Writer's Symposium author gets reviewed

By Amanda Tracy
Norwich Guidon Managing Editor

Sitting on my dorm room bookshelf is a refreshing change from the many research books, term papers, and news articles I browse on a weekly basis. For the better part of my holiday break, I was glued to the pages of Lt. Gen. Claudia Kennedy's (Ret.) Generally Speaking: A Memoir by the First Woman Promoted to Three-Star General in the United States Army (Warner Books, 2001).

Generally Speaking may have been the best gift I received this holiday season. I was glued to Kennedy's specific examples and candid descriptions of her successes, failures, and personal lessons learned during a military career that spans more than 30 years.

Kennedy is no stranger to hard lessons. On March 30, 2000, The Washington Times ran a story with the headline "Female General Accuses Peer of Harassment." Rowan Scarborough, a Washington Times staff writer, had broken what later became known as the military's first ever case of "general-on-general" sexual harassment. The "Kennedy-Smith scandal" remained in the media spotlight for several months, and Kennedy herself is surprisingly honest with her feelings about, well, everything.

While Kennedy is candid in her memoir, however, many servicemen and women remain publicly quiet about her. According to one of Kennedy's BarnesandNoble.com reviewers, her memoir is "not worth reading if you want to see what it is like in the Army."

The reviewer, who purports his or her identity as a "Retired Army Colonel," was unabashedly blunt with his or her remarks, "this book lacks depth and facts to back up the 'fabrication' that General Kennedy was an outstanding general and that she was selected to be the 'first' three star women general based on merit."

The "Retired Army Colonel" was still not through. This person continued, saying, "the book fails to show the career progression of a mediocre officer whose assignments insured her success as the first 'affirmative action' lady general. One would be better served by reading 'We Were Soldiers.'"

At the very least, one might hope that retired army colonels have learned to correct simple grammatical errors before making public postings.

Even within the Norwich community, the opinions about Kennedy are varied and hushed. I asked many military personnel, active duty and retired, as well as my friends about her. People are quick to call her a "mediocre" officer. Her local critics are quick to close an office door or preface their remarks with a, "between you and me…." When I ask these people if they've read the book, they say, "parts of it," which to me, means no. Not enough of it, anyway.

What Kennedy's critics miss is that her memoir is not about the Kennedy-Smith scandal, but about her career. The short incident in 1996 that started a media blitz in March 2000 seems by no means the measure of her character or her ability as an officer.

While one in my position cannot, without knowing her, evaluate her career in the Army, her decorations and accomplishments seem far from mediocre. I acknowledge no military service experience, nor would ever purport, myself, to know what qualities befit an outstanding officer, but some things are obvious to me.

It's awfully easy to criticize someone privately. It is also hard to believe that people who claim to love the Army don't have enough confidence in it to promote competent people. Though the "mediocre" occasionally advance, it is hard for this reviewer to believe that anyone mediocre, man or woman, can become a three-star general through affirmative action.

While the criticism of Kennedy, and her book, is varied and hushed, her praise is open and public. Several reviews have hailed Generally Speaking as a must-read for any woman entering in the military. They are partially correct. Kennedy's memoir is a must-read for anyone who wishes to learn something about leadership.

Editor's Note: Lt. Gen. Claudia Kennedy USA (Ret.) will be on campus April 10-12 as a participant in the 7th Annual William E. Colby Military Writer's Symposium. Her book, Generally Speaking: A Memoir by the First Woman Promoted to Three-Star General in the United States Army (Warner Books, 2001) $24.95, is available at the campus bookstore and the Norwich University Library.

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