The memoir "As Usual, the Guardian was Perfect in All Respects" is the first book, Book 1, in the trilogy, A Full Lifetime Career of Seeking Perfection Driven by Family and Mentors. The trilogy is a tale of three careers of military achievement, engineering accomplishment, and academic leadership. It strives for perfection through athletic and career advancement while it supports, follows, and documents the changes in U.S. warfare, technology development, and academic transition in a changing world. It will also try and set the record straight for these changes based on my three careers. It begins with changes in the U.S. military as it transitions from the Cold War in Europe to the strategic mobility and nation building efforts of the Vietnam War.
It then follows with Book 2, "Development of Next Generation of Army Aviation Systems", as it documents and provides for the growth of air mobility through technology development over the next decade. It also will attempt to set the record straight on why the development of Army Aviation systems has been so difficult.
It then transitions into Book 3, "Technology for Affordability through Integrated Product and Process Development (IPPD)," where these technology advancements are brought into an academic environment with innovative methods for education transfer to both the civilian and military students and industry. The use of IPPD for developing and demonstrating autonomous unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) is also presented. This setting also brings to life the changes in education at Georgia Tech with a graduate program in Aerospace Systems Design. Also, IPPD is used in Science Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) training programs for high school students with NASA and industry support. It also includes assistance for the United States Military Academy (USMA) in transitioning from a general engineering degree to adoption of major engineering degrees, e.g., electrical, mechanical, and systems. How Georgia Tech graduate education and professional development programs help industry and government with the transition to Integrated Product and Process Development (IPPD), as they respond to worldwide competition and the Japanese Total Quality success is provided.
These three books are connected by a "Why" which focuses on a strive for perfection. They also follow a growing Schrage Family with numerous relocations during the early years while striving for stability during later years. They will also try and set the record straight for each career by answering the following questions:
Books in the trilogy
First Career, Book #1: Why Winning the Vietnam War was not successful
Second Career, Book #2: Why is it so difficult for the Army to develop New Aircraft
Third Career, Book #3: Why is it so hard for Academia to develop new Curriculum.
in Praise:
Dan Schrage provides first hand experiences and valuable lessons learned from the Cold War in Europe and the Vietnam War - LTC (Ret.) Paul Fardink
Dan Schrage was an excellent athlete, my teammate, and captain of the 1966-67 Army Basketball Team with Bob Knight as Coach - Mike Krzyzewski, retired Duke University Basketball Coach