Author Archives: Douglas R. Satterfield
[January 31, 2019] After watching a video of an army armored Task Force get “destroyed” during wargames at Fort Irwin National Training Center (NTC), I promised my soldiers that would not happen to them. It became evident during the briefing that a previous unit’s Commander had failed to connect the dots from the bits of Intelligence on the… Read More »
[January 30, 2019] A few years ago I found my very first Platoon Leader on a military website. He had pinned mosquito wings (Private E-2) onto my collar while stationed in Siegelsbach, West Germany and given me some much-needed assistance and advice. I was able to show gratitude and appreciation for his help by thanking him. “Gratitude is… Read More »
[January 29, 2019] In 1965, Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke before a large crowd in Selma, Alabama where he said: “no lie can live forever.”1 The speech marked a turning point in the Civil Rights Movement that was to force American politicians to accept that all citizens had the right to vote finally. At the heart of MLK’s… Read More »
[January 28, 2019] It was a great personal shock to me when my family moved from a small, sleepy Louisiana town to a large, vibrant Texas city. It was in that first year of High School that I first came across students and teachers who were likable (but not popular) and those who were popular (but not very… Read More »
[January 26, 2019] In 2007, on my first trip to Brooklyn, New York, I saw a huge traffic sign that read, “Fuhgeddaboudit.” I thought to myself that it was strange to have an unintelligible word so prominently displayed in this famous city. Fuhgeddaboudit (i.e., forget about it) is a quote from television character Ralph Kramden of 1955-56 The… Read More »
[January 25, 2019] Leadership comes in many forms. Yet, of the more undervalued leaders, those who provide moral and intellectual arguments for or against a particular idea hold a special role. Their advocacy can be compelling as it was for Professor Wilhelm Röpke (sometimes spelled Roepke). Wilhelm Röpke (1899 – 1966) devoted his life to combating collectivism in… Read More »
[January 24, 2019] As a very young boy I marveled at the Sparrows that nested in a giant oak tree located in our backyard. At only two weeks old these fledglings would have their first try at flight. Upon leaving my first company command, as a U.S. Army Captain, I remembered that time as a young boy, the… Read More »
[January 23, 2019] This past weekend I was at a Boy Scout “Klondike” event. The idea of Klondike is to demonstrate teamwork and test scouting skills. While sitting around the campfire with other adult scout leaders, we discussed the upcoming year and what we could do differently or do better as leaders. My leader resolutions for 2019 are… Read More »
[January 22, 2019] Leadership often means breaking new ground, going places no one has gone before, and dealing with complex and difficult problems that would overwhelm most people. In 1914 a great war began that was to ravage much of Europe and test the values of the United States. U.S. President Woodrow Wilson concluded that it was in… Read More »
[January 21, 2019] When my son was growing up, he often enjoyed playing on our small-town’s sports teams. We all know the ones; no kid is refused a spot on the team, and everyone gets to play. His baseball team was in last place; 11th and yet he came home with a trophy. He thought it was “really… Read More »