Author Archives: Douglas R. Satterfield
[May 18, 2018] There is a lot to be said about military discipline and it is seen, often, as something both good and bad. What I have personally found is that most of the information I find on the subject is narrow and is not particularly helpful. Stereotypes and a great deal of erroneous information is out in… Read More »
[May 17, 2018] Occasionally you have to sit down and listen. That means keeping your questions and thoughts to yourself and keeping your ears open to what is said. Last night I was honored to hear Pete Fantacone, a U.S. Navy veteran who went in with the initial waves to Omaha Beach, Normandy France on the 6th of… Read More »
[May 16, 2018] George Godwin has been a good friend of mine since I was a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Infantry. He likes to think of himself as a pretty good leader, and in reality, he is an exceptional leader. What does he do that most of us don’t? He is always asking people to please argue… Read More »
[May 14, 2018] Most of us associate checklists with pilots getting ready for takeoff or with home inspectors going through a house to verify it is ready for occupancy. Leaders also use checklists and they do so as a matter of course; one that is customized to their needs and a necessary part of their toolbox. “The checklist… Read More »
[May 13, 2018] The first time a soldier goes to war, that individual wonders how they will react when confronted with a situation that requires them to kill another human being. Will the soldier do as they are trained, freeze-up, run away, or do something else? This unknown is the essence of the Trolley Problem. When confronted by… Read More »
[May 12, 2018] It is often said that those who possess a thick skin are likely to live more satisfying lives and that is more successful too. From research into this area of study, we also see that those who are emotionally sensitive do not make good leaders. This is long been a question of social inquiry; why… Read More »
[May 11, 2018] On a quiet night where little enemy activity had been a pleasant break from the incessant mortar and rocket attacks on our small outpost, one lone rocket hit our unit’s ammunition storage bunker. Things went haywire after that. But leaders don’t panic and we were able to contain the fire and explosions rather quickly. Real… Read More »
[May 10, 2018] Leadership, in its most fundamental capacity, is not that different from a deep friendship. If a good friend calls upon you to help, then most of us would go to them as quickly as possible. In my first tour of combat in the Iraq War, I had a friend tell me, If you call, I’ll… Read More »
[May 9, 2018] Not that long ago in what we called the old brown-boot army, there was a saying that if you couldn’t wrap it in red tape (aka bureaucracy), then it wasn’t worth two cents. The implication was that the small stuff was important and leaders paid attention to detail … well, didn’t they? Well, boys, I… Read More »
[May 7, 2018] It was ten years ago but it seemed like yesterday. I was standing with three fellow U.S. military officers discussing our electrical designs for a construction project in the country of Iraq. We were at war and a young Engineer Lieutenant asked us a simple question, What’s the standard? We never answered that question with… Read More »