[June 20, 2025] Last night my computer modem died and the Xfinity store closed early for Junteenth. So, I’m republishing an older article that my readers are sure to like—What is a warrior? Now as soon as I get my Internet back, I’ll be rested and ready.
Inevitably, the discussion turned to the question, “What is a warrior?” A small group of officers and sergeants was 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 warrior?” question was always on our minds.
How would our military unit perform? How would we personally perform? Would fear overtake us? Would we dishonor our comrades, our family, our nation? So many questions were often crowded out by the many tasks we had to perform before boarding the C-130 USAF cargo airplane out of Kuwait.
We made a list of those traits, and here they are, as much as I can remember, in the right order of importance. We decided all these are required and are thus interdependent.
- Leader of soldiers
- Mentally and physically strong
- Technically skilled in warfighting skills
- Adaptable and flexible
- Refuses to let fear conquer
- Reliable and predictable
- Loyal to the team and the unit. Supports and encourages the team
- Keeps self, equipment, and weapons clean and in working order. Insists others do the same.
- Fast learner
- Always prepared
- Curious and creative
- Aggressive
- Willing to engage the enemy without reservations
- Works without detailed instructions
- Takes responsibility easily
- Never whines or makes excuses
- Does not tolerate laziness or sloppiness
- Communicates clearly
- Sense of humor
- Takes orders easily and does a sanity check on them
My personal opinion at the time was that this list was a bit long. It was asking a lot from our soldiers. Looking back, however, the vast majority of our men and women met all these criteria. They met these with ease.
Being under enemy fire is an event that is very personal. Strong people get stronger and more resilient. The majority are better people for it. The weak struggle, some improve. The list was rather good – we were to review our thoughts on it infrequently but never changed the list.
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As for this article – from 11 years ago and reprinted to my delight – I want to thank Gen. Satterfield because the article is a jumping off point for the discussion of “What is a Warrior?” What the actual question should be is different. Why? Because we are assuming that a “warrior” is somehow superior in his approach to combat on the modern battlefield. That may NOT be true and thus worth exploring. I propose we look to who is the better combat soldier/airman/marine/sailor/Coastie etc. That’s the issue we have and should discuss from that angle. Just a few thoughts. Thank you for reading my overly long screed on “What is a Warrior?”
Thanks Gen. Satterfield. Good article. I do like your list. And I also agree with Winston’s comment below about the “mindset” being a key element to defining a warrior.
Being strong mentally and physically.
Sir, I hope you have your WiFi back up and running. I know that it’s a real pain you know where. BTW, this is a good and easy to understand article. But, just my opinion, you are actually describing the fundamental characteristics of a good military NCO. They are what you have and are promoted on these characteristics. This is not necessarily a “warrior.” So what makes a warrior? I think it’s the mindset, more than what you have here. The warrior mindset is that person who is capable of extreme violence but holds that violence until needed in a moral way. Maybe we could discuss it that way.
Very insightful and thanks, Gen. S. ˚₊𓆩༺🕷༻𓆪₊˚
Indeed. Xerces II, you and me have been on this forum now for a long time and we can see pretty much eye to eye. In this case, however, there might be some differences in how we see a “warrior.” I see it as this hard-core, confident, beast of a many who kills without emotion and with a laser focus. It reminds me of the old or antiquity when there were true warriors who went into battle and either won or died. There was no in between. Now, that was tried by the Japanese in WWII and it didn’t work out so well.
Excellent thinking here, Wellignton McBeth. Hey, we all have a creative idea now and again. sorry, just had to say that. I’m interested in what Gen. Satterfield has to say.
Gen. Satterfield, I agree with you in principle. But here is where the idea of “warrior” goes off the rails. Is the idea of a warrior, someone who is very high rank? There is something called a warrior king but that is a person who leads warriors, and implies that the idea of warrior does not reach upward high into the rank structure. So, are only those at the lowest levels of soldiering those that can be warriors? Perhaps. This is something not at all explored and maybe you can jump into this undiscussed but important concept of warriorship (I made that one up). Maybe another article soon on this.
Good luck getting your system back up and running.
Excellent article. Oldie but goodie. 👍👍👍👍👍 I like the list you made. At some point we can quibble about the contents of the list. For now, thanks. For those new here, I recommend highly you read Gen. Satterfield’s books, especially “55 Rules for a Good Life.” That book will help you tremendously in life. And when you’re done with it, give that book to a young man.
EXACTLY
Right sir, such a pain in the you-know-what. Ha Ha. … we all have that technological glitch now and again. 😆
Good luck getting your new modem and your Internet back up and running.
Thanks Larry, and welcome to my leadership forum.
Yes, welcome Larry. I hope you learn and enjoy Gen. Satterfield’s blog.