Welcome to Iconic Warrior.com

Our author, Dr. Gene Klann has a varied and diverse professional background that includes academia, corporate, non-profit, and the military.  He has successfully held a number of key leadership positions in each of those arenas.  He is noted for his depth and range of knowledge in the fields of executive leadership and military history, his can-do optimism,  and his creative approach to both problem solving and decision making. 

From 1999 to 2009 he was a senior faculty member and program manager at the world renowned and highly regarded executive education organization, the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL) in Greensboro, North Carolina. 

Gene retired from the US Army in 1994.  His distinguished career included service in Vietnam, Cold War Germany (twice), Panama, Italy, and the first Gulf War (Desert Shield/Desert Storm).  It culminated with service with the US Military Delegation to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) headquarters in Brussels, Belgium.  He successfully completed five command tours that included an assignment as an airborne (paratrooper) battalion commander during Desert Shield and Desert Storm.  All 600 soldiers under his command returned safely to the USA.  Gene was awarded seventeen personal military decorations during his twenty-six year career, including three for valor (valour) and fourteen for meritorious service or specific acts of achievement.

 In 1996, Gene founded and was president of Leadership International, an organization specializing in leadership development training and executive coaching.  During that same period, he was an adjunct instructor at the Michigan Leadership Development Institute (MDLI) at Saginaw Valley State University.  Here he designed and delivered a leadership development series targeting key business and community leaders. Prior to that he was the COO of Molitor International, a training and consulting business, also located in Saginaw, Michigan. 

From 2009 to 2011 Gene was an associate professor in the Department of Command and Leadership at the US Army’s Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.  In that capacity he designed and delivered organizational level leadership programs, coached students on their individual development plans, and wrote articles and book reviews for publication. 

Current Role 

Gene owns and operates a corporate training and executive coaching business: Disciplines of Leadership LLC, in Greensboro, North Carolina.  He is available for keynote presentations, executive coaching,  facilitating seminars on a variety of leadership and management topics, and presentations on his top selling books.

Educational Background 

Gene earned a Ph.D. in philosophy from the Free University of Brussels.  His dissertation proposed a leadership development model for combat leaders.  Since it was a degree in philosophy, the model was defended  primarily by logic and reason with select empirical data. 

He earned a M.A. in International Relations from the University of Arkansas, European Campus, Wiesbaden, Germany, and a B.A. in European History from Ripon College. He has also been awarded a diploma as a US Army War College fellow from the NATO Defense College in Rome, Italy. 

Publications 

His book entitled Crisis Leadership (CCL Press) was released in April 2003. His second book entitled Building Your Team’s Morale, Pride, and Spirit (CCL Press) was released in August 2004. Building Character in Leaders (Jossey-Bass), his third book, was published in October 2006. 

Ernest Hemingway once said, “In order to write…you must first live it.”  Gene Klann has lived it…! 

Since my youth, I have been inspired by military history, war stories, and the courage and heroism of soldiers.   This attitude was both instrumental and foundational to my decision to be a professional soldier and make the army my career.  It also kept me motivated and energized during the drudgery and weariness of peacetime garrison duty.  The knowledge gained from my formal and self-education in military history was without doubt essential to my success as a career army officer.

There are many proven methods to develop effective combat warriors: sound tactical and technical training, mental and emotional hardening, vigilant spiritual readiness, tight discipline, and so on.  Since wars have only taken place every generation or so, another and very traditional way for officers and soldiers to prepare for battle was to study history and the combat experiences of those who had gone before.  Many successful wartime leaders have attested to the value of that approach.  At a minimum, this included General's Patton and MacArthur, Emperor Napoleon, and also Prussian Generalfeldmarschall Leopold I, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau.  

It could be argued that the study of military history, although interesting,  is essentially worthless due to changes in technology and tactics.  This is only partially valid since the things that have not changed are more important than those that have.  

What does not change is human nature, i.e., the nature of the soldiers and the commanders who are doing the fighting.  For example, all soldiers  want to be treated fairly, desire strong and capable leadership, do not want their lives to be wasted, and regardless of country, experience the same emotions, e.g., fear, anger, grief, surprise, sadness, joy, and so on.  

Then too, many of the demands of  military leaders in combat have  remained constant.  Leaders are expected to be out front, competent, confident, courageous, informed, decisive, mentally tough, concerned about their troops, and outstanding communicators.   

It is true that the deadliness of war and the battlefield is constantly changing and increasing.   However, for the combat infantryman, the reality of war has stayed much the same.  In the 21st Century they are still going on foot patrols and kicking in doors in both Afghanistan and Iraq! 

All of these eternal and universal factors make the lessons of military history highly relevant for today's battlefield leaders and soldiers. 

My primary motivation for writing this series therefore, is to highlight the lessons of the protagonist's  journey that resulted in him becoming a competent, professional soldier and a world class combat warrior.  These are historical lessons that  absolutely remain valid today.  They will inform both military and civilian, male and female readers alike.  They will promote the understanding of war, the military culture, the way of the warrior, the soldier's tradecraft, and  the nobility of soldiering.  

The novels will instruct, entertain, and inspire.  They are in no way intended to glorify or promote war.  Unfortunately war is a human reality that requires constant preparations be made to fight, if only to prevent that fighting.  Discussions will take place in the books regarding the Just War Theory, the Laws of Land Warfare and the Hague Conventions, and the Christian attitude regarding war.  The novels will provide a balanced and scholarly give and take approach regarding the positives and negatives, the virtues and liabilities of war, the military, and soldiering.  

These volumes will follow the forty-seven (47) year army career of the protagonist, Jean-Paul DeBert.  This will be done within the context of many of the forgotten but significant events in US Army history.  This includes the Army's experience in Cuba in the 1898 Spanish-American War, the last major battle with the native Indians at Leech Lake (Sugar Point), Minnesota, also in 1898, the Philippine Insurrection, the Boxer Rebellion, the Mexican Punitive Expedition, and so on.  The lessons of these operations are still relevant today on many levels.

There are of course other events and experiences that have motivated me to write, but what was just shared was my primary motivation.  Because in this saga, there is a huge story to be told and critical lessons to be learned!  Hoorah

Gene Klann's writing style has been described as direct, sincere, simple, conversational, and being gifted at story telling.   Because the aim of his writing is both to educate and entertain, his style avoids sophistry, pedantry, and obscurantism.  The vocabulary, expressions, and terminology used are aimed at insuring the reader comprehends and appreciates  the nobility of soldiering, the craft of the soldier, and the culture of a world class fighting unit.  To enhance learning, many of the key lessons are reviewed and repeated utilizing a variety of clever literary methods.

To boost and quicken interest, each book will include at least one of Jean-Paul's past or new love interests.   

The series is written to reach a broad audience.  It would be of particular interest to active duty military personnel, military veterans, military retirees, historians, adventure readers, civilians endeavoring to understand war and the military, Jesuits, select politicians, statesmen, and diplomats, and finally, renaissance men and women in the United States and other English-speaking countries. 

Here is an example of the literary style from book #1.  It is from the section describing an event during the 1st Volunteer Cavalry's (Rough Riders) attack on Kettle Hill in Cuba on July 1, 1898:

      Colonel Roosevelt had moved to the corner of one of the buildings on the crest of the hill.  With his back to J.P. he was firing his pistol at the retreating Spanish.  J.P. had emptied his revolver and was in the process of reloading.  Just then a Spanish officer wielding a sword came running out of the building toward the Colonel.  Roosevelt had his back turned and did not see him.  In one swift motion J.P. dropped his pistol and drew the Bowie knife from his belt.  He sprang toward the enemy soldier and raised his knife just in time to block the Spaniard’s downward slash from striking the Colonel.  The collision of the two blades made a resounding clanging sound.  With his left-hand J.P. grabbed the officer’s sword arm and pushed him back.  Fortunately, the Spaniard was a short, slightly built man.  As the officer was being pushed he slipped on some bloody body parts and fell squarely on his back.  Without hesitating, Jean-Paul grasped the handle of the Bowie knife and with both hands fell with full force on the Spaniard.  The Bowie knife penetrated the Spaniard’s chest causing a distinctive cracking noise as it drove through the sternum.  J.P.’s knife did not stop until the cross guard hit the officer’s chest.  Blood came spurting out of the Spaniard’s mouth.  His wild eyes were looking up to the sky and he seemed to be muttering, “Madre Maria, Madre Maria.” J.P. understood that to be “Mother Mary, Mother Mary.”  J.P. thought briefly that at this moment,  the Spaniard would need more help than Mother Mary could provide. 

     As he was wiping his knife on the Spaniard’s pants, he felt a hand on his shoulder.  It was Colonel Roosevelt. “Well professor—you just saved my life.  I am thankful but that's not enough.  You are now promoted to  sergeant and will be cited for bravery in dispatches to Washington.  Well done young soldier!  Well done!"

The following if from book #3.  It is an excerpt from a speech J.P. gave to a gathering of Grand Army of the Republic, Civil War veterans:

        "All veterans who have served in combat are part of the universal brotherhood that is forged only in battle.  Frontline combat veterans are members of a special and unique fraternity.  No matter what the war or what the period, those who endured the crucible of combat have indeed entered into the halls of eternal glory.” That comment drew applause from the vets.  

       J.P. continued, “We who have served together on the battlefield enjoy a royal camaraderie, a brotherhood of nobility, a bonding of steel, and a celebrated community that travels far beyond those who have not served on the field of honor.  It is something those who have not 'seen the elephant' could not possibly  imagine or envision.  The fraternity that evolves among combat veterans is as strong if not stronger than that of family.  And as we see here tonight, it is a sacred connection that lasts a lifetime.”  That comment drew more applause from the old veterans.