Elite Souls

The great nineteenth century French military thinker,ArdantduPicq, argued that selfless courage is rooted in a higher moralpurpose,and is found among"Elite Souls."This is a book about fivesuch"Elite Souls,"allhighly decorated young West Pointgraduatesandrecipients oftheUSMA'sNinningerMedal. Elite Soulsoutlinestheimportanceofbuildingand developingmoralcharacterinmilitary leaders, while arguing thata rigorous academic educationis also essentialin creating young officers capable of the kind of creativeandcriticalthinking necessary in the complicatedwars of the twenty-first century. Dr. Raymond suggests thatWest Point's servant-leader modelis criticalin fostering the kind of intenseselflessness ideally seenbetween junior officers, theirNCOs,and soldiers. Finally,Elite Soulsmakesthe casethatinspirational commanding officersarealso key. In this book, Dr. Ray Raymond argues that each of the recipients of theNinningerAward entered West Point primarily for moral reasons and that the Academy's rigorous academic, military, and developmental methods strengthened those values.West Point produced young military leaders who were exceptionally well-educated andtrainedtodeal with the complex challenges of war in Iraq and Afghanistan in the early twenty first century.