[February 14, 2022] When I became an Infantry Battalion commander (with approximately 700 Soldiers), I instituted a policy of wearing our Class A uniform (similar to a suit and tie) to daily work, unless we were in the field. Before that, their commander had “dress down” days and “come as you are weekends.” I stopped this dressing down… Read More »
[February 13, 2022] My school years were often punctuated by teachers asking me, ‘Doug, why can’t you follow the rules?’ I was never really that good at it. After joining the U.S. Army, I struggled to follow their rules and would suffer as a consequence. Understanding why there were rules (regulations, policies, directives, orders, etc.) was helpful but… Read More »
[February 12, 2022] In 1986, I took command of a line U.S. Army Infantry Company. Nearly 200 men were members of my unit, mainly Infantry, but a few support soldiers. We had medics, communications specialists, clerks, and a couple of mechanics. It took a continued effort from the command team to point all our people in the right… Read More »
[February 11, 2022] Sometimes, history presents us with unexpected lessons. I recently read Antony Beevor’s 1999 book, Stalingrad: The Fateful siege: 1942-1943. My objective was to learn as much as possible to help me be a better leader. But can we take lessons from a long-ago battle and make those lessons apply to us as an individual? Yes,… Read More »
[February 10, 2022] I admit to putting off the publication of this article for several months. I wrote it back in July of last year and decided to wait for several reasons. I list those reasons below. Some folks I trust implicitly, all in the U.S. Army, have told me about internal policy changes and evolving military priorities… Read More »
[February 9, 2022] I discovered long ago that motivation makes the difference in how well or poorly we all live our lives. I also found that avoiding personal destruction and failure was the most common motivational factor for leaders; not struggling for success, not happiness, not good feelings, and not helping the world. That’s right. The fear of… Read More »
[February 8, 2022] Growing up, us kids had minimal permission to watch television and were restricted to one 30-minute show per evening. My brother and I chose the TV show Combat!, starring Vic Morrow and Rick Jason.1 This televised war drama series covered the grim lives of a squad of American soldiers fighting the Germans during World War… Read More »
[February 7, 2022] This is what I wrote to my son the day after Iraqi’s first democratic election: “It appears that the Iraqi elections were a complete success by any measure.” The Iraqis defied the terrorists; women, in particular, voted overwhelmingly. The elections were more than a move toward democracy but a move toward a civilized, modern society.… Read More »
[February 6, 2022] I didn’t know it at the time, but I grew up privileged. As a young boy, my privilege was being in the company of combat veterans from World War II and the Korean War. They were everywhere; being salesmen, pumping gas, farming, raising dairy cows,1 all holding down ordinary jobs you could find in a… Read More »
[February 5, 2022] We hear, on occasion, of heroic deeds of our military personnel; those who put their lives on the line for their buddies in a display of unbelievable courage. We need heroes like that, and for reasons of necessity, we do indeed love our heroes. But, there are also many more stories of ordinary troops who,… Read More »