Author Archives: Douglas R. Satterfield
[December 2, 2025] It only seems like yesterday when I flew into Baghdad aboard a C130 Air Force cargo plane. I had a small team that was to act as the Advanced Party to the 353rd Engineer Group (Construction). In my first book “Our Longest Year in Iraq,” I laid out my thoughts on the Iraq War. Our… Read More »
[December 1, 2025] Earlier this year, a local South Jersey non-profit Veteran organization asked for permission to cross the Delaware on Veterans’ Day. This was meant to be a symbolic gesture to honor George Washington’s famous crossing on the night of December 25-26, 1776. After many weeks of back-and-forth discussions with the Friends of Washington Crossing Historic Park,… Read More »
[November 30, 2025] Earlier this month, I was the guest speaker at the Marine Corps League celebration of the 250th birthday of the U.S. Marines’ founding. I found it funny that the Marines would invite an Army Soldier to speak at their birthday, but hey, what do I know about humor? And humor is my theme for today. … Read More »
[November 29, 2025] There should be no doubt that America is split along political lines or that Leftists of the Democrat Party have begun undermining a number of American institutions. The latest in what is an ongoing American cold civil war, is a billboard outside Fort Bragg in Fayetteville, NC. From The Fayetteville Observer (behind paywall): “Billboard in… Read More »
[November 28, 2025] My wife asked me yesterday, shortly after enjoying our Thanksgiving Dinner, why I was writing about the Iraq War, and pointedly asked, “Why are you focusing on this Pre-Surge?” She noted that nearly everyone was focused on the “fight,” or just the “surge.” And that is a good question, and one I’ve asked myself for… Read More »
[November 27, 2025] The Coalition Engineers would become more involved in the Iraqi reconstruction effort than perhaps originally planned. Reconstruction was meant to be an international effort, but that too failed to materialize. There was plenty of talk among diplomats and large businesses that wanted to participate in rebuilding Iraq, yet most of their efforts never got off… Read More »
[November 26, 2025] In his most recent article titled “Insurrection Chic,” Dr. Victor Davis Hanson highlights what he sees as the Democrat Party embracing a neo-Confederate defiance of federal authority. Democrats have become the new Confederacy, much like the old Confederacy of the U.S. Civil War. “Those are fighting words, young man.” It’s no secret that I’m a… Read More »
[November 25, 2025] Used to living open lives, the best leaders know the unremitting fact that people will see their weaknesses … and people will also comment on those weaknesses. While this may come as a surprise, the passion of the commentators is a twist that strikes leaders like a bolt from the blue. Leaders must know and… Read More »
[November 24, 2025] After ten months in the country, I had hit the pinnacle of my worth to the Coalition Engineer effort. I knew who was who, those who could do the job and those who could not, those Flag Officers that would help in country and out (as a resource), those who were my closest coworker comrades… Read More »
[November 23, 2025] The Democrat ad reminding our military not to obey “illegal orders” violates a basic governing principle. That principle is we do not bring our military into political squabbles. For that reason, it is an ugly and dangerous move by Dems. Clearly, the ad was intended to create controversy, and draw attention away from the fact… Read More »