Author Archives: Douglas R. Satterfield
[September 5, 2015] One hundred and one years ago today French General Joseph Joffre gave the order to attack the advancing German armies that were pushing allied troops westward in a series of defeats early in World War I. Failure would mean the death of thousands, the collapse of military forces resisting the Germans, and the fall of… Read More »
[September 4, 2015] With Labor Day approaching fast and the U.S. presidential campaign heating up, it’s time to sit back and enjoy another good book. I’ve been reading five books simultaneously on a variety of topics but today I wanted to get out my review of one recently released by Dick Cheney and his daughter Liz Cheney. My… Read More »
[September 3, 2015] What are the tools that leaders use to impart important messages and develop their lower level leaders on how to carry out their duties? There are, of course, many ways to do this but one of the more effective ways is to conduct leader conferences which reach a larger audience efficiently. One of the best… Read More »
[September 3, 2015] Happy “2nd” Anniversary to the Leader Maker! Special thanks to all my regular and new readers who have all made this leadership blog so successful. I’ve been made aware that the U.S. military blocks direct access to my website because of the service provider I use: iPage. One day I will have to pay the… Read More »
[September 2, 2015] I wrote about immigration into the United States, both legal and illegal, over a year ago (see links below) and how it has become one of the hottest topics in the U.S. presidential campaign. However, immigration as a political topic goes much further than the Americas, extending into Europe and parts of Asia and that… Read More »
[September 1, 2015] A year ago U.S. President Obama said that the United States had “no strategy” to address the threat by the Islamic State terrorist group known as ISIS or ISIL. There was immediate and merited criticism of his no strategy comments and subsequently a week later the president rolled out a “strategy” to defeat ISIS. It was… Read More »
[August 31, 2015] The greatest threat to a nation outside of armed invasion is the degeneration of its military from its professional standing into a bureaucracy. If we are to believe the outgoing U.S. Army Chief of Staff who told us that there is a struggle for the Army to maintain its professionalism, we will have to reverse… Read More »
[August 30, 2015] Inspirational Leadership! Retired neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson is a Republican running for his party’s nomination to be the next U.S. president. Since the early August Republican debates where he held his own, his campaign has come alive with inspirational speeches. His campaign continues to grow despite what many talking heads have predicted. Carson makes it… Read More »
[August 29, 2015] Anti-establishment leadership! U.S. presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders is an Independent running for the Democratic Party nomination. By his own claim, he is a “socialist democrat” who is working to unite people for a better world and opposes political cronyism in Washington, D.C. His popularity expanded quickly as he regularly draws large crowds to his speaking… Read More »
[August 28, 2015] An incident occurred during a military training exercise early in my career that taught me an important lesson – small things matter. After relocating my platoon to a new defensive position I set our machinegun foxhole in what I thought was an okay spot. My commander ordered me to change it and later during a… Read More »