The District of Columbia National Guard's Professional Reading List is a catalog of professional development tools meant to provoke critical thinking at each level. Crafted by DCNG senior leaders and senior enlisted leadership, the list is a catalog of professional development tools designed to inform, inspire and educate Citizen Soldiers and Citizen Airmen of all ranks in the DCNG.
The non-military reading literature below does NOT constitute commercial endorsement or sponsorship of any goods or services by the District of Columbia National Guard.
List 1: For all of District of Columbia National Guard
• National Security Strategy of the United States of America
• National Strategy for Combating Terrorism and Illicit Financing 2022
• National Military Strategy
• Lying to Ourselves: Dishonesty in the Army Profession Link
• U.S. National Guard by Carla Mooney
• Homeland Security by Michael Kerrigan
• The Constitution of the United States
• Centuries of Service: The U.S. Army 1775–2005 by David W. Hogan, Jr.
• For the Common Defense: A Military History of the United States of America by Allan R. Millett and Peter Maslowski
• 2022 National Defense Strategy
• Inclusify: The Power of Uniqueness and Belonging
• Thanks for the Feedback: The Science and Art of Receiving Feedback Well
List 2: For all of District of Columbia Army National Guard Citizen Soldiers
• Army People First Task Force Handbook
• SEC ARMY Note to Field (8 FEB 2022)
• 2022 National Guard Bureau Posture Statement
• Army 2022 Posture Statement
• FM 3-0_Operations.pdf (army.mil)
• FM_7-0_Training.pdf
• FM 6-0_CDR & Staff Organization.pdf (army.mil)
• CSA_PAPER-02_Army In Military Competition.pdf
• Army Institutional Strategy (2022)
• FM 4-0_Sustainment.pdf
• 2021_Army_Arctic_Strategy.pdf
• STRATEGY_NOTE_2022-01_Army Climate Strategy.pdf
• National Security Strategy_OCT 2022.pdf
• 2022 National Defense Strategy, Nuclear Posture Review, and Missile Defense Review
List 3: For all of District of Columbia Air National Guard Citizen Airmen
• 2022 National Guard Posture Statement
• America’s Air Force: A Call to the Future
• USAF FY2020 Posture Plan
• Air National Guard Strategic Plan
• Air National Guard’s 2019 Weapons Systems Modernization Priorities Book
• Air National Guard’s 2019 Domestic Capability Priorities Book
• Accelerate Change or Lose
• CSAF Action Orders to Accelerate Change Across the Air Force
• AFI 1-1, Air Force Standards
• Air Force Doctrine Public 1 - The Air Force
• Platoon Leader
• A Profession of Arms: Our Core Values
• The Enlisted Force Structure
List 4: For Junior Officers (O-1/O-2), (W-1/W-2, Enlisted (E-1/E4), GS-1-6
• Starship troopers by Robert A. Heinlein
• Enders Game by Orson Scott Card
• Band of Brothers: 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne from Normandy to Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest by Stephen E. Ambrose
• We were Soldiers Once … and Young: Ia Drang—The Battle That Changed the War in Vietnam by LTG (Ret.) Harold G. Moore and Joseph L. Galloway
• In the Company of Heroes by Michael J. Durant
• The Warrior Ethos by Steven Pressfield
• My Men are My Heroes by Brad Kasal
• The Audacity of Hope - by Barack Obama
• Make your Bed – by William H. McRaven
• The Face of Battle – by John Keegan
• Leadership and Self-Deception
• Talent Is Overrated: What Really Separates World-Class Performers from Everybody Else by Geoff Colvin
• The Wright Brothers by David McCullough
List 5: For CGO, WO1/WO2, E-5/E-6, GS 7-9
• The Armed Forces Officer by Albert C. Pierce, Richard Swain
• The Future Power by Joseph Nye
• The Future of Land Warfare by Michael E. O'Hanlon
• Drowned City by Don Brown
• Don't get stuck on stupid! By Lt. General Russel L. Honoré
• Introduction to Homeland Security: Principles of All-Hazards Risk Management 5th Edition
• JP 3-41 – Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Response
• Citizen Soldiers – by Stephen E, Ambrose
• The Story of the Noncommissioned Officer Corps – by Arnold G. Fisch
• Guardians of the Republic – by Ernest F. Fisher Jr.
• “CW2” by Lane Heath
• “Leading Up” by Michael Useum
• The Kill Chain: Defending America in the Future of High-Tech Warfare by Christian Brose
• The Coaching Habit: Say Less, Ask More & Change the Way You Lead Forever by Michael Bungay Stanier
• Legacy: What the All Blacks Can Teach Us About the Business of Life by James Kerr
• AFI 1-2, Commander's Responsibilities
List 6: For FGO, WO3/WO4, GS-10-14
• Responding to Catastrophic Events: Consequence Management and Policies Edited by Jeffrey A. Larsen
• Protecting Against Biological and Chemical Attack by Michael Kerrigan
• George C. Marshall: Soldier-Statesman of the American Century by Mark A. Stoler
• On Becoming a Leader by Warren Bennis
• The Art of War by Sun Tzu, Translated by Samuel Griffith
• On War by Carl von Clausewitz, Edited and Translated by Michael Howard and Peter Paret
• The Mind of War by Grant T. Hammond
• Start with Why – by Simon Sinek
• Principles of Maritime Strategy – by Julian S. Corbett
• Five Levels of Leadership – by John C. Maxwell
• “What Got You Here Won’t Get You There” by Marshall Goldsmith
• “Leaders” by General Stanley McChrystal
• The Culture Code: The Secrets of Highly Successful Groups by Daniel Coyle
• Fighter Pilot: The Memoirs of Legendary Ace Robin Olds by Christina Olds, Robin Olds, Ed Rasimus
• Lincoln On Leadership by Donald Thomas Phillips
• Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don't Know by Adam Grant
• Dare to Lead by Brené Brown
List 7: For Senior Enlisted Leaders
• The Noncommissioned Officer and Petty Officer BACKBONE of the Armed Forces by a Team of Enlisted Leaders
• The Story of the Noncommissioned Officer Corps by David W. Hogan Jr., Robert K. Wright Jr., Arnold G Fisch Jr.
• Dare to Lead by Brené Brown
• Behind The Colors Where NCO Leadership Lives by Command Sgt. Maj. (Retired) Scott C. Schroeder
• Leaders Eat Last by Simon Sinek
• Execution – The Discipline of Getting Things Done by Larry Bossidy & Ram Charan
• Top Sergeant – by William G. Bainbridge
• An Army for Empire – by Graham A. Cosmas
• Battle Cry of Freedom – by James M. McPherson
• Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard by Chip Heath, Dan Heath
• 2034: A Novel of the Next World War by Elliot Ackerman, James Stavridis
• Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win by Jocko Willink, Leif Babin
List 8: For Senior Leaders
• Marine Corps generalship by Edgar F Puryear
• The Inevitable: Understanding the 12 Technological Forces that will Shape Our Future by Kevin Kelly
• Diplomacy by Henry Kissinger
• War in European History by Michael Howard
• Dereliction of Duty: Lyndon Johnson, Robert McNamara, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Lies That Led to Vietnam by H. R. McMaster
• The Innovator’s Dilemma: When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail by Clayton M. Christensen
• Treasury’s War: The Unleashing of a New Era of Financial Warfare by Juan Zarate
• “The Art of Power” by Jon Meacham
• “Superbosses” by Sydney Finkelstein