How does the author address the theme of loyalty in the memoir, About Face?

Loyalty to country and service is the most dominant theme of the book. Hackworth wanted to be a soldier in a combat situation. He preferred combat situations to all other situations, even the good career path opportunities available in the Pentagon. When he entered the Army at the age of fifteen, World War II had just ended and Hackworth thought that it was a good way to meet girls. The structure and camaraderie of the military provided him with the family like environment that had been lacking in his life and he grew into a dedicated soldier, loyal to his country and to the Army. When he was serving in Italy and the Korean conflict began, he requested assignment to Korea. He always tried to do what was best for his troops and believed in hard training. All of his troops became star performers. Even though he studied all of the soldiering manuals, he had a natural ability for what to do in combat situations. He was very interested in the training of troops and when he served in Vietnam, he noticed that the training programs were geared for European land wars, and not the jungle environment of Vietnam. He felt that the top brass didn't know what was really happening in Vietnam when they said the war was going well. Hackworth, who risked his life under many conditions for the Army and the country, finally spoke out in a televised segment of Issues and Answers. He was critical of the Army. He was not being disloyal when he did this, even though it resulted in an investigation. He was offering constructive criticism for how to make things better.