Of history, warfare, leadership, and alcohol
A few weeks back, I was asked to speak to some high school students about the U.S. Army in the post-Vietnam time period. At first I had no idea what I was going to say. How would I get high schoolers fired up about the demise of the Active Defense doctrine and the rise of …
Continue reading "Carte Blanche Foreign Policy: the Curse of the All-Volunteer Force"
By Cory Hollon Rebellions are built on hope. - Cassian Andor, 1 BBY Hope is not a plan. - Every decent commander, ever In 4 ABY, the Alliance to Restore the Republic gained critical intel about the construction of a new Death Star. Clearly learning from the lengthy process of creating the first planet-killing battle …
Continue reading "“Are the Shields Up?:” Decision Making in “Return of the Jedi”"
It’s been awhile since I’ve posted anything on here. And for that, I blame command, which sucks away all the years of your life. It’s basically “The Machine” from Princess Bride, just with more soldiers with DUIs. Basically what one month of command feels like. However, the topic of command is fascinating in and of …
Continue reading "The Perils of Command"
Two days before the beginning of the Meuse-Argonne Campaign – the largest and bloodiest battle in American history – the New York Times ran a letter from an Army infantry officer who was then serving in France: The troops that took Vaux An advertising agency is a good thing at times, but when the …
Continue reading "We Were There Too: the US Army at Belleau Wood"
“He will win who, prepared himself, waits to take the enemy unprepared.” - Sun Tzu In war, timing and will are two of the intangibles that are hard to train for. A battle can be all but won when suddenly the unforeseen takes place: Jackson arrives at Antietam; Sheridan rides back to Cedar Creek; the …
Continue reading "Warfighter: Battle of Endor"
By Jay Kirell One of the biggest misconceptions about the Army is that everyone in it is a hardened warrior. In reality most soldiers are more lapdog than sheepdog. They like their time off, relaxing, watching movies, playing games, finding forms of entertainment to escape into whatever fantasy world they find a connection with. For …
Continue reading "“What About Second Breakfast?” How “The Lord of the Rings” Mirrors Army Culture"
When someone mentions the "forgotten war" in the United States, they are usually referring to either the Korean War or World War I. Of all our large conflicts, these two seem to slip through the sieve of our collective national memory and fall into obscurity. Of our "big" wars, the Civil War and World War …
Continue reading "What Makes Us Forget Wars?"
I don't remember much about the day we went to war with Iraq for the second time. A senior in high school, I recall feeling excited about the idea of war although I only knew of war from books. I was too young to remember much of the Persian Gulf War beyond some blurry images …
Continue reading "The Iraq War, 15 Years On"
It was Ben Franklin who wrote, "He who neglects his hair neglects his country." Well, all right, he never did say that but he would've had he thought of it, because Ben understood the importance of a well put together coiffe of hair. The military has undergone some variations on its way of thinking about …
Continue reading "Army Hair Throughout the Ages"
Over the past few months, I've been spending a lot of time reading over World War I rosters, both unit and casualty reports. As I was going over them, I began to wonder how someone like me in the future would read my name on some roster. And then this just sort of happened. Pages …
Continue reading "Thoughts While Reading World War I Rosters"
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