[January 14, 2020] “Death to the Dictator” was the chant from Iranians after demonstrations that broke out at several Tehran universities.1 These political problems come in the aftermath of Iran’s leaders adamantly denying involvement in the crash of a civilian passenger airplane. For three days, Iran blamed the plane’s crash on an engine malfunction. What the leaders learned… Read More »
[January 13, 2020] A few nights ago, I had an interesting conversation with a young man about his philosophy on raising kids. Below is part of the conversation (as best as I can remember it) that is at the heart what he thinks best for his children. I liked Bob M’s story1 enough that the ideas he expressed… Read More »
[January 10, 2020] Two Saturdays ago, a call went out to local people in my community that a military veteran was to be buried soon, and there were no relatives to claim the body. A short time later in a driving, cold rainstorm over 200 people turned out to be at the grave site of a fallen comrade. … Read More »
[January 8, 2020] A little disruption in the Satterfield household this morning; my computer failed but my iPad is filling in admirably. I’ll get to my points quickly and keep this article short. Attack on U.S. military base at Al Asad and Erbil, Iraq. News from major news channels are coming in screaming headlines about World War III… Read More »
[December 28, 2019] For those new to my leadership blog, this ‘clearing the spindle’ on-going series is about ideas that I haven’t developed into articles. I wanted to provide a little bit of feedback to my readers on things that senior leaders are talking about – often among themselves – and highlight a few that seem to get… Read More »
[December 25, 2019] December 1975 saw my U.S. Army company on the Inner German border. Our job was to repel a Communist attack into the West if it were to come. On Christmas Day of that year, we were on high alert and ready with a full load of ammunition, fuel, food, and all the necessary equipment to… Read More »
[December 23, 2019] Nearly 75 years ago today, a town sheriff in Bonita Louisiana (a small town in the northeast part of the state) stood with his shotgun at the town’s entrance to prevent the Klu Klux Klan from entering. At the time, he was “stopping progress,” but decades later, he was the town’s savior and hero. An… Read More »
[December 18, 2019] There are a small number of social institutions in America that are a success story. Higher education and the U.S. military dominate the upper rungs of the prestige ladder. Both employ large numbers of people across an array of communities. Within these institutions, we see the pursuit of prestige by many of the leaders that… Read More »
[December 17, 2019] Recent evidence from the War in Afghanistan points to a deliberate, concerted effort by senior leaders in the U.S. Government to lie about the war’s progress. In a recent new article titled “At War with the Truth” by Craig Whitlock,1 a Washington Post reporter, wrote that “U.S. officials constantly said they were making progress. They… Read More »
[December 14, 2019] The Japanese surrendered unconditionally on September 2, 1945, onboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay. Part of the plan for Japan after World War II was to end its military adventurism. To do so would not be an easy task. U.S. Army General Douglas MacArthur, as the Supreme Commander of Allied Powers in the Pacific,… Read More »