[September 25, 2025] At some point in Junior High School, students in my hometown were tested for their IQ, and the results were sent home to parents. I presume the purpose was to set future expectations and channel those students into the educational track most suited to their capabilities.
With an IQ of 88, I was tracked into “remedial” coursework. Looking back, I think these courses were the right ones for me. I was a bit embarrassed for some reason. Anyway, I didn’t like school, and remedial courses were far easier academically and required less study and less effort in the classroom. Not much was anticipated from us, and per the self-fulfilling prophecy, we didn’t deliver much.
I should have been happy about this new track, but the opposite was the case. Maybe I was finally waking up to the fact that school provided some value to my life, specifically my future, which I’d not given much thought to up to this point. My concerns were very basic: where I might go fishing or hunting, places to take my motorcycle off-road, or places to hang out with my close friends. I was happy only when running about doing those things I wanted to do.
My immediate goals in life were undefined and unclear to me. Yeah, as a kid, I wanted to be an “Army man,” but I saw this as forever in my future self (5 years). When I turned 18, I’d just signed up and enlist—so simple yet so wrong. The Army was a vast bureaucracy, and as a low academic performer, I’d have the least desirable assignments. That was an unknown over which I had no control.
As I progressed through the early stages of my teenage years, with the hormonal and social changes, my emotions were also drastically changing. I was more irritable, resentful, and bitter toward those who did better in school than me. These negative neurotic emotions were a toxic mixture, and I would regret getting into fights with boys larger and stronger. Logic did not come into play. Taking on a boy in a fistfight who could whoop my butt never entered my mind until after the fact.
After many years of teenage emotional struggles, I learned that long-term, functional, give-and-take relationships tend to be stable and reliable. According to Dr. Jordan Petterson, these relationships decrease “negative emotion,” and that seemed right. I later learned the hard way as an Army Soldier that the best path to self-regulation of emotion is through service to others. Successes were beginning to pile up, slowly at first.
I also learned that I had to sacrifice all those short-term, basic childhood and teenage goals for those of higher-order, longer-term goals. I would learn to read, write, and speak better. And think. This is how I would now be able to provide value and no longer be a burden on my family. I also learned beneficial values from the Army.
The Army taught me about core values, and the most important value was that I was responsible for my actions. If I followed the rules—and the rules were clear—then I was rewarded. If I were drunk and decided not to do as I was told, not-so-good things would happen to me. I learned the hard way that the world didn’t owe me anything and that I owed the world everything.
I was not smart; that was a fact. And to make matters worse, I was not good at taking orders. With an IQ of 88, my world was not where I wanted it to be. The U.S. Army uses a carrot and stick approach to modify behavior, and I later thrived on their carrot.
That’s when my life began to turn around. It would take me a long time to figure out that there are some basic rules that, if followed, would make things much better. I started volunteering for assignments, and my NCOIC appreciated that he didn’t have to do so much if I was around. Things were beginning to look up.
The more I followed the orders and guidance of those over me, the more valuable and extensive my network of military leaders became. Slowly, very slowly, I began to improve personally. I’d finally discovered how to improve myself and my unit. And I still had my problems, but I’d become more stable, less neurotic, less emotionally reactive, and more appreciative of what I could contribute.
Much later, while attending graduate school, my IQ was again retested, and my score was higher.
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What does an IQ of 88 mean?
An IQ score of 88 is considered “average” and falls within the normal range of 85 to 115. Individuals with this score typically perform well in practical, task-oriented settings and can adapt to everyday situations. While they may not excel in highly complex cognitive tasks, many individuals with this IQ succeed in practical jobs and organized environments. This highlights the importance of persistence, a strong work ethic, and embracing one’s unique strengths!
https://www.iq-test.cc/test_result/88/126201
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I actually get a good laugh out of these kind of articles by Gen. Satterfield. Why? I’m not so sure, but what they do is tell a story of a young boy growing up in a world so very different from what we have today, so much so that he might have been raised on another planet. His world of the 50s and 60s was radically different from the modern world today and could be compared to the 1800s to his time. At least they had cars in his time, albeit slow, polluting, unreliable cars. Let’s all just relax and enjoy these articles for what they are; entertainment.
mainer, spot on comment.
Enjoyed this article very much. Lots of similarities in my own life struggles in the 50s and 60s. The US Army set me on a corrected course of a career, second career, and a graduate degree. I always admired senior leaders who exemplified that “Once An Eagle” character, and helped me claim out of a not so promising life.
I often get a good laugh out of Gen. Satterfield writing about his childhood. This one with an IQ of 88 did surprise me a bit. I know that he didn’t like school, he has written about that attitude several times and how it held him back in life, and how he worked later to overcome it and catch up with his peers. What was it that gave him the motivation? That is not yet clear. Let’s hope he can spell it out for us at some point soon.
Loved this struggle of General Satterfield that made him who he is.
That’s why we all are here often and also reading the comments to get a better picture of how to improve ourselve.s
More my concern than an IQ score is the fact he says he did not take orders very well. Now, that is a problem in an organization that is based on giving and taking orders. What could go wrong? I do hope he is writing tongue in cheek. Maybe not.
We love you anyway, Gen. Satterfield. 88 IQ or not.
Of course this is a bit of a surprise to me. I don’t believe it that someone with an IQ of 88 could ever make it to General officer status, much less be commissioned an officer in the US military. I looked it up, and despite not much consensus on the matter, it appears that an IQ for General Officers runs to a minimum between 120 to 130. The number of 120 is just above one standard deviation above the mean. In a bell curve distribution, which we believe IQs do fall on a bell curve, then that means 84% are between 85 and 115, thus 16% above and below or 8% of the population is above 115. That’s a long winded way of saying that Gen. Satterfield’s IQ is likely well above 88. Of course he gives us a hint at the end to say that he was retested later, as most of us do take intelligence tests more than once, but he doesn’t say what that number was. My guess, probably it was above 120, nowhere near 88.
I’ve known a few admirals in my time and I think you are right about this. No way, Gen. S. has an IQ of 88. But it does sound good. He was most likely goofing off during the test if we are to read into what he was like as a kid.
Good points here. I do think this makes for a great story to tell his grandkids.
SUPERB
Gen Satterfield managed to overcome this test score through determination and grit.
“An IQ score of 88 is considered “average” and falls within the normal range of 85 to 115. Individuals with this score typically perform well in practical, task-oriented settings and can adapt to everyday situations. While they may not excel in highly complex cognitive tasks, many individuals with this IQ succeed in practical jobs and organized environments. This highlights the importance of persistence, a strong work ethic, and embracing one’s unique strengths!”
Thank you, Gen. Satterfield for convincing me that intelligence is not perfectly measured by an IQ score. But intelligence (not an IQ score) is what matters.
👍👍👍👍👍
Well said, Gen. S. 🫡
This is amazing. The only thing that can explain this is Gen. Satterfield, as a teenager when he took the test, was not measured correctly. This is common among boys who don’t like test taking and who would rather be outside running around and playing.
Ken, I’ve heard the same thing when I was in college and taking courses in advanced psychology. I can’t remember the details but the idea was based on the concept that boys take tests differently than girls. And the school systems have become very feminized and less attractive to boys. Many boys reject school due to personality traits and it has little to do with intelligence which IQ is supposed to measure.
Exactly what I was thinking. I was tested low while a teenager but became a civil engineer later, anyway. I salute Gen. Satterfield for telling his story.
Jonnie, we appreciate you putting this into perspective.
Be sure to get a copy of Gen. Satterfield’s book “55 rules for a good life” and you can thank me later.
https://www.amazon.com/55-Rules-Good-Life-Responsibility/dp/1737915529/