[August 22, 2017] All accidents in the U.S. military are taken very seriously and large accidents are investigated thoroughly. Safeguards are so advanced that the U.S. Navy has brought ship safety to a new level. Yet collisions between ships, as recently occurred between the USS John S. McCain (DDG-56) and an oil tanker, are rare; often the result… Read More »
[August 20, 2017] It has been said that the German Army during World War II was tactically superior to all Allied forces. Therefore, it is worth the study of how those tactics were taught and how leaders reinforced good tactical decision-making. Insight into WWII German tactical procedures is a worthwhile endeavor. However, it has also been said one… Read More »
[August 19, 2017] There’s always a lot of talk about bad leaders … toxic managers, bad bosses and incompetent commanders. Found in common among those folks who betray us is a general disregard for people and the habit of not living up to their commitments. Even as children we learn quickly who can be relied upon to never… Read More »
[August 17, 2017] Speaking with soldiers over the past few decades, I’ve heard most of them say that their Commander is tough but fair. It was always good news to know rank-and-file soldiers believe their commanders were doing the right things. Good leadership depends upon it. But what I wasn’t prepared to hear was what they considered “fair”… Read More »
[August 16, 2017] This is the last entry in a two-part series on how leaders can avoid scandal (see Part 1 link here). The best solution to avoiding problems associated with a scandal is to not have them in the first place. Yes, we must assume a scandal will take place and establish procedures to ameliorate the impacts,… Read More »
[August 15, 2017] On this date, August 15, 1945, it was announced that Imperial Japan would surrender unconditionally, bringing World War II to a close.1 Called the Jewel Voice Broadcast, Emperor Hirohito personally announced the surrender in a recorded radio address across the Empire. Yet since that time there has been a systematic revisionism that downplays wartime atrocities… Read More »
[August 14, 2017] Somebody once said that one man’s scandal is another man’s creative performance. Whenever individuals are given the opportunity to break the rules, and a reward awaits, there will be someone who attempts to do so. It seems that there are always people willing to break the rules as well as those who love to hear… Read More »
[July 30, 2017] On a recent Friday morning I had the honor and privilege to attend a U.S. Navy Boot Camp graduation, located about an hour north of Chicago, Illinois. It was a proud day for everyone involved and it made all of us happy for those who made the decision to join the military. But this is… Read More »
[July 23, 2017] Nearly 50 years ago, Dr. Laurence J. Peter published a chillingly nasty but satirical book that helped shape in the minds of many what they had observed for so long. The idea was that in any “hierarchy, every employee tends to rise to his level of incompetence”1 … and he called it the Peter Principle.… Read More »
[July 15, 2017] “Everything’s a priority!” yelled the commander of the U.S. Navy frigate. The story was from my uncle who sailed on an Anti-Submarine Warfare ship during the last months of World War II and so the story goes – as he told us children – the events that led to the sinking of his ship and… Read More »