[August 30, 2021] In three weeks, we will be privileged to celebrate the birthday of the U.S. Air Force, created on September 18, 1947. The National Security Act of 1947 was a U.S. law enacting several major restructuring of our military and intelligence agencies following WWII. This is why, for example, that the Air Force shares its birthday… Read More »
[July 1, 2021] I’ve been reading my notes from 2003 to 2005 on my first combat tour in the Iraq War. Mostly these five notebooks are filled with to-do lists, but they also have poignant messages to me about what I saw and what I thought and felt. Despite this, I am humble enough to know that those… Read More »
[June 7, 2021] A good friend of mine – a retired USAF officer – has supplied me with several books over the past few months. He certainly has a way of picking some darn good ones. An inspiring book on Gen. Curtis LeMay, “Strategies and Tactician,” is one I appreciated, for it showed that anyone could achieve the… Read More »
[May 10, 2021] Years ago, as I was boarding a charter flight to Kuwait, a young woman stood in the doorway handing out mini-copies of the U.S. Constitution. I thanked her as I stuffed my copy into my helmet liner for later review. For those that know me professionally, they are aware that I am an advocate for studying America’s… Read More »
[April 1, 2021] If I were asked to name an event in world history that stood out the most, certainly the Allied Invasion of France on 6 June 1944 would be it. Hundreds of books and articles are written that give us something important; insight into what freed the world from one form of tyranny. Understanding the events… Read More »
[March 17, 2021] I’m reminded today of an old U.S. Army recruiting slogan from the mid-1980s; “Be all you can be.”1 The commercial series was one of the Army’s best. Great stuff. It worked beginning in folks into the military. As regular readers of my leadership blog know, my works are influenced by many; one such person is… Read More »
[January 25, 2021] The more I hear about domestic disturbances across America and see folks blaming it on fascism, the more interested I have become in understanding the fascist movement. On a recent recommendation from my wife, I watched a lecture by Dinesh D’Souza on the origins of Nazism in Europe. I was intrigued by his idea that… Read More »
[December 24, 2020] A few days ago, southern New Jersey missed a major snowstorm that dumped more than a foot of snow in New York City. Thus begins our Winter. In combination with our state Governor’s new mandates designed to protect us from COVID-19, we spend far less time with friends and family. Will this be a long,… Read More »
[October 21, 2020] As the current COVID-19 pandemic slows and the Fall weather approaches, I am revisiting one of the greatest books of all time. In March of this year, I wrote a short review of The Gulag Archipelago by Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn.1 It may have seemed like I was on kidding when I tried to sum up… Read More »
[October 7, 2020] Occasionally, I scour the Internet for writers who give suggestions about essential reads on leadership. I’ve found them to be helpful most of the time, a few not so much. Generally, however, their recommendations are worthwhile for junior leaders or those looking for a particular perspective. I’m not yet convinced we always get the best… Read More »