Connected Soldiers

Life, Leadership, and Social Connections in Modern War

By: John Spencer

Narrated by: Phil Schoen

John Spencer was a new second lieutenant in 2003 when he parachuted into Iraq leading a platoon of infantry soldiers into battle. During that combat tour he learned how important unit cohesion was to surviving a war, both physically and mentally. He observed that this cohesion developed as the soldiers experienced the horrors of combat as a group, spending their downtime together and processing their shared experiences.

When Spencer returned to Iraq five years later to take command of a troubled company, he found that his lessons on how to build unit cohesion were no longer as applicable. Rather than bonding and processing trauma as a group, soldiers now spent their downtime separately, on computers communicating with family back home. Spencer came to see the internet as a threat to unit cohesion, but when he returned home and his wife was deployed, the internet connected him and his children to his wife on a daily basis.

In Connected Soldiers, Spencer delivers lessons learned about effective methods for building teams in a way that overcomes the distractions of home and the outside world, without reducing the benefits gained from connections to family.

©2022 John Spencer (P)2022 John Spencer

The military book you didn’t know you need to read

There are so many great things to say about Connected Soldiers. It’s a story about a man becoming a man and that man becoming a soldier, father, husband, and a leader. Business managers can get a lot from this book as well. How to organize and reinforce the improvement processes and team building. This is also a great book for audible as it was easy to follow, enjoy, and understand.

Compelling reading from an author well versed

This book is a must have for anyone who wants to stay abreast of modern thinking and be informed by a qualified source. BUY THIS BOOK!!

Great read

The author expertly use his experiences to convey his messages in a format that is not only easy to follow but draws the reader in. An honest look into the mind of a true warfighter, not often is someone so forthright about fear, failure and anxiety. A must for young leaders.

Stories from a Soldier

This was a well written memoir from a soldier who spent several deployments in the middle east, both as active duty, and as family to active duty. Personally, I was hoping for a more analytical look at the modern changes to connectivity, and broader information and application than just Army, as I am in the Navy, and have family in the Navy and Marines. It didn't shed any light in that direction, but was still informative, interesting, and well told.

Not going to find answers here.

It was interesting to hear the telling of wartime experiences with some minor reflections on the why/how. This will not answer the question “how do I develop committed Soldiers”.