Author Archives: Douglas R. Satterfield
[April 15, 2020] One of the more embarrassing episodes of my military career happened on a 50 caliber Browning Machine Gun live-fire range when I was a lowly Lieutenant. I’d been given the assignment of Support Platoon Leader and was responsible for supplying ammunition and equipment to the ranges. What I had failed to do was to dig… Read More »
[April 14, 2020] A common thesis throughout the existence of humanity is that betrayal is the lowest of lowly “sins.” When we think of traitors, Benedict Arnold and Judas Iscariot come to mind. For our neighbors, the British, the British Free Corps of World War II is what they contemplate as one of the most despicable chapters in… Read More »
[April 13, 2020] American novelist Ernest Hemingway once wrote that “courage is grace under pressure.” Having spent many decades in the U.S. Army, I can attest to the truth of Hemingway’s quote. An old, grizzly Marine gunny sergeant once told me that in combat, you had better keep your head or the enemy will. Today, my topic is… Read More »
[April 12, 2020] Three boys; all friends and inseparable. I thought I might present a short tale about these boys, one that became known as the story of the unknown boxes. At eleven years old, Randy, Wilson, and me (Doug) became eligible to join the Boy Scouts. What a great year it would be for us three as… Read More »
[April 11, 2020] As I go about my business to teach leadership to young folks, the one complaint I hear often is that history courses are dull and mostly useless. We can and, of course, we should learn and do so quickly, else we are destined to repeat past mistakes. U.S. strategic leaders have learned from them, and… Read More »
[April 10, 2020] My dad used to tell me stories about new military recruits training before they deployed to the Korean War. In 1950 and at the beginning of the war, the military was only drafting single men. But he knew many, and their stories upon returning from the war were part of what captivated me as a… Read More »
[April 9, 2020] Growing up in a community with many military veterans, I developed an interest in military history. The many stories told by these veterans fascinated me; a little boy from a town that didn’t have a traffic light, and the highlight of the weekend was a local dance. Maybe that is why I also came to… Read More »
[April 8, 2020] It is a long-held belief that war brings out both the best and worst in people. For those of us who experience combat, most would readily agree. However, war is certainly not the only thing that brings out the best and worst; all large-scale events have similar outcomes on people. I have found that people… Read More »
[April 7, 2020] Last Thursday, April 2, U.S. Navy Captain Brett Crozier was relieved of his command of the USS Theodore Roosevelt, an aircraft carrier conducting operations in the Pacific. Capt. Crozier was relieved by Navy Acting Secretary Thomas Modly because he had lost trust and confidence in Crozier. The decision by Modly was the right thing to… Read More »
[April 6, 2020] Britain’s raid on the northern French coastal town of Dieppe in 1942 was supposed to test Nazi Germany’s Fortress Europe. Mission goals were simple; siege a major port, gather intelligence, destroy critical defenses, raise the morale of the UK, and get out. The WWII disaster at Dieppe failed to achieve any those goals. But essential… Read More »