European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 17, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                David h. Hackworth in 1966, it. Col. David h. Hackworth Center was awarded nine decorations for valor in Vietnam. Gen. Harold k. Johnson army chief of staff at the time presented the award As mrs. Hackworth looked on. Maverick sex colonel zeroes in on military bureaucracy by Bill Baskervill associated press be of America s most decorated soldiers has ended nearly two decades of self imposed exile to fight for Reform of a military establishment that he says lacks the moral courage to change. Col. David h. Hackworth broke with the army in 1971, disillusioned and angered by its use of conventional tactics to fight a guerrilla War in Vietnam. Forced to retire from the service because of his Public criticism of the Vietnam strategy an embittered Hackworth built a a new life in Australia. It took 18 years before he put the bitterness behind him and returned to the United states. A i was angry i was vindictive a said Hackworth author of the 1989 Best Selling autobiography about face. Quot writing the Book was an incredible catharsis for me. I was Able to heal  now he is directing his Energy toward a Campaign to reshape a military bureaucracy that he says must Quot change its mind set and come up with fresh  Hackworth said he is pressing for the merger of the army Navy and air Force into an american defense Force. He says the change would reduce waste and duplication and provide for a More streamlined command system. Quot our military is All wrong has been All wrong since world War ii Quot he said. The key to change is Quot getting Warrior leaders at the top rather than manager careerists Quot Hackworth said. Quot All we need is leadership a people who be got the guts determination and the vision to turn things around instead of those who live by the motto of go along to get along Quot it s imperative that Congress and the Pentagon make reforms because Quot the american people Are tired of being ripped off Quot said Hackworth who has made his Case in a meeting with army Secretary Michael Stone. Maj. Joe Padilla an army spokesman declined to comment on Hackworth s statements. Orphaned before he was a year old Hackworth 59, was reared in California by his grandmother and in Foster Homes. He lied about his age to join the army in 1946 when he was 15 and received a Battlefield commission in Korea five years later. At 40 he became the youngest full colonel in Vietnam where he served for nearly six years. His Many awards for valor include two distinguished service crosses nine Silver stars eight Bronze stars and eight purple hearts for wounds suffered in Battle. Hackworth gained a reputation for Blunt talk when As a teen age private in Italy he told Gen. Dwight d. Eisenhower Quot the Chow  his unsparing criticism of tactics and doctrine continued throughout his 25-year career. It culminated in 1971 when he appeared on abcs issues and answers show. He told a National television audience that the army a Vietnam tactics were not unlike the food he had in Italy. That was too much for the army which unceremoniously retired the Man who had been told a few months earlier that he was virtually assured promotion to brigadier general. Quot i was brokenhearted because the army was my family Quot he said. Quot i loved  Hackworth said he chose Australia As a new Home because it was the farthest place from the United states where English was spoken. He bought a diner and two Gas stations and later purchased a restaurant in Brisbane. He sold the restaurant a few years later for $1 million and took up farming. Hackworth decided to reconcile with his country during a May 1988 visit to turn in the manuscript of about face to his publisher Simon amp schuster inc it was then he realized that voting the Book had driven the Devil out of  last year he bought a Home in Montana where he will live about six months a year. The rest of the time hell spend at his Home in Australia. A major focus of his Campaign for military Reform has been the Vietnam War from which the military has Learned Little he said. Quot we Haven t conducted an honest postmortem. We Are treating it exactly As we treated Korea. We were so humiliated by not winning in Korea that we took All the mistakes and swept them under the Rug Vietnam became the stepchild of the korean  Hackworth cautioned against reckless dismemberment of the military As the soviet threat diminishes. Quot we did it in 1918, 1945, 1953 and 1973. We went into world War ii not prepared we went into Korea not  Quot the contraction of the military has to be done carefully Quot he said. Quot what i would do is have a moratorium on the acquisition of any goodies. We would t buy any stealth we would t buy any midget Man Quot missiles. Quot we should use the Money to keep our military personnel and build Down through attrition Quot he said. Quot if there s one lesson we Learned in Vietnam it was that hardware  win Over dedicated men. One thing the Viet Cong had a just like our revolutionary forefathers who beat a Superior Force in the Field a was fire in their bellies. Men win wars not  he also urged a return to the draft because Quot a standing Volunteer army violates what our country is about. It becomes isolated from the values of our society. Quot our Young people Are Couch potatoes. They re weak and their moral values Are bad. At least the military can give them  the stars and stripes a Page 13