[May 11, 2020] I first met Bob Martin standing guard on a small bridge near my Engineer headquarters back in 2004, just as the Coalition was readying itself for a major offensive. What none of us knew at the time was that U.S. Marine Pvt Robert “Bob” Martin would soon show extraordinary bravery. This is his story of… Read More »
[May 10, 2020] In the late 1960s, my friend Wilson and I watched an adventure television episode of The Rat Patrol. This television series loosely based on the actual World War II exploits of the allied Australian, New Zealander, and British defenders of Tobruk, Libya. The Siege of Tobruk by German forces in 1941, commanded by Field Marshall… Read More »
[May 9, 2020] Yesterday, I published Part 1 of this series on how senior leaders gain respect. It bears repeating, “It is not possible to force people to respect you.” Everyone seems to recognize that respect helps smooth the way toward getting the mission accomplished. Thus, the desire for respect will come as no surprise. “How do leaders… Read More »
[May 8, 2020] Let’s begin with an admission; it is not possible to force people to respect you. We all would like to be respected, so what does it take for leaders to gain respect? The reasons we “want” respect are irrelevant for our discussion here, but I do believe that desire is a distant, deep-seated psychological need.… Read More »
[May 7, 2020] I started this Leadership Toolbox series in the first month of my leadership blog back in September 2014. At the time, I saw the value of listing proven tools (regularly used by highly-successful leaders) was a great way to begin fixing leadership problems I saw in the U.S. Army. Today’s topic is about Red Teams,… Read More »
[May 6, 2020] I’ll be right upfront. Until last week, I’d never heard of the Flower Wars. The bias in my study of war has been colored by the classic predisposition to learn from European and Asian-centric warfare. Today, I’ll make up for this a bit by introducing Aztec warriors into my leadership blog. From the reconstruction of… Read More »
[May 5, 2020] There are a lot of Philadelphia Eagle fans who live all around me. Since our town is only one hour from Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field, the allegiance to a great football team is to be expected. One of their tough guy players from the 1950s and 60s, Chuck Bednarik, holds special attention as one of… Read More »
[May 4, 2020] One of the basic rules of combat is to always keep moving (never be in one place long), else the real enemy might find you and attack. Always keep moving is good advice but it has some drawbacks. My mechanized Infantry platoon had failed to link up with at a predetermined time and location established… Read More »
[May 3, 2020] Charlie Coyle was a tail gunner on a Boeing B17 Flying Fortress bomber during the last two years of World War II. I got to know Charlie after meeting him at an antique airshow in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania in 1993. Charlie would have turned 95 years-old today but passed away last year where he lived in… Read More »
[May 3, 2020] For hundreds of thousands of years, flightless Dodo birds lived on the volcanic island of Mauritius. Without the threat of predators, the main competition for food was other Dodo birds. They thrived in that environment until Dutch sailors arrived in 1598. Within 80 years, these birds were extinct. The Dodo’s problem was isolation from the… Read More »