of command simply for not being good enough. Today, as one American colonel said bitterly during the Iraq War, "As matters stand now, a private who loses a rifle suffers far greater consequences than a general who loses a war." On March 13, 2013, the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center in Carlisle, Pennsylvania welcomed Mr. Thomas E. Ricks, who presented a lecture on great military leaders and suspect ones, generals who rose to the occasion and those who failed themselves and their soldiers.

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