[January 18, 2018] My first permanent duty assignment in the U.S. Army took me to a remote outpost deep in rural West Germany in 1974. Immediately upon arrival all the “newbies” (as we were called) got a lecture from our Platoon Sergeant. The takeaway, as I remember, was that he would not put up with any whining or… Read More »
[January 17, 2018] A chance meeting last week with a young man who worked at a local retail store brought back some thoughts on core values and their importance. The man, I’ll call him Jason but not his real name, had been let go from his employment when the company permanently closed. I asked him what the company… Read More »
[January 16, 2018] The recent question circulating among our senior political leaders is about the idea that we can no longer formally charge or prosecute people for treason despite it being the only crime defined in the U.S. Constitution. Their belief, as well as many scholars, is that recent leader trends suggest that we actually encourage treason among… Read More »
[January 15, 2018] Yesterday evening at our local Boy Scout meeting, I was asked by the newly elected Senior Patrol Leader a question that I’ve been asked hundreds of times while serving in the U.S. Army. This 15 year old asked me what is good leadership. He wanted to know because he knew it was the core of… Read More »
[January 14, 2018] There is an old saying that Communist and socialist nations possess militaries that perform poorly at war; especially at the tactical level. Experience seems to bear this out and thus it comes as no surprise that senior government officials in China believe their military to be unprepared for war, lazy, and complacent. They blame the… Read More »
[January 13, 2018] At the beginning of each new year, like most everyone else, I write down a few New Year’s resolutions. This year, however, I’m changing directions and instead I am listing priorities that every good leader should consider. Resolutions come from wishful thinking, while priorities come from what we need to achieve. Up front it is… Read More »
[January 12, 2018] Yesterday I got a text message from a good friend in the U.S. Air Force. He was wondering what my thoughts were regarding Steve Bannon, previous Chief of Staff of President Trump and fired Executive Chairman of Breitbart News. Bannon, along with several other high-profile folks have done a good job of showing us ways… Read More »
[January 11, 2018] Yes, I tried to get Army Vet to write this article about cultural change being discussed in the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) but he says he’s “out of town” working with the Guatemalan Army. Army Vet did, however, give me some insight and that is included in today’s article. The Honorable Robert Wilkie was… Read More »
[January 9, 2018] Those of us who have spent time in the U.S. military are in possession of something that gives a marked advantage over others in the civilian world. That thing we have is the notion that leaders have the responsibility to show us what “right” looks like. Military folks and veterans have experienced learning by watching… Read More »
[January 8, 2018] People prefer senior leaders who are not modest. If we were to survey folks on the least preferred traits of leadership, modesty would come out the winner. The reasons for this are many but our actions speak loudly when it comes to choosing leaders with outgoing personalities. Should leaders be modest? The answer is, of… Read More »