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A Tale of Two Christmas Carols

Ever wondered about the history of your Christmas carols? Well, sit tight because this is a wild ride! Famous Christmas carol "Jingle Bells" has a complex backstory involving Bostonian James Pierpont who, despite hailing from an abolitionist family, joined a Georgia militia unit during the Civil War. Similarly, "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day" was written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, moved by his son's near-death experiences in the Civil War. These carols echo stories of strife, despair, and unflagging hope amidst war.

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Water is Wet: “solving” the military recruiting crisis.

West Point's Modern War Institute, in conjunction with Training and Doctrine Command, initiated a contest in July 2023 to elicit essays describing a novel approach to "solve the recruiting crisis". Entries were accepted until September 3, 2023. To date, the winning entries have not been announced. The below reproduced short essay was originally written as …

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Grand Admiral Thrawn: Strategist, Coach, and Mentor

Leader development was a hard thing to come by in the Imperial Navy during the 24-year reign of the Galactic Empire.  Throughout the movies, books, and television shows set in the Star Wars universe, there are countless examples of counterproductive leadership in the Imperial hierarchy that highlight the lack of positive role models in the …

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Guest Post: Dear Senior Leaders, It’s Not Us, It’s You

            In 1954, General Anthony McAuliffe wrote a letter to General Henry Hodes describing “an urgent and vexing problem” within the Army: “It is my understanding that assignment to command of a company or a battery is not a popular one, a pronounced contrast to the attitude existing prior to World War II…We must give …

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Are We Hearing What We Want to Hear?

A few months ago, this blog published the post "On Command: A Confession," wherein I talked about my personal struggles with the idea of taking a battalion command. Not unlike the USS Maine in 1898, that post blew up. Too soon? I got messages from other Army officers, Navy officers, even officers in foreign militaries. …

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Why the American Experience in World War I Matters Today

One would say that picking the day before the anniversary of D-Day in World War II is an odd time to talk about the first world war, yet, here we are. Because the more that I look at the war in Ukraine, the more I am drawn back to World War I. And no, not …

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The Army, Recruiting, and Bad Faith “Woke” Criticism

Guest post via an author writing under the pseudonym Lost CAC The military faces a recruiting shortfall. The Army, as the largest service, predictably felt the sting acutely, missing its recruiting goals by 15,000 or 25%. Army officials offered several reasons for recruiting difficulties: a tight civilian job market, pandemic-related restrictions on recruiter access to …

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On Command: A Confession

I have a confession to make. I don't want to be a battalion commander. I don't want to be a brigade commander. I don't want to command anything, ever again. For an Army officer to say, this is well nigh on heresy. I nearly expected George C. Marshall himself to descend from his lofty throne …

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The GWOT Theme Park Experience

This is brought to you by the author having been subjected to two World War II airborne "experiences" in this year alone, which made them wonder if someone would ever try to encapsulate and commercialize the GWOT experience. This is a work of snark and should not be interpreted seriously. However, if someone does actually …

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The Problem of Remembrance

I'm sitting in a mock-up of a Douglas C-47 Skytrain as the airframe rumbles and jerks from the impact of anti-aircraft fire outside. As we can see from looking out the windows, planes catch fire and go down around us. One particularly close explosion scores a hit and smoke seeps from the floor. Across from …

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