[December 28, 2024] Like any military Company Commander, I had to put up with some strange, unexpected problems. When dealing with people, the only rule is that there are few rules. My Soldiers called this field exercise The “Crab” Exercise. As we approach the end of this year, I thought a light-hearted article would be welcomed. One summer,… Read More »
[December 27, 2024] Learn how you learn. Not learning how to learn. In order to improve yourself in any way—efficiently and effectively—you must know how you learn and then work hard to improve that same method. This is necessary because we use our brains’ preferred method to understand and learn new concepts and information. I’ll use myself as… Read More »
[December 26, 2024] There were so many Generals between III Corps and MNF-Iraq that it was hard for me to know who worked for who and, more importantly, who had the authority to direct our Engineers to do specific tasks. Every senior officer, it seemed, wanted us to do something – all of which made sense – but… Read More »
[December 24, 2024] She was the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen. Well, that’s an exaggeration. By this time, I’d been in combat for six months, and a woman in the red dress would turn the head of any man. It was Christmas Eve, 2006, when I arrived at the Army Corps of Engineers headquarters’ for a special… Read More »
[December 23, 2024] An old-timer in the Army once said to me, “If you come back dry, they hate you.” I was a new Infantry Second Lieutenant and fresh out of the Officer Basic Course. The unit I was in had just returned from a three-week brigade-sized Field Exercise. My platoon was washing their Armored Personnel Carriers on… Read More »
[December 22, 2024] One of the most useful abilities of a good leader is to take a highly complex idea (or set of ideas) and put into a few short words the meaning that best describes that idea. So it was with Frederic J. Stimson, who took a formal challenge to debate a then-famous Socialist, James F. Carey.… Read More »
[December 19, 2024] One of the terrible self-inflicted tragedies of the modern era is young men (and others) who are addicted to illegal drugs and alcohol. According to NCDAS, half of all teenagers have misused drugs and over 60 percent abuse alcohol. We also know that young men are dying at a faster rate than ever from drug… Read More »
[December 18, 2024] Each year in December, usually close to Christmas, Pope Francis gives moral guidance on those things he believes are most important for all Roman Catholics and others. A recurring theme is his stance against abortion, which he calls “ending a young life.” It is easy to point out the mistakes of senior leaders like Pope… Read More »
[December 17, 2024] The recent cold-blooded murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson is testing our morality. Unfortunately, we Americans have largely failed that test when someone can be murdered and it somehow makes us feel vindicated. Many in our nation believe they are morally superior to and better at making moral judgments than ever before. And they believe… Read More »
[December 16, 2024] In 2006, the Coalition Strategic Plan in Iraq was to reduce the number of U.S. bases and personnel, consolidating them into larger bases near Baghdad. The Iraqi military would take over those bases and increasingly engage in combat, doing so slowly as they gained numbers, experience, and a professionalized force. This plan was feasible and… Read More »