The author of this blog is himself an on-again, off-again angry staff officer, who made the odd jump from enlisted infantry to engineer officer and is now meandering the warrens of Army doctrine, one dog-eared page at a time. Most often focused on historical events, national security, and occasional rants on Army doctrine. He can be found being cynical and jaded at the Twitter handle @pptsapper and writing at Point of Decision, as well as on Facebook and Instagram. He is a proud member of the Military Writers Guild, winning the Military Writer’s Guild award for most active member in 2015. His other key accomplishments include an intimate knowledge of far too many gins to be healthy, and having once live-tweeted the entire Star Wars saga.
Publications that have mistakenly allowed the author to write for them include:
The Duffel Blog (I KNOW, RIGHT?)
Center for International Maritime Security
Tom Ricks’ Best Defense, Foreign Policy
Additionally, some publications accidentally hit the “repost” button instead of “delete.” Such as Politico, Real Clear Defense, Small Wars Journal, and Foreign Policy.
You can hear the author’s terrible tones on this podcast, hosted by the Military Writer’s Guild: On the (mis)Use of History
If you really like that for some reason, you may want to check out War Stories Podcast, where the author is a co-host.
Selected articles from this blog have been turned into podcasts by the author/s and can be accessed here.
Needless to say, the contents of this blog do not reflect or represent the opinions of the U.S. Army or the Department of Defense.
You can reach the author via email at angrystaffofficer@gmail.com
Wait, are you at Fort Benning. I too am a Staff Officer at the lovely Benning School for Boys.
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Thank heavens, no
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Hey, I’m the author of PortraitsofWar.wordpress.com and was hoping to join the guild……. I’ve been running my website/blog for nearly five years and think I’m eligible for inclusion. How do I join?
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Thanks for following me!
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Do you have an email I can reach you at? I think you’d be a great fit for the Guild.
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Off topic, but your WW1 project is only national guard. I have a picture of my grandfather in his uniform but no other info. I’m curious if you have any details. Let me know if you would like a copy of the picture.
Ldcabn@verizon.net
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Louis, I’d love to see a copy. You can email me at angrystaffofficer@gmail.com
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i wish you would include email addresses, not all of us are on twitter!
enjoyed this last guestpost by sapper. my captain back in the 80s helped me shape my views with classes on geopolitics while on float. he told us how things were supposed to be, and then how things really were, not in a bitter or sarcastic way, but so as to help us identify between the two. he was a very smart man. now he is deputy secdef.
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This is with regards to your article “Warfighter: Middle Earth” published on getpocket.com.
ITS FANTASTIC.
I have been reading a lot of fiction since childhood, have recently turned into a die hard fan of the “Historical” branch in this genre(Tolkien, R.R. Martin, Scarrow, etc). People often asked me whats there in fiction thats worth reading. I knew, in a dark corner of my mind, that there was a connection with reality/real life in every fictional story. But i just couldnt think up the words to justify my hobby of reading fiction. You’ve done a pretty good job of elaborating the way in which the above mentioned authors are trying to convey real life lessons through stories. The lessons which would seem “Bland” and “Dry”(as you have aptly called them in your article) if they were discussed directly. Great Work !
PS.: I dont usually type(or write, for that matter) such a lengthy reply/comment/response.
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As a avid/rabid supporter and fan, I thought I’d share this (if you haven’t already come across it):
http://scotchtrooper-blog.com/about/
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This is mint! Thanks!
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No problem…
I think I giggled in glee when I saw the Scotch and bacon post…. but you were the first person in mind upon discovery of this blog. I actually thought it *was* a side project of yours that you failed to mention here… đŸ™‚
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Nah, I’m not that clever
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“Not that clever” says the author of a series of excellent posts linking Star Wars to current doctrine… đŸ˜€
Now, to get you and “Scotchtrooper” in the same distillery… er…room…
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Sir – I’m looking at a few different branches for when I commission (currently USAR, doing SMP). I’m looking to stay in the Reserve (or possibly switch to NG; there’s a 10% chance of that). What are your experiences like with Engineer Officers in the Reserve? Is it a viable option for someone who wants to have a demanding civilian job as well? If you don’t have first hand knowledge, but can direct me towards the right information, I would highly appreciate it.
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Depends on what you mean by “demanding.” Any USAR or ARNG officer position will place demands on your time. Being an Army engineer does not generally give you the knowledge and qualifications to be a civilian engineer, since most of what we do is pretty basic. But it is damn fun.
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Love your writing, especially the recent piece on the military history of gin! As a distiller of Navy Strength gin here in WA state, and a writer, I definitely appreciate the spread of knowledge on the subject. And my wife can attest to the ‘strong’ meaning of the French 75, it’s one of her favorites and to be honest I never spent much time contemplating any kind of historical meaning behind the name.
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Hello Angry Staff Officer. I’m assigning your blog in my college-level military history course. Good stuff here. Thanks!
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Hi, I was wanting to use your page about artillery in World War One for a research project in my history class. If there is any way, could you give me a way to contact you about the sources for that article? Thank you for your time, and here is a link to the article. https://angrystaffofficer.com/2016/07/01/anatomy-of-a-world-war-i-artillery-barrage/
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Just had the pleasure of sending your Battle of Winterfell Tactical Analysis off to my tactics instructor at the Marine Corps Officers Basic School who I am fortunate to have kept as a friend for the past decades. Terrific stuff you’re writing! Thank you! reed@herohomes.com
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enjoyed your comment on WW2TV’s presentation of World War 2 and Stat Wars.
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