Author Archives: Douglas R. Satterfield
[October 11, 2021] The failure of the United States’ retreat from Afghanistan is an epic disaster, the fallout we will face for many decades. Our television generals and admirals are pontificating from their climate-controlled armchairs and telling us that America’s longest war was unwinnable, immoral, and made the world less safe. All that Flag Officer preaching is a… Read More »
[October 10, 2021] In 1936, critics called Winston Churchill the “number one warmonger” in Britain for writing that the German Nazis would cause a war on a larger scale than ever before. Churchill had something that only the greatest of leaders possess. He had the ability of seeing the world clearly. Such insight requires talent to foretell… Read More »
[October 9, 2021] Symbolic of the U.S. military’s reserve components (the National Guard and Reserves) is the “Revolutionary Minuteman,” who forever stands as a sentinel against this nation’s enemies. Our military forces stand ready to protect the United States, ever-present and dedicated to the future. This is what we can call vigilance, perpetually being present at the helm… Read More »
[October 6, 2021] A few years ago, I sat in a room full of Army Generals and was feeling exasperated by the fact they were unwilling to push back on the no-defects philosophy of our military. A 3-star was briefing us about the newest add-on requirements coming down from the Department of Defense. I asked, partly out of… Read More »
[October 5, 2021] Yesterday, I spoke with radio talk-show host Joe Griffies about this young girl, Miss Sawyer, 14 years old. When her U.S. Marine brother was in Afghanistan, she sent him and a few of his buddies each Christmas stockings. The response was so overwhelming; she turned the idea into something big. Maybe you would say she… Read More »
[October 4, 2021] A lot can be said about the many traits we find in the best of leaders; loyalty, morals, courage, accountability, etc. Conversely, there has been much written about destructive leader characteristics, those traits that damage those inside their organization and act as impediments to excellence. But among those destructive traits, which one is the most… Read More »
[October 3, 2021] To learn from our past is one of the many virtues of great leaders. To gain essential lessons, to ‘see’ what needs seeing, to hold onto something that pushes us in the right direction, is the value of history. But we can get history wrong, and that creates a dilemma. Our history of the Vietnam… Read More »
[October 2, 2021] A Gallup poll in October 1940 found American youth as “a flabby, pacifist, yellow, cynical, discouraged, and leftist lot.” On the precipice of war, the United States was wholly unprepared militarily or socially. We were, indeed, a cowardly, leftist lot. Today, we are no different. We honor and respect the Greatest Generation; those who served… Read More »
[October 1, 2021] Ethics has been in the news lately, mostly from politicians who have failed to live up to the most basic social principles. This failure has been most flagrant in election fraud, bribes, kickbacks, and other corruptions that politicians seem to fall for every time. That is why I’m highlighting an Indian association today and its… Read More »
[September 29, 2021] These past few weeks, like many, I’ve been listeing to our political leaders in Washington, D.C. and the vitriol is thrown about like sands on a beach. Unlike authentic leaders, they are doing the opposite and encouraging divisiveness. Yesterday I was listening to a radio program by Dan Bongino. He was replaying comments from a… Read More »