Of history, warfare, leadership, and alcohol
Hey, Army Engineer community, pull up a chair, we need to have a little chat about how we talk about our own history. Somehow, we always let the infantry, armor, and field artillery take center stage when it comes to talking about badass historical figures. We just sort of sit back and mutter, "Well, we …
Continue reading "Francois de Fleury: the Most Badass Engineer of the American Revolution:"
The ideas presented by the founders - debated, argued, and finally articulated in the Declaration of Independence in 1776 - were not just meant for the people of that century. They were meant for all who would come after them. They stand as an idea, not as something that has been enshrined into existence. The …
Continue reading "An Ongoing American Revolution"
So, we know all about the heroes of the American Revolution, right? George Washington, John Adams, Paul Revere – OK, well, not him, he was a good silversmith, an average errand rider, and a godawful general. But odds are you probably haven’t heard of Andrzej Tadeusz Bonawentura Kosciuszko. Nor can you spell it or pronounce …
Continue reading "Thaddeus Kosciusko: The Polish Engineer You Never Heard of who Saved America"
When trying to understand Army doctrine, we tend to get too tied up in the gritty little details of doctrine itself. An example of this would be any number of the required briefings that come with with Military Decision Making Process (MDMP). Staffs spend more time formatting the briefing products - whether on PowerPoint or …
Continue reading "Warfighter: Bunker Hill"
There's one of those old pithy military sayings that is so old that it has been attributed to everyone and no one: "Friendly fire - isn't." I'd like to paraphrase that regarding military terrain: "Impenetrable terrain - isn't." Terrain is one of those features of military history and analysis that I feel never gets its …
Continue reading "Impenetrable Terrain – Isn’t"
A recently discovered letter from a Massachusetts militiaman in the Continental Army reveals what life was like for the brave men fighting in the American Revolution. The letter is presented here in its original form, with the lower case "s" appearing as it would have at the time since the tendency was to put a …
There’s a moment on the television show “Scrubs” (the greatest thing to ever air on American television) when the young resident John Dorian (JD) becomes paralyzed by the fear of accidentally killing a patient by making a mistake. In this mindset, he veers away from making any risky decisions or undertaking any procedures that might …
Continue reading "World War III: Stop Trying to Prevent It"
Let's be honest, we all watch far too much television. In the old days, when our ancestors had no electricity and far too many brain cells, they occupied their time by reading silly things like the Iliad and other such classics. Because of this, they were able to associate current events with Classical literature, forming …
Continue reading "If U.S. Wars were Arrested Development Characters"
When I sat down to write this post, I had planned to say a few things about current veterans’ organizations and ask where the new generation of veterans fits in. However, in doing my research on past veterans organizations, I found that veterans issues have been rife with problems since the very founding of our …
Continue reading "We know Old Soldiers just fade away, but where do Young Soldiers Go?"
The Angry Staff Officer 
You must be logged in to post a comment.