[January 19, 2016] Annually it’s a tradition to make forecasts for the New Year and to anticipate what topics will be at the top of everyone’s list to discuss. Last year it was Islamic terrorism and illegal immigration. This year 2016 will bring a few surprises but some will be easily guessed. The biggest news for the U.S.… Read More »
[January 17, 2016] Military blunders are fascinating for their mystery and tragic for their death and destruction. The inevitable question asked in each case was whether or not each was a failure of leadership or of something else. Interestingly, militaries have studied the failures of armed forces for generations but the lessons learned are not always the right… Read More »
[January 16, 2016] While in the U.S. Infantry School at Fort Benning, Georgia, all new second lieutenants learn about Grazing Fire and to watch out for it when in the attack against a determined enemy. It’s the type of combat technique that will quickly cut an attacking force to pieces. Leaders will experience grazing fire, symbolically anyway, whenever… Read More »
[January 15, 2016] At the outbreak of World War II, most of the world’s major powers were not prepared in any way for the death and destruction that was to follow. Today, we find that most senior leaders are well prepared and have learned from the failures of other leaders. Good leaders prepare for extraordinary circumstances that could… Read More »
[December 14, 2016] One of the greatest assets of a leader is the ability to make timely and expertly-executed decisions. It follows that leaders are at their best when they are neither hasty nor act without thinking through the consequences of their actions and what they say. Many leaders have failed simply because they lack the patience to… Read More »
[January 13, 2016] Good leaders have a matchless ability to judge the character of others. But it’s the realizing of weaknesses in others that’s so important for a leader. I was fortunate as a junior officer that my commander saw my weaknesses that needed work and he was able to push and pull me in the right direction… Read More »
[January 12, 2016] Anyone considering joining the Army and making a commitment for several years, has wished there were some things someone had explained about our service beforehand. Teenagers straight out of high school are attracted by the glamour and potential excitement of service but are often disappointed. What are ten things you should know before joining the… Read More »
[January 11, 2016] On television I was watching the Bengals versus the Steelers football game this past Saturday in one of the important wild-card playoffs. The Cincinnati Bengals were expected to win over the Pittsburg Steelers but it didn’t turn out that way. It happens more than on the rare occasion … whether in sports, the military, business,… Read More »
[January 10, 2016] My first day at the U.S. Army War College was a day of awakening for myself and many others. We were told how lucky we were to have been accepted and the importance of academic integrity, but that the first thing we had to do was to identify our personal top priorities. What? Identify our priorities? … Read More »
[January 9, 2016] Ever hear of the fable about how a group of frogs taught humans a good lesson about what we say? It’s a good one and a story my mom used to tell me whenever I got into trouble with my big mouth. In retrospect my mother was giving me advice on how to be a… Read More »