[April 20, 2020] We have all received bad advice from time to time. But it is our responsibility to either accept it, or not. When my friend Wilson was growing up with me, he asked our second-grade teacher what he should create for the upcoming annual science fair. The teacher told him to just ‘figure it out.’ That… Read More »
[April 19, 2020] Today, I would like to take a moment to discuss the novel, The Red Badge of Courage (1895)1 and link ideas in this fictional account of war to modern thinking on soldiering. As a young teenager, I discovered an old paperback copy stuffed in the back of my grandfather’s tool shed. My grandfather was born… Read More »
[April 18, 2020] Drill and Ceremony is a method of moving troops from one location to another. Since its introduction by Friedrich von Steuben to Revolutionary soldiers at Valley Forge in 1778, highly motivated sergeants have used commands to instill discipline in new troops. Following those commands is not easy, but after some experience, troops will often begin… Read More »
[April 17, 2020] I was told by my second-grade teacher that I had a lot of bad habits that “needed fixin.” Like all the other kids in the class, I was deathly afraid of her, so I just nodded my head in agreement. Truth be told, I did have plenty of bad habits in school, like not studying,… Read More »
[April 16, 2020] It has been simply too long since I wrote an article about a hero. It goes without saying that we still need heroes, especially in our modern world. We need heroes precisely because they define the limits of our ideals, hopes. and dreams. That is precisely what U.S. Army Private Desmond Doss has done for… Read More »
[April 15, 2020] One of the more embarrassing episodes of my military career happened on a 50 caliber Browning Machine Gun live-fire range when I was a lowly Lieutenant. I’d been given the assignment of Support Platoon Leader and was responsible for supplying ammunition and equipment to the ranges. What I had failed to do was to dig… Read More »
[April 14, 2020] A common thesis throughout the existence of humanity is that betrayal is the lowest of lowly “sins.” When we think of traitors, Benedict Arnold and Judas Iscariot come to mind. For our neighbors, the British, the British Free Corps of World War II is what they contemplate as one of the most despicable chapters in… Read More »
[April 13, 2020] American novelist Ernest Hemingway once wrote that “courage is grace under pressure.” Having spent many decades in the U.S. Army, I can attest to the truth of Hemingway’s quote. An old, grizzly Marine gunny sergeant once told me that in combat, you had better keep your head or the enemy will. Today, my topic is… Read More »
[April 12, 2020] Three boys; all friends and inseparable. I thought I might present a short tale about these boys, one that became known as the story of the unknown boxes. At eleven years old, Randy, Wilson, and me (Doug) became eligible to join the Boy Scouts. What a great year it would be for us three as… Read More »
[April 11, 2020] As I go about my business to teach leadership to young folks, the one complaint I hear often is that history courses are dull and mostly useless. We can and, of course, we should learn and do so quickly, else we are destined to repeat past mistakes. U.S. strategic leaders have learned from them, and… Read More »