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"
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"
Energy blasts arced across the sky, blue hints against the permanent dark yellow. Someone was apparently fighting someone. Ian was laying on his back, gazing upwards. He briefly shut his eyes, yearning for some blessed relief from the ever-present light. Space is supposed to be dark he argued to himself. They'd moved far more than …
Continue reading "Finding Space – Chapter Five"
Captain Marvel Co-Directors Anna Boden and Ryan Flack give remarks during a screening of ÒCaptain MarvelÓ in Washington, D.C., March 7, 2019. The screening was held to highlight Air Force collaboration with Disney and the inspiration behind the main characterÕs warrior ethos: Òhigher, further, faster.Ó (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Rusty Frank) This …
Continue reading "Marvel-ling at the Pentagon: Force Design in the MCU"
Let's be honest: being a disciplined writer is tough. Writer's block is usually waiting in an L-shaped ambush somewhere, and has converged effects with Procrastination, leading to near collapse of efforts by yours truly. So, "Thursday Thoughts" is an attempt to break free, using disciplined initiative, where I place minimal words on the page in …
Continue reading "Thursday Thoughts: Developmental Counseling"
Taking command is a big deal. For most officers, we spend all our lieutenant time with that as the goal. But taking command as a National Guard officer versus Active duty is a pretty different beast. Look, we all want to pretend it's one team, one fight, right? And - once the bullets start singing …
Continue reading "5 Time-Saving Tips for National Guard Company Commanders"
By Sergeant Rick Our Active Component brethren take having access to a Department of Defense (DOD) computer for granted. Other than being on leave, active troops frequently have access to DOD systems in the field! As such, it only comes naturally for Pentagon J6 or DISA officials to haphazardly hand down systems access policies with …
Continue reading "Are Systems Access Restrictions Marginalizing Reservists and Guardsmen?"
Scene: Squad bay, Rebel Alliance, Hoth. The First Sergeant stands up: “Okay, listen up, quiet down. I said quiet down, you lot! Louder than a Bantha breeding barn in here. Just because we’re Rebels doesn’t mean we can’t have discipline. Now, because of recent...incidents around Echo Base, we’ve been directed to give a good safety …
Continue reading "Rebel Safety Brief on Hoth"
Just recently, the National Guard Bureau (NGB) released the news that it now had its own official song! Now, this was not something that the Soldiers and Airmen of the National Guard had ever asked for, or even desired, but like most things coming out of NGB, we got it anyways. And, like most things …
Continue reading "Army Branch Songs: Where Did They Come From?"
