[July 28, 2023] As a young man, I had no plans to join the Army. Oh, there were plenty of opportunities to join up. Folks in my family circle encouraged me to join. Enticements to join also came from my teachers, coaches, storeowners in my town, and my friends’ parents; this was common. Despite no plans, I did join and spent 14,543 days in the Army, just a couple of months shy of 40 years.
I joined as a Private, the lowest rank and probably not a great idea then. I retired as a General, specifically a Brigadier, which was better pay and authority. I learned all of the Army’s seven values, with Honor being its core value. I did my best to live those values every day. I served 14,543 days, all with honor and a clear conscience. I’m far from perfect, and I made many mistakes, but nothing I did was dishonest, illegal, or immoral. I never skirted my duties, attended all required training, and never missed a day of duty.
It was August when I joined, Louisiana’s hottest and most humid time of year. That is the month I attended boot camp. I was out of shape physically, unprepared mentally, and without any emotional support from friends or family because I asked for none. I was going to do this on my terms, without help. I’m told that I can be hard-headed, and this is an example.
I joined the Army after a long time thinking about the pros and cons for me. Unfortunately, like so many young men, I was grossly ignorant about what would happen to us recruits, and we had zero control over our lives for the first several weeks at boot camp. Yeah, we all were a bunch of wimps, and that was about to change.
14,543 days of a roller coaster career; peaceful and tedious garrison work, adventures and fear on the battlefield, living overseas and at home in the States, attending formal training and other military educational events, traveling to some of the most dangerous and nastiest places on Earth and seeing some of the most beautiful, and attending the memorials and funerals of many Soldiers.
Luckily, I had no serious injuries or illnesses during those days. The Army, for me, had its ups and downs, despite the fact I did not like people bossing me around, especially idiots telling me what to do. And yet I was strongly attracted to it. In the end, I learned that it was the brotherhood that kept me alive and why I stayed in the Army.
What did I get out of the Army, those 14,543 days? Was it worth my time, and with my many sacrifices, voluntary sacrifices? Did making the rank of General justify my hard work?
These are all the wrong questions.
My point is that being in the Army is not about me. It’s about the Army and the Soldiers in it. Did those members of the Army benefit from my actions? While I cannot answer those questions because I am biased, I will go out on a limb and say it was worth it.
Nuff said. Move on.
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Great article, and wow 14,543 DAYS!!!!!!!!!!
Wow, that is all I can say. Congrats, Gen. Satterfield for such a long and distinguished career.
A lonnnnnggggg time. 👀
Gen Douglas my friend . I enjoy your leadership blog each day. Commitment to service inspire you stay focused on your business at hand are strong characteristics of a strong ladder. As a 25 year air force cop Commitment to do my best got me through. In life if we had more Committed people to serve others what a different world it would be.
Eddie, thank you for your service and for 25 years, well done!
Eddie, thanks for the feedback, my friend. It is always good to hear from another Veteran.
I just gotta say that I’ve been a regular on this leadership website, built and maintained by gen. Satterfield, now for going on over 3 years and have found that as I read each article, that I become a better person because these articles put my life in perspective. Gen. Satterfield is giving us something that is very hard to duplicate anywhere else. Read his blog, read his books, and read read read. That is how you can grow.
“55 Rules for a Good Life”
“Our Longest Year in Iraq”
Yes, Greg NH, and I also highly recommend his books. I’m reading his “55 Rules for a Good Life” for the third time. The nuisances are everywhere stuck in many corners. Read the book, leave a review on Amazon, and tell us what you think of his writings.
Gen. Satterfield says what he needs to say, then …. nuff said, move on!
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This para says a lot of Gen. Satterfield’s core being:
“I joined as a Private, the lowest rank and probably not a great idea then. I retired as a General, specifically a Brigadier, which was better pay and authority. I learned all of the Army’s seven values, with Honor being its core value. I did my best to live those values every day. I served 14,543 days, all with honor and a clear conscience. I’m far from perfect, and I made many mistakes, but nothing I did was dishonest, illegal, or immoral. I never skirted my duties, attended all required training, and never missed a day of duty.” – Gen. Satterfield
14,543 days!
A lifetime. A career that is more than a job. A being, coming of sanity. Gen. Satterfield gives us something to think about today.
While Gen. Satterfield has written a brief, encapsulating article on his time in the military, I know that he is hesitant to call it a job or a career. Simply put, and as he says many times, being in the military is a life. His time in the Army is a life, not a part of his life or a side hobby or just something to do, but a life fragment that helped make him who he is today. I’m convinced that no matter what field of career he had chosen, he would have been successful. I’m not sure he would agree with that but everything looks to me to point in that direction. Gen. Satterfield, well done. I salute you as a Soldier.
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Well saId. 🙏
Gen. Satterfield, you are always surprising me. Sometimes I wonder if you are giving us just your stream of consciousness or if you are trying to teach us something important. I know!!!! Just kidding, the latter is the purpose.
Thank you, Gen. Satterfield for more on what it takes to be a successful human, father, grandfather, and real man.
Jasmine. I was thinking the same. I appreciate you getting there first.
What did I get out of the Army, those 14,543 days? Was it worth my time, and with my many sacrifices, voluntary sacrifices? Did making the rank of General justify my hard work?
– These are all the wrong questions.
WHAM, nailed it. Being in the US military is not about YOU. It’s about OTHERS.
Ronny, correct. But remember that this is Gen. Satterfield’s experience and he no longer recommends young people join the US Army or any US miltiary service because they have gone WOKE and no longer value those attributes of a warrior. They value “being themselves” and wearing pink underwear, and coming out as trans, and getting your body parts removed, and using zer/hex/em/xyz pronouns. Name your pronouns is the first thing they want to know about you. Crazy. Yep. But I love this article from Gen. S on his thinking about his career and one that ended in 2014, or there abouts.
You got that right, Max. Thanks for giving words to what I was thinking. ✔✔✔✔✔✔
Max. You are da man!!!! Well, Gen. Satterfield too.
Love the article. All 14,543 days of it.
Hit it out of the park, Gen. Satterfield. A long career, one day at a time. And never doing stupid stuff.