[June 29, 2014] It was inevitable that someone would get around to calling the U.S. Army racist and a slur for naming its helicopters after American Indians. While it is true that the Army has done so since at least the 1960s as noted in an earlier post (link here), it was done with the consent of the… Read More »
[June 27, 2014] The newly published American Legion Magazine1 does a good job of addressing the nation-wide VA scandal involving veteran health care. Quoting and agreeing with a Florida Congressman, the bigger problem is accountability, “a culture shift that needs to be made.”2 While they are right, it is not exactly clear what they really mean by the… Read More »
[June 27, 2014] A well-known characteristic of great senior leaders is a thick-skinned personality. This is only possible when the leader is one that possesses extensive, broadly-based, and relevant experiences. Yet, this does not necessarily mean the leader is arrogant or uncaring. In the best of leaders, being thick-skinned means also being humble and optimistic. Being thick skinned… Read More »
[June 24, 2014] Inevitably the discussion turned to the question, “What is a warrior?” A small group of officers and sergeants were happily discussing this topic over a few near-beers the night before we were to fly into Baghdad, Iraq. For most of us, it would be the first time we would see combat. The “what is a… Read More »
[June 21, 2014] The story of building initiative is an old one. I frequently tell an account of a conversation I had in mid-2007 Fallujah, Iraq. A U.S. Marine and I were talking about what Army engineers would do to assist them in defense of the city. The Marine told me he didn’t mind combat but never wanted… Read More »
[June 18, 2014] A common practice in leadership is to spend time learning from the mistakes, errors, and omissions of others. Senior leader mistakes should be studied very closely because of the value it brings to our development. Now comes news that the IRS “lost” emails that stem from allegations of IRS target political enemies. A basic rule… Read More »
[June 16, 2014] When most of us think of those who are employing wisdom, we typically think of “old people”. Presumably this is because wisdom is the ability to make good judgments based on knowledge, experience, reasoning, and insight. Successful senior leaders are able to employ wisdom because they have the relevant experiences to discern good from bad.… Read More »
[June 14, 2014] The story of Abraham Lincoln has long been told and admired. His humble beginnings and struggles in life, is something that shaped and motivated him. From his birth in a Kentucky log cabin to President of the United States, Lincoln showed us the value of struggle in leadership. It has been a common theme here… Read More »
[June 12, 2014] Playing little league baseball while growing up in the deep South brought with it a number of lessons in life. These lessons were to later translate into successful leadership traits that were to stay with me the rest of my military career. In fact, I think that was the point of the game; besides having… Read More »
[June 08, 2014] In the 1980s, my friends and I had long conversations about Iraq’s President Saddam Hussein and his role in the Iran-Iraq War. The debate about whether he was an evil dictator or a grandfatherly figure protecting his country raged off and on; even after he used chemical weapons to attack Kurdish civilians in 1988. Yet,… Read More »