[December 27, 2025] May 22 came and went without much fanfare. It was indeed my 55th birthday, but little more than a blip on my mind’s radar. I scribbled “birthday” at the top of my notes. That was it. In a way, it was a day to reflect on what Engineers lacked to complete our jobs on time… Read More »
[December 26, 2025] I had been frustrated to no end by the progress of our preparation for the Surge. The pre-Surge construction planning, design, funding, contracting process, and eventual construction weren’t meeting what I thought was sufficient to accommodate the incoming personnel or equipment. Plus, we were late on the timelines. One of the areas I detested was… Read More »
[December 25, 2025] Is Christmas about presents? … the tree? … the candy? … us having fun in the snow? … the kids waking up to presents? … the great food … or maybe it’s about the carols. So, what is Christmas all about? All of these things are okay and have their reason as part of Christmas,… Read More »
[December 24, 2025] By September of 1776, the cause of independence looked bleak. Though General Washington had miraculously escaped the British after the Battle of Long Island, the defeat of the American army had been a humiliating rout. Washington had made a number of mistakes, and some began to speak of replacing him, whether with General Charles Lee… Read More »
[December 23, 2025] In the U.S. military, I’ve always noticed differences among unit commanders, especially when I was a field-grade officer. There are two kinds of commanders you could work for if you were in their unit. There was the commander who kept his thoughts close to his chest, tightly reined in information, and surrounded himself with tight-lipped… Read More »
[December 22, 2025] To answer the question, why do we put up a Christmas tree, we might say that everyone does it. We know others who do it, our family and friends, and we see it in stores and on television. The tree is beautiful and part of a long-standing tradition. But, we might not really know… Read More »
[December 21, 2025] Santa Claus is not a lie; he is a story we tell children. Although the story itself is fictional, it conveys a profound message. The essence is that if you are a good child, there will be rewards for you in the future. This narrative encourages children to be aware of the world around them… Read More »
[December 20, 2025] Shortly after assuming command of a Mechanized Infantry Company in the late 1980s, I was assigned a brand-new second lieutenant. Because of his actions while in my unit, the men began calling him ‘Lieutenant Mud Flap.’ That year, we would all learn lessons that helped us master the art of leadership. A leader does the… Read More »
[December 19, 2025] My friends and I had long conversations about Iraq’s President Saddam Hussein and his role in the Iran-Iraq War. The debate over whether he was an evil dictator or a grandfatherly figure protecting his country raged on and off, even after he used chemical weapons to attack Kurdish civilians in 1988. Known as the Halabja… Read More »
[December 18, 2025] It seems like a lifetime ago. First Grade began for me in 1958, now nearly seven decades ago, and so my memory has faded somewhat. But that rainy morning in September or October, my mother dressed me in a new yellow raincoat that smelled of rubber. To me, the new raincoat made me feel special,… Read More »