Of history, warfare, leadership, and alcohol
Sometimes, as you trod along the road of life, you look up, trying to get a glimpse of what lies ahead. Sometimes it's dark and gloomy, and you realize it's been been growing so for some time. There isn't much to see. Peering through the murk is exhausting, as is trying to navigate with the …
Continue reading "Mental Health in the Military: A Parable"
Most people think of the military as a no-nonsense place, where everyone is filled with rigid discipline and chock-full of common sense. And while that might be the image that we often like to have portrayed of ourselves, there's a lot more that goes on that would definitely elicit a few, "WTFs" if they were …
Continue reading "5 Ways the Military is an Absurdist Organization"
Two shots. Three. Six more, in quick succession. Ian woke with a start. Sharp cracks and deep echoes twanged in his ears, shaking him awake and out of his hammock. Even in sleep, he'd noted the familiar pattern of sounds that overlaid his subconscious. Nine shots in total. The bay was shrouded in complete darkness. …
Continue reading "Finding Space – Chapter Fourteen"
On July 18, 2020, an African-American woman took command of a military unit that once used to be part of rebel general Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson's famous "Stonewall Brigade." Captain Candice Bowen became the first woman to command an infantry company in the Virginia National Guard, assuming command of B Company, 3rd Battalion, 116th Infantry Regiment. …
Continue reading "A Tarnished Legacy: Confederate Battle Honors and the Army National Guard"
Sure, at first glance, you wouldn't think that a TV show about a doctors, nurses, and a crazy janitor at teaching hospital would have anything to do with the military. However, both the military and the medical professions have a lot in common: life and death decisions, long periods of boredom punctuated with brief moments …
Continue reading "How “Scrubs” Characters are Basically Your Military Unit"
Step aside Clausewitz, a new thinker has entered the professional military education (PME) ring – Sir Terry Pratchett. Military theory and history are the bedrock of PME. They should remain so. However, popular fiction, even books which at first blush have very little to do with the military, can contain very useful insights for leaders. …
Continue reading "Put Down Clausewitz, Pick Up Pratchett "
The ideas presented by the founders - debated, argued, and finally articulated in the Declaration of Independence in 1776 - were not just meant for the people of that century. They were meant for all who would come after them. They stand as an idea, not as something that has been enshrined into existence. The …
Continue reading "An Ongoing American Revolution"
The Army, specifically Fort Hood, has been in the spotlight due to the recent events surrounding the disappearance of PFC Vanessa Guillen—and it’s not going to change anytime soon. What we are seeing is the surfacing of the issues regarding consent, power dynamics, and the inability of junior and senior leaders to foster an …
Scene: Stormtrooper barracks in Nevarro City, as seen in "The Mandalorian." Sergeant TK-7831 walks in to address his squad. TK-7831: "Quiet down, this is an Imperial facility, not a Bantha-breeding ground." TK-9938: "Wait, how would you know what that is, sergeant?" TK-7831: "When you've been wearing armor as long as I have - wait, shut …
Continue reading "Stormtrooper Safety Brief"
Water rushes and curves around the rock where I happen to be sitting. Bits of fluff from the tree on the other side of the stream lightly ride the swell of air over the water. A butterfly lands, hesitantly, on my knee. All noise aside from that of the water fades into obscurity. This moment, …
Continue reading "Finding Peace for the Army Mind"
