[May 19, 2025] My son was 13 years old when he described my “career” in the military as The Longest Slog. He had recently watched the award-winning 1962 movie The Longest Day, about the World War II D-Day invasion, and he was fascinated by the Herculean task. He somehow connected these disparate ideas and came up with “slog,” as a description of my military time. It was something to him like slogging through the mud and the rain.
I smiled, knowing that he was not that far off and that his creative mind was in good form, paying off later with a university degree in Architecture. True, my nearly 40-year tenure was long, but I never looked so far ahead that I would have been disappointed if I’d retired earlier. Slog, however, implies that the career transition from Army Private, E-nothing to Brigadier General O-7 was a mistake: too difficult or too unfulfilling. Not so!
Not that long ago, I gave a short speech about the dedication and hard work that goes into a successful career. For example, a good leader must have the ability to know what’s happening today and concurrently “see” into the future and then plan and resource it properly. Challenging? Yes. Soul-crushing or too arduous? No.
My plan for a career in the U.S. Army was never supposed to be a long career. I always had more thought about my future in the private sector, either as an Engineer or as an Executive (given my experience with large bureaucratic organizations). In short, working to earn money was not high on my priority list as long as I made enough to live without debt collectors at the door. I worked to be fulfilled by work and family.
As my final months approached the mandatory removal date and retirement, I was not unhappy or dissatisfied. I’ve always had one ability: to quickly adapt to changes in life’s circumstances. To ease the transition, I worked through my last day as an Army officer and without taking vacation days.
My first day retired was a good day. There was no missing out on getting up before dawn, traveling across the world, adjusting to time zone changes, going to strange places, and so on. I was off duty, and that was that. I was able to look at my future life and mentally prepare for that time and how much different my life would become.
After many years of working with older officers and speaking with those recently retired, I found that most had transitioned easily. Why? They had their families, their neighbors and friends, and their church community. This social network was no accident. It was carefully cultivated over many years despite the regular geographic relocations we endured.
They were always looking ahead to the next step in life and being a reliable partner to all. When you do this, life is never a “slog.”
The Long Slog, my Army career, was not a long slog after all. I took one day at a time but always looked down the road at what could be next. And I remained part of my family and community.
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Please read my books:
…and a slog it was.
New reader. Thank you for this great website.
Sometimes our work can be a “slog” and we just need to “power through” or as the Brits say “carry on.” I cannot see how anyone who possesses a desire to work hard and in some workplace that they love can consider it a slog. so, that tells me that those who see it as such, then they have lost or never had an interest.
The Longest Slog. Great!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yes, ha ha ha, good one.
You gotta love this website. One thing that Gen. Satterfield has taught me is that if you are young enough – altho age doesn’t really matter – and you want to be like someone who is great, then look at that person, learn about them, what makes them tick, and how they go about making decisions (like read an autobiography), then that is how you can better your own life. Try it, it works.
Pay attention to this quote:
“ After many years of working with older officers and speaking with those recently retired, I found that most had transitioned easily. Why? They had their families, their neighbors and friends, and their church community. This social network was no accident. It was carefully cultivated over many years despite the regular geographic relocations we endured.” — Gen. Doug Satterfield. 👍👍👍👍👍
Just great 👍 post today 👀 love it. ❤️
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Yep, as always. I hope we get more like this one. Why is because it is important to see what makes a great leader?
NOT A SLOG
Like so many of Gen. Satterfield’s writings, this one harks back to his time in the Army when he was at a point of what is called the “inflection point.” This is a time when a leader has several good options to choose from. They can retire with an excellent lifestyle. They can continue where they are. Or they can change jobs/careers into something different. Many, like Gen. Satterfield, chose to stay. Why? He hints at the reason, “ In short, working to earn money was not high on my priority list as long as I made enough to live without debt collectors at the door. I worked to be fulfilled by work and family.”
—- and this is why I continue to read his leadership blog. I’m always seeing how he makes decisions and what goes into those life decisions. Great job here, Gen. Satterfield. Keep up the great work. Oh, I almost forgot. I got his latest book, “55 rules for a good life.” Marvelous book. Highly recommended.
Always look toward an aim point to target and head to. If you don’t have an aim, then you will always be in chaos.
Exactly, Linus Man. that’s why so many today are lost. They purposefully chose not to have a aim because they use some ideology to provide it.
The Longest Slog ….. sounds like the title of a book.