Germany, Immigration, and Leader Distrust

By | July 31, 2016

[July 31, 2016]  Like most European countries, Germany has its own unique culture; easily distinguishable from any other.  It’s clean, orderly, and the people are accepting and easy to get along with as long as you show your interest in and respect for their culture.  It is not surprising that citizens of Germany have sent Chancellor Merkel a… Read More »

How America’s Military is Failing Us

By | July 29, 2016

[July 29, 2016]  Army Vet writes today that America’s military is FAILING us as a nation. I’m older now, much older, where things should be clearer through know-how and schooling; up till now that’s positively not the way things are working out for me.  There’s something been chewing at my gut for years … while the character of… Read More »

Profile: Idi Amin

By | July 28, 2016

[July 28, 2016]  It is often that we hear about leaders who are evil, often narcissistic, and have caused widespread death and destruction.  It is our responsibility as good leaders to study them; their background, their leadership traits, and their accomplishments.  Idi Amin, President of Uganda 1971-79, is a classic case where culture meets evil and evil wins.… Read More »

Never Buy a Drunk a Beer

By | July 27, 2016

[July 26, 2016]  The story goes back a long way.  I remember my father talking about the town drunk who was always at the bar on Tuesday nights.  We grew up in a small town in Northeast Louisiana where, in the 1950s and 60s, liquor bars outnumbered churches about 2 to 1 and where everyone knew each other. … Read More »

Email, Leaders, and Common Sense

By | July 26, 2016

[July 26, 2016]  Maybe it’s my experience with military secret documents published in the New York Times newspaper that makes me skeptical that just about any form of communications can be read by others, like our enemies.  It’s time for me to again warn everyone – especially leaders – that email, including encrypted email, can be read by… Read More »

Respect: The Last Frontier

By | July 25, 2016

[July 25, 2016]  A good friend of mine at my commissioning ceremony as a new U.S. Army Second Lieutenant said that his best advice for me to succeed would be to respect soldiers regardless of rank, however pander to none of them.  In his own way, he was speaking about respect.  But respect is specifically missing from most… Read More »

Words Have Consequences

By | July 23, 2016

[July 23, 2016]  Yes, words have consequences and especially when spoken by senior leaders.  Leaders have been known to make terrible choices of their words and then, unexpectedly, become more resolute when confronted.  All of us have chosen poorly but rarely are word choices so important than when we are a leader. Knowing what to say, when to… Read More »