[December 31, 2025] Many years ago, I got some pragmatic advice on how to succeed in my job as an Army officer. The professional advice was simple. Act like everything you do is an interview for a new job. At first, I thought this was overly dramatic advice, and it did seem so, but here is what that… Read More »
[December 30, 2025] I was sitting inside a command and control bunker in South Korea being briefed on the amount of ammunition and fuel that would be required to defend against a North Korean army invasion. The briefers were U.S. Army colonels, talking in thousands of tons and square feet of space needed to ship and store supplies. … Read More »
[December 29, 2025] Daily high temperatures were hot. On Friday, 1 July, it was 108 degrees F, with dust, wind, and haze. It was going to be another Groundhog Day in Iraq, but our Engineers were ready. We started our Fridays with a team sport, and this morning it was volleyball beginning at 0600 hours. By the time… Read More »
[December 28, 2025] Christmas has passed us by and old Saint Nick left us with a few goodies. More importantly, and for the first time, our household has a fake Christmas tree; it sure makes it easier to put on all our accumulated tree ornaments. I do kinda like sweeping up all the dried up pine needles, as… Read More »
[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 »