On November 25, 1950, during one of the toughest battles of the Korean War, the US Eighth Army Ranger Company seized and held the strategically important Hill 205 overlooking the Chongchon River. Separated by more than a mile from the nearest friendly unit, fifty-one soldiers fought several hundred Chinese attackers. Their commander, Lieutenant Ralph Puckett, was wounded three times before he was evacuated. For his actions, he received the country's second-highest award for courage on the battlefield -- the Distinguished Service Cross -- and resumed active duty later that year as a living legend. In this inspiring autobiography, Colonel Ralph Puckett recounts his extraordinary experiences on and off the battlefield. After he returned from Korea, Puckett joined the newly established US Army Ranger Department, serving as an instructor and tactical officer, and commanding companies at Fort Benning and in the Ranger Mountain Camp in north Georgia. He went on to lead companies in Vietnam, train cadets at West Point, and organize the Escuela de Lancero leadership course in Colombia. Puckett's story is critical reading for soldiers, leaders, military historians, and others interested in the impact of conflict on individual soldiers as well as the military as a whole.

"Words for Warriors: A Professional Soldier's Notebook" is about leadership-leadership on the battlefield and in the garrison. Colonel Ralph Puckett, a Ranger legend, shares what he has learned in more than fifty-eight years of training, leading, teaching, and mentoring Warriors. This book addresses tactics, training, administration, special staff, public relations, self-development, and myriad other subjects that are the responsibilities of commanders. Much of this advice will be useful to business leaders as well.

The essays within are not limited to Colonel Puckett's experience. They draw heavily upon the experiences of others to provide a broad discussion of practical courses of action for the many challenges that confront leaders. This invaluable resource presents ideas that will help commanders with many of the problems that are part of everyday military life. "Words for Warriors" helps fill the gap between what is taught in our service schools and lessons learned through experience.