[June 8, 2021] Decades ago, my first job after promotion to Sergeant in the U.S. Army was to be a mortar crew chief. It didn’t take long for our crew to become proficient at our jobs, but one day something unexpected happened. When my loader put a round into the tube, it didn’t come out. When this happens,… Read More »
[June 5, 2021] The Ancient Chinese General and philosopher Sun Tzu once wrote, “In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity.” He was referring to the fact that no matter what happens on the battlefield to military forces, there is always a way to hold off defeat to the nation-state. War is not always won on the… Read More »
[June 4, 2021] During World War I, 103 years ago, a U.S. Marine said one of the most audacious things ever. Retreat? Hell! We just got here! Leading up to June 6, this is the kind of subject matter on which I like to write. I’m convinced that all of us can learn lessons from combat, regardless whether… Read More »
[June 1, 2021] Seventy-Nine years ago today, the world was to first hear of the systematic, formally authorized extermination of Jews. Near the small town of Chelmno, a Nazi-operated death camp in Poland, began the gassing of Jews and other “undesirables.” Sadly, much of the history of the Holocaust is now being lost to indifference and willful ignorance.… Read More »
[May 29, 2021] Can a century’s old brutal leadership provide us with critical lessons today? In an award-winning movie, The Patriot starring Mel Gibson, the story is told of events in the Revolutionary War. British Colonel Banastre Tarleton provided surprising successful battlefield leadership but also failed ultimately in his leadership role. As told in the movie, the story… Read More »
[May 28, 2021] In 1969, Johnny Cash’s song, “A Boy Named Sue,’ hit Number 1 on the country charts. The song is about a young man’s quest for revenge on his father, who abandoned him and whose only contribution was to give him the feminine name Sue. We teach our boys to be strong, independent, and honest. How… Read More »
[May 27, 2021] We often learn from the writers of the past, those who could help us understand ourselves better – as leaders – and who draw attention to the most useful of virtues. One person in antiquity that we look to today is Marcus Tullius Cicero. He famously wrote that ‘Gratitude is not only the greatest of… Read More »
[May 26, 2021] During the Vietnam War, a strategy and set of programs developed to win the popular support of the Vietnamese people and help defeat the Viet Cong insurgency. The phrase became popular and applied to events, not in the warzone. The appeal to the “hearts” of the populace was not a new method in Vietnam, but… Read More »
[May 25, 2021] Sitting in a walnut case, above my desk where I write every day, is my Army officer’s sword.1 Like so many who earned the right to own one, I would never dream of selling or giving it up. As we have seen so often, military traditions are strong with symbolism and emotions. One of those… Read More »
[May 24, 2021] Famous American football coach Paul “Bear” Bryant once said that it’s “not the will to win that matters, everyone has that. It’s the will to prepare to win that matters.” This quote is why I love manly sports; it takes enormous preparation to win. Australian Rules football is one of those sports I enjoy watching. … Read More »