Of history, warfare, leadership, and alcohol
At two o’clock in the afternoon on September 11, 2001, I heard a knock at my door. There stood a young sailor who handed me a flyer and said, “Thank you for your assistance.” To my shock, my husband was getting called up for a spontaneous deployment. The flyer had a list of items I …
Continue reading "Channeling Anger into Action"
One thing Ian could always be sure of, and that was that when things seemed at their worst or darkest, his troops would find someway to make the best of it. Years ago, back when he’d first come into the Army, he was stuck on a mounted patrol on some outlying moon. It was more …
Continue reading "Finding Space – Chapter Twelve"
This morning, the Virginia state capitol in Richmond saw dozens of armed men gathering to demonstrate their support for the Second Amendment of the US Constitution - the right to bear arms. These men were not merely bearing arms, however; they were fully accoutered in the trappings of what one would call a paramilitary group: …
Continue reading "Stop Calling Armed Mobs the “Militia”"
If you’re like me, you’ve always wondered where some of the wonky unit numbers in the US Army come from. Like, where did the other 99 airborne divisions other than the 82nd and 101st go? Did we ever have 503 infantry regiments at the same time? The answer comes down as a combination of some …
Continue reading "Army Unit Numerical Designations: Where do they come from?"
For anyone who watched television in the early 2000s (oh, woe be upon us before the era of on-demand, streamable drama), Battlestar Galactica was a staple of the weekly line up. For anyone who was not an avid fan, the show featured an ensemble cast and their struggle against the Cylons, a race of …
Continue reading "The Case Against Starbuck: Why Talent is Not Enough"
Much ink has been expended on the follies of the Army of the Living at the Battle of Winterfell. But the antics of Jon and Daenerys stand as military genius compared to the Night King. He could have won the entire war without risk through manoeuvre. Only his obsession with a decisive battle doomed his …
Continue reading "The Real Failure at Winterfell"
"You're in the Army, you must not have any problems being assertive. You just say things and people do them, right?" Sitting in my counselor's office, these words fell on my ears and caused me to smile. Even in parts of the public where people are more familiar with the military, the idea of the …
Continue reading "The Importance of Being a Self-Aware Leader"
The Lord Intelligencer was first on the schedule. After the Crown Prince sat down and nodded to him, he rose and walked to the map on the wall. He smoothed his blue robes and cleared his throat. ‘Highness, my Lords and Ladies, colleagues. As you all are aware, our long term planning has been organized …
Continue reading "A Fantastical Council of War"
Guest post by LTC Scotty M. Autin Let’s do a test. Close your eyes and tell me what you think about when you hear the words “dreams”, “creativity”, “fantasy”, “smiles”, “magic”, and “generation”. Odds are, you probably thought about some variation of Disney. If so, then you’re a product of Disney’s brilliant brand language strategy. …
Continue reading "Want to build a combat focused culture in your unit? Start with your language"
Light flickered in and out of the cabin where Ian sat, gazing across at the frigate just a few kilometers away. A frigate that was unresponsive. Sure, there were signs of life in it, and Ian felt confident that Rafario still had control of his ship. That being said, they still couldn’t talk to each …
Continue reading "Finding Space – Chapter Eleven"
The Angry Staff Officer 
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