[August 9, 2015] Just a few days ago the first presidential debate of 2015 was hosted by Fox News and Facebook and was watched by a record number of people. How senior leaders view the debate of those participating will be discussed here. Senior leaders will, in most cases, have far greater leadership experience, management expertise, and relevant… Read More »
[August 4, 2015] In early 2007, General David Petraeus took command of the Multi-National Force in Iraq and subsequently introduced a strategy that involved a “surge” of military forces. At the time I was asked to develop a plan to house, feed, and protect all incoming allied military forces through an up-ramped civil engineering effort and then personally… Read More »
[July 02, 2015] For the military, superior communications is one of the greatest advantages one can have over the enemy. When I joined the army, we talked with others using a short-range FM radio. Communications were based on the radio and required the person we wanted to speak to being in a certain place – relatively close proximity… Read More »
[June 26, 2015] In 1978 I saw the comedy National Lampoon’s Animal House starring John Belushi who, with his friends, joins the worst fraternity on their college campus. I’m reminded of the movie’s college dean who is an insulated leader and not very ineffective when it came to dealing with the antics of John Belushi and problems with… Read More »
[June 10, 2015] Most of my readers know that I’m partial to the study of the Korean War. There are so many precedents to how we fight today. True, the Korean War was fought on mountainous terrain and in many battles the extreme cold created great suffering. In Iraq, the terrain and weather could hardly be more different.… Read More »
[June 03, 2015] Last year I was speaking with a U.S. military Flag officer about his experiences traveling through so many airports. He told me his biggest issue was his artificial metal hip. It always got him extra screening despite having proper documentation, frequent flyer status, and identifiable as a U.S. Army general. Would it be too difficult… Read More »
[June 02, 2015] A number of years ago my daughter finished elementary school and was preparing to move into middle school. At a ceremony to mark the transition there was much pomp and circumstance and included handing out of various honors and awards to the students. After the ceremony I asked my 13-year old daughter what she thought… Read More »
[May 11, 2015] Combat is a crucible that leaves little room for making mistakes. Those who have engaged in combat with an enemy know that small unit leadership is what makes a difference because it’s about solving problems. Combat is chaos, some say “organized chaos” but nonetheless chaos, and thus it demands that decisions be made quickly with little… Read More »
[May 08, 2015] “Just keep me informed so that I’m not surprised,” so said my commander during the early days in the Iraq War when our troops were in a running gun battle with insurgents. When it comes to bad news, I have found that keeping your boss informed of potential and actual bad news is important because… Read More »
[May 01, 2015] Experienced leaders don’t believe that history repeats itself, but there are certainly many parallels throughout the known past that makes it seem that way. The best leaders educate themselves on history relevant to their circumstances and proactively take precautions to avoid similar mistakes. Today, we see a number of political failures and missteps in America’s… Read More »