[February 9, 2021] I’ve written of many battles in my leadership blog and frequently gave accounts of heroism, lessons learned, the horrors, and the struggle of the ordinary foot soldier and basic seaman. No other battle – actually a series of battles over six months – portrays the American spirit in times of great difficulty than the Battle… Read More »
[February 8, 2021] My final trip home to New York City after retiring from the U.S. Army took me through the Atlanta Airport; the largest airport in the U.S. Atlanta remains a central air-transport hub and is the site of the biggest USO on the East Coast. As I walked into this USO, it brought back fond memories… Read More »
[February 7, 2021] I spent my first year in the U.S. Army as a Private (E-1, in military jargon). A private is the lowest rank, least experienced, most impressionable soldier. They make up the largest population of soldiers, and we find lots of them on the battlefield. My peers from the Officer corps put little faith in them. … Read More »
[February 6, 2021] Two days ago, I attended a Vietnam War veteran’s funeral. The turnout was about 35 people, family, and many older veterans who knew him. A good number of attendees, in my estimation, given that we are in the middle of a pandemic. We were curious why vaccinations were so few in our state. In this… Read More »
[February 5, 2021] I learned this important leadership lesson the hard way. My Infantry unit deployed to Ft. Pickett, VA in the late summer of 1983 for a “shake down” exercise. As Platoon Leader, I placed our crew-served M60 machinegun on our right flank and had my men dig in. My commander didn’t like the placement and told… Read More »
[February 1, 2021] My Junior High School civics teacher had been some kind of counter-intelligence official during WW2. I remember nothing about him other than his wartime service and the time we studied propaganda. He told a bunch of wide-eyed kids that someday we would need what he was saying. He was right. Propaganda is a form of… Read More »
[January 30, 2021] The Great Raid (2005) is a war film about the Raid at Cabanatuan prisoner of war camp on the island of Luzon, Philippines, during WW2. I saw it again, for the fifth time, last night. The film tells us about “the most daring rescue mission of our time.” The rescue included American soldiers, Alamo Scouts,… Read More »
[January 29, 2021] We already know, as leaders, that delegating authority is difficult but necessary. Yesterday in Part 1 (link here), I gave an example from my time as an Infantry Company Commander. This is the kind of job that allows you to see your men face-to-face and get to know every one of them. Feedback on your… Read More »
[January 28, 2021] My first evaluation as an Infantry Company Commander said that I was ‘resistant to delegating authority.’ It was an insult, in my mind anyway, and an embarrassment as well. I knew that the art of leadership is not about ordering people around but finding the right people, delegating tasks to them, and giving them the… Read More »
[January 26, 2021] I’m a positive kind of guy. I seem to always see the glass as half full rather than half empty. I take every person I meet with the attitude that they are good people who will not lie, cheat, or steal. I always look for the upside to every event and learn from even dire… Read More »