[September 14, 2014] In his visit to an Austro-Hungarian Cemetery of World War I dead, Pope Francis decried war as an instrument of greed, power, crime, and destruction. “War is madness …” he said. At Redipuglia Italy, the war memorial entombs 100,000 Italian soldiers killed in battle. The Pope spoke about those who died in WWI and about… Read More »
[September 13, 2014] Every lieutenant in the Army remembers his first company commander. In these pages I occasionally refer to my experience with this first-rate nincompoop I had as a commander. Part of learning to be a good leader sometimes means getting a bad example – an example that tells us what not to do. That was my… Read More »
[September 11, 2014] Last night the U.S. President gave a speech on his strategy for dealing with the security threat from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) – the president calls them the Islamic State of the Levant (ISIL). More later on the meaning of “ISIL,” which refers to a much broader land area than Iraq… Read More »
[September 10, 2014] Tonight the U.S. President will announce his grand strategy on the security threat from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). Since the address to the U.S. public is tonight, I will have an analysis tomorrow. A preliminary analysis can begin today with what we do know. There are some formalized steps that must… Read More »
[September 10, 2014] Those of us who are great fans of sports, nearly all sports, have followed a Baltimore Raven team-member who just had his contract terminated. The reason had nothing to do with his involvement in football but with a domestic violence incident involving his then-fiancée. Initially suspended for two games back in February, the recent release… Read More »
[September 09, 2014] Tomorrow the U.S. President is set to announce a strategy on dealing with the security threat of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). In part 1 of this short series on grand strategy, I noted that it’s a great time to be a student of leadership because we will be able to actually… Read More »
[September 09, 2014] If you grew up in America, it was impossible not to have gone to a Sears and Roebuck store – they were just about everywhere. I always liked my mom buying “go to school jeans” for all of us children. The store workers then – and now – have always been friendly and helpful. Perhaps… Read More »
[September 08, 2014] It’s a great time to be a student of senior leadership. With so much in the world happening and with the finest forms of media, it is now possible to “see” into the internal workings of senior leaders. True, we do not know the details or the secrets – those things that should not be… Read More »
[September 08, 2014] One of the many surprises that I encountered as a military flag officer was the number of senior civilians who were uneducated in their field. By uneducated I don’t mean they lacked a formal college degree but they had stopped their education in any meaningful way. They must have figured that all they needed was… Read More »
[September 07, 2014] In April 1918 near Paris, the German Army commander failed to recognize the important contributions a small number of U.S. Marines entering the fight would have on the outcome. The Marines were inexperienced and had not proven themselves a significant battlefield force since their arrival a few months prior to the fight at Belleau Woods.… Read More »