[October 19, 2019] It was a tough, brutally hot day back in August of 2006. I was to meet my new “counterpart” in the Iraqi Army. My task was to “Get to know him and see what his problems are.” What I didn’t expect was that one of the Iraqi Brigade engineers had been horribly disfigured by an… Read More »
[October 18, 2019] It’s not easy being in the military. You have competing priorities with complex assignments and demanding commanders. To be successful, you have to think hard about your mission and your teammates. In battle, you have to shoot, move, and communicate. “Think, think, think, that is what we are trying to install because your mind is… Read More »
[October 15, 2019] The average person thinks that when people make mistakes, they should be punished (e.g., fired from their job, go to prison). This, however, does not fit reality. From experience, leaders quickly learn to tolerate the mistakes of others. They have learned that making mistakes is a well-trodden path to success for us all. Immediate punishment… Read More »
[October 9, 2019] My boyhood friend Wilson (who lived next to me until we were 12 years old) and I were dragged out of bed early before daylight. It was the first day of the quail-hunting season and a dozen of my dad’s friends to teach us the finer points of successful bird hunting. I’d been dove hunting… Read More »
[October 8, 2019] It was sometime just after midnight when our base came under intense mortar fire from Shia militias pledged to fight for cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. Our combat engineers had been on route clearance duty “outside the wire” looking for IEDs on the roadside.1 I approached one gruffy engineer Staff Sergeant who had been leading his men… Read More »
[October 7, 2019] My brother was about 10-years old and didn’t understand when our dad said that the “yard needed mowing” and he owned it. To him that meant belonged to him – literally – but of course that was not the case. Dad meant that my brother’s job was to mow the yard anytime the grass got… Read More »
[October 6, 2019] The U.S. military employs many civilians who act as institutional knowledge and possess a host of crucial skills our warriors need. Sometimes, however, like in any large organization, there are some folks in the military business that do not to adapt to our core values. One of my commanders told me about a senior civilian… Read More »
[October 4, 2019] Over the past few months, I’ve been speaking with veterans, college students, and community leaders about their thoughts on the value of higher education. What I found out had little to do with education but on something deeper. What I discovered was, more than anything else, that there is an overwhelming need for them to… Read More »
[October 1, 2019] Years ago, as a Captain, I was asked to take command of an Army unit that had suffered many problems. I would never turn down such an opportunity to help, so I agreed to command a Combat Heavy Engineer company. By all measures, the unit was broken. The mission was simple; “fix it.” So I… Read More »
[September 29, 2019] Ancient texts, written many centuries ago, are a window into the thinking of those who existed before modern conveniences. A common theme is a sacrifice to the immortal gods. If we are to look at these writings as a whole, the ancients were trying to tell us something. They were saying to be a better… Read More »