During his multiple tours of duty in Vietnam, Colonel Jacobs was awarded three Bronze stars, two Silver stars, two Purple Hearts, and the Congressional Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest military decoration. His Colby Award-winning memoir, If Not Now, When? Duty and Sacrifice in America's Time of Need, was published by Penguin in 2008. He currently holds the McDermott Chair of Humanities and Public Affairs at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and serves as a military analyst for NBC/MSNBC.

Colonel Jacobs was a founder and Chief Operating Officer of AutoFinance Group, and is currently a principal in the Fitzroy Group of London. He is Vice-Chairman of the Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation, and serves on the Board of the National World War II Museum. Colonel Jacobs also serves on the Board of the Children of Fallen Patriots Foundation, which aids the families of troops and law enforcement officers killed in action.