CSIAca,!E+publishes papers of Gen. Donn Starry

By Tisha Johnson, Fort Leavenworth LampOctober 1, 2009

CSIAca,!E+publishes papers of Gen. Donn Starry
1 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Combined Arms Research Library Director Ed Burgess accepts a copy of "Press On!" from retired Gen. Donn Starry during a ceremony Sept. 25 at the library. "Press On!" is a two-volume collection of Starry's personal papers published by the Combat Studi... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
CSIAca,!E+publishes papers of Gen. Donn Starry
2 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – A display at the Combined Arms Research Library, Fort Leavenworth, Kan., features a copy of the cover of "Press On!," a collection of retired Gen. Donn Starry\'s personal papers, and the Command and General Staff College Yearbook from the year Starry... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

FORT LEAVENWORTH, Kan. - Retired Gen. Donn Starry presented the Combined Arms Research Library with a copy of "Press On!," a two-volume collection of his personal papers published by the Combat Studies Institute, during a ceremony Sept. 25 at the library.

Starry, who commanded Training and Doctrine Command from 1977 to 1981, is credited with laying out the principles for AirLand Battle doctrine that synchronized all assets on the battlefield.

CSI Director Dr. William Robertson listed the 18 steps it took to produce the book, including keystroking all documents, editing, incorporating changes and coordinating publication.

"Most people think when they read a book, it just magically appears," Robertson said.

Gen. Martin Dempsey, the current TRADOC commanding general, said it was an honor to recognize the life's work of Starry. The publication serves as a valuable gift to future generations of Soldiers and scholars who will be able to learn about Starry and understand his immense contributions to the nation and the profession of arms, Dempsey said.

"Your legacy lives on in our school houses, on our firing ranges, in our training centers and in how we think about the Army," Dempsey said.

Starry's Army career spanned five of the most eventful decades in American culture and history from the time he enlisted at Fort Leavenworth at age 18 during World War II to his time in Europe during the Cold War, Dempsey said. While commanding cavalry units in Vietnam and Cambodia, Dempsey said, Starry grappled first hand with an elusive enemy who used insurgent tactics.

For the last eight years the military has been confronting adversaries in Afghanistan and Iraq and other places around the globe. Dempsey said our Soldiers have fought bravely and adapted in response to that changing threat, succeeding in a mission that to others may have been too much to ask.

"Indeed I can think of no greater tribute to the legacy of General Donn Starry than to say that a Soldier who serves and protects us today is a product of his life's work," Dempsey said.

Starry said organizations are difficult to change.

"In order to understand how to change things you need to understand where you are, and in order to understand where you are right now you need to understand from whence you have come," Starry said. "What we've got here is a book that really chronicles how we got the Army over the Vietnam war."

Material chosen for inclusion in the book include Starry's major speeches, published works, letters and messages. Starry, for the most part, wrote his own speeches and lectures. The collection is presented topically and, within topics, chronologically, and the context is the post-Vietnam War era.