[March 18, 2022] I remember reading a book when I was a mere 17 years old. I thought it would be boring, but I was wrong. Titled “A Soldier’s Story,” it was a behind-the-scenes eyewitness account of WWII. Written by U.S. Army General Omar Bradley, known to us all as the Soldiers’ General, his story is the story… Read More »
[March 17, 2022] In a speech to the U.S. Congress yesterday, President Zelenskyy of Ukraine called on the United States to be “the leader of the world.” He is a man who knows the viciousness of war and the terrible price people are paying in their lives and property. But he was also adamant that when the going… Read More »
[March 15, 2022] All great empires have risen from seemingly out of nowhere to last nearly three centuries and then poof, they are gone. The greatest of empires – the Romans, Egyptians, Greeks, and Persians – were not conquered by outside enemies but collapsed from within. Some say the Western world is collapsing, and the biggest problem is… Read More »
[March 14, 2022] Yesterday, I wrote about five lessons from the Ukraine War1. While there are many lessons at the military tactical and grand strategic levels, today’s article focuses on the military-national level. In other words, lessons for senior leaders. Today is the 19th day of this war, and little has changed for the past week. Russia’s Plan… Read More »
[March 13, 2022] From afar, it is easy to oversimplify or distort lessons from the Ukraine War and what the world should learn from it. There is a significant risk of taking the wrong lessons and applying those to the greater global stage of international relationships, our economic systems, and how we use our military. Today is the… Read More »
[March 11, 2022] Alexander the Great once said that “I am not afraid of an army of lions led by a sheep; I am afraid of an army of sheep led by a lion.” Of course, he was talking about inspiration. Indeed, it must have been an inspirational speech that day; I only wish I’d been there to… Read More »
[March 10, 2022] With war raging in Ukraine, now is an excellent time to remind ourselves of the 5 essentials for victory. Sun Tzu, whom I’ve written about many times (see links here, here, and here), has condensed for us what is needed for victory in war. In a future article, I will address whether the Russian military… Read More »
[April 3, 2022] New developments show the Russian attacks slowing down and shifting their main effort to eastern Ukraine and away from the Ukraine capital. Furthermore, there are reports of the killing of innocent civilians by Russian troops. If this is correct, it will be another instance of war crimes. See tomorrow’s article that discusses war crimes. [March… Read More »
[March 7, 2022] It was a dark September night at Fort Benning, GA, as our platoon of new lieutenants moved out on a new training mission. We were headed deep into the bush to test our newly acquired leadership skills and measure our resilience. I was paired with a lieutenant from Chicago; he had the worst traits a… Read More »
[March 5, 2022] There are times when doing the right thing – doing what is moral and honorable – is unpopular. I found myself and those I served with on the end of such unpopular opinions while deployed in the Iraq War.1 Politicians, Hollywood actors, journalists, and other uninformed folks, regularly dismissed our efforts as foolhardy and evil. … Read More »