Of history, warfare, leadership, and alcohol
It's never easy being that new person on staff. It's even less easy when you're not organic to the battalion or unit that you're attached to and have to begin all that relationship building stuff from scratch. It's like Mean Girls except with maneuver officers. Which is somehow worse. Being a task force special staff …
Continue reading "Tips for Task Force Engineers"
The Legend of Korra is not only a good primer to study insurgencies, it can also be used to study operational art. The Battle of the Bay which took place between the Equalists and the United Forces over control of Republic City in season one episode eleven is an especially suitable example. The United Forces …
Continue reading "Operational Lessons from Legend of Korra"
The Army is not for everyone. More often than not, this phrase is a not-so-thinly veiled critique of those leaving the service, either on their own terms or not. Proponents of this phrase tend to mention how only a small percentage of the population serves and how much more selective the military is compared to …
Continue reading "The Army is Not for Everyone"
I spent 12 months managing a division-level Sexual Harassment and Assault Response and Prevention (SHARP) program. It was evident, commanders have varying opinions on what “success” means in SHARP. It was even more clear Commanders were not in sync with the inner workings of their programs. The more senior in rank the commander was, the …
Continue reading "Taking Ownership: The Problem of Command Teams and the SHARP Program"
Throughout an officer’s career, there will be inevitable exposure to a plethora of reading lists. Although a myriad of different lists exists, one essay that finds its way to a majority of junior officer reading lists is Hubbard's Message to Garcia, a story that describes a young second lieutenant’s initiative and tenacity in accomplishing …
Continue reading "Message to Garcia: The Good, the Bad, the Ugly"
There I was, in my second year of command, feeling confident and competent. A dangerous concoction. We'd knocked out a great JRTC rotation, the company was firing on all cylinders, and I thought everything was golden. It was drill weekend and we were knocking out the M-4 range as well as some other tasks. Ahead …
Continue reading "Good Intentions Do Not a Good Commander Make"
This article contains significant spoilers for Season 1 of The Legend of Korra Season 1 of The Legend of Korra is an insightful depiction of a counterinsurgency campaign which should be required watching for security studies students everywhere. It captures key elements of how insurgencies operate and highlights common pitfalls of counterinsurgents in a compact …
Continue reading "The Legend of Korra – An Insurgency Masterclass"
There's a lot of talk about recruiting and retention in the Army these days, as we try to build the right force for whatever lies in the future. Without a doubt, we need to have the right people in the right places. But too often we are hidebound by organizational issues or habits that keep …
Continue reading "Army Organizational Issues that Prevent Talent Management"
OPORD 11-26-21 (OPERATION TURKEY DAY) (U) SITUATION. Thanksgiving holiday necessitates high intake of Class I itemsTerrain and weather: White and drifted snow; biting wind MISSION. Your unit moves to Grandmother's House IOT complete Pumpkin Pie consumption operations EXECUTION.Scheme of Movement and Maneuver: Over the river and through the woodCoordinating instructions: The horse knows the way …
Continue reading "Thanksgiving Operations Order"
With all due apologies to Charles Dickens. Marley was dead: to begin with. There was no doubt ever about that. Marley and Scrooge had been buddies ever since basic training. They’d shared a bunk together. But now, Marley was dead. As dead as a door-nail. Okay, not actually dead-dead, just dead on social media, where …
Continue reading "A Veterans Day Carol: Being a Ghost Story of Veterans Day"
The Angry Staff Officer 
You must be logged in to post a comment.