The Best People with Nicolle Wallace S2026E10 - Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling Knows Leadership… And When It's Lacking

" We anticipate your unit taking about fifty percent casualties." This is what Retired Army Lieutenant General Mark Hertling heard in an intelligence briefing at division headquarters before deploying to Iraq in 1991. This would be the first of three combat deployments in a 38-year career in the United States Army, retiring after leading over 40,000 men and women as Commanding General of the U.S. Army Europe. It was this deployment that led Lt. Gen. Hertling to begin keeping a war-time journal, which became the basis for his latest book. "If I Don't Return" is a collection of raw and revealing missives written for his sons in the event he didn't make it home. Drawing from his personal experiences and military expertise, Lt. Gen. Hertling joins Nicolle to explain what drives the less than one percent of our citizens to become service members. He also lays out his vision of leadership and notes that while active-duty generals  serve at the behest of the President that voters choose, the current leadership in the White House and at the Pentagon do not always seem to understand the mission.