[March 25, 2025] For many decades now, I’ve been a fan of U.S. Navy Admiral Hyman G. Rickover because he could identify, mentor, employ, and retain top-level officers. Rickover spent his entire career in the Navy, and with his exposure to the Oak Ridge Manhattan Project, he recognized the tremendous potential of nuclear technology. Talent, Training, and Leadership … Read More »
[March 23, 2025] A special treat today … of course, I would write that … owning a 90-pound Yellow Lab. These Sunday Morning Pictures are now #10 and have generated more comments than my more serious posts. I do hope you enjoy them. If you have a picture to share, please send a link (pictures in the comments… Read More »
[March 22, 2025] As I look back upon those times we were planning and building in preparation to receive the great Surge, I am surprised our Engineers were not attacked while convoying. I suppose luck played a part, as it will do during combat, but there is never an excuse to unnecessarily expose your troops to enemy action.… Read More »
[March 21, 2025] During my last assignment as the 8th U.S. Army wartime engineer, I was highly impressed by our commander, Lt. Gen. John Johnson, because he could take complex ideas and explain them. That is also why I like Dr. Dennis Prager. As he writes in an article from 2023, he was asked to define Leftism. As… Read More »
[March 20, 2025] In 1953, Orson Wells’ The War of the Worlds hit the big screens across the nation. I would see it in 1964, along with my brother Philip, two years my junior. I remember us both being scared of the Martians in their great machines. Perhaps this is what sparked my interest in Science Fiction. Our… Read More »
[March 19, 2025] Theodorus Gerardus Jozef Jansen is a Dutch artist who created The Strandbeest, a mechanical sculpture that moves like a multi-legged insect. He created his first in 1990 and has since made dramatic, creative designs that amaze us. “The walls between art and engineering exist only in our minds.” — Theodorus Gerardus Jozef Jansen Art meets… Read More »
[March 15, 2025] By early February of 2007, we were in the throes of intense planning for the pending Surge. My work week was non-stop meetings, briefings, development of new Surge sites, construction paperwork, and the typical daily grind of staff work. Fortunately, I was in excellent physical shape, except I had damaged my right knee while running.… Read More »
[March 13, 2025] If we were to add up all the leadership lessons from long ago and use that wisdom to better ourselves today, the list would be as high as the moon. However, we can condense them down into a small number. In this article, I consolidate hundreds of lessons down into 10 tough leadership lessons. I… Read More »
[March 9, 2025] Another Sunday morning, another set of pictures that I like. Mostly non-political, although difficult to resist. I must admit there are a couple however, for my friends who cannot go without a political slant. Picking these out was easy, I just look for what pleases my taste, that day.
[March 3, 2025] It was late January of 2007 and tensions were running high in the Iraq War. Our Engineers were working all out and the pressure to ready facilities for incoming American troops was enormous. Fortunately, we weren’t the only element in-country that we had on our side. MNF-I was a full partner, as were a variety… Read More »