Of history, warfare, leadership, and alcohol
If you've been in the military longer than a day, you are bound to have heard your fair share of quotes about war that leaders like to drag out to show their book-learnin'. If I had nickel for the times I've heard that war is merely a continuation of politics by other means, I'd have …
Continue reading "Timeless Maxims of War"
One Friday night, dark and dreary, At my desk I slumped, weak and weary. A late-night tasker, come my way, Too “urgent” to wait just one more day. “See here, LT,” the S-3 had said, “This suspense can’t wait, don’t mark as read, “Write WARNO, write FRAGO, pen the order, And ensure your slides have …
Continue reading "Ballad of a Young Staff Officer"
Military doctrine is updated every few years, to reflect the changes in technology, tactics, operations, and strategy, as well as to keep several thousand doctrine writers employed. Next to military doctrine, famous quotes from past military leaders are the most commonly cited source when two strategists are arguing. But although we update our doctrine, we …
Continue reading "Classic Military Quotes Brought into the Modern Era"
Let’s have a little chat about readiness. To be more specific, let’s talk Army National Guard readiness. First of all, what does readiness even mean? The word is being tossed around like a football these days (that’s American football to you other folks who refuse to acknowledge our arbitrary break with the rest of the …
Continue reading "What is Readiness and How Do We Get There?"
It seems just the other day that the song "Cups," as sung by Anna Kendrick in Pitch Perfect, was all over every radio station in the country. Now, it barely comes on over the waves. Not unlike another old forgotten favorite: the war in Afghanistan. Not only is it in the news less, it literally received no treatment …
Continue reading "How “Cups” is Actually About the U.S. War in Afghanistan"
I know you all are like me; you get excited when new doctrine gets released. Giddy, even. So I know that when the Army released Army Doctrine Reference Publication (ADRP) 1-02 Terms and Military Symbols you immediately downloaded the whole thing and had a good read. Or not. One thing always strikes me when going through this …
Continue reading "Military Graphics: What they SHOULD Mean"
Whoa there, high speed. Look at you, all brand new and shiny, right out of your basic officer leader course, hard-charging to take over your first platoon. Thing is, behind that brash exterior, you're probably confused as all get-out. After years of training in ROTC or a military academy (you OCS guys know all this stuff …
Continue reading "Thrown into the Deep End: Tips for New Platoon Leaders"
Today's guest post comes from Tim Shea (@trshea88), a former U.S. Army Captain hailing from Joint Base Lewis-McChord's now defunct 4th Stryker Brigade. In 2014, Tim traded the green pastures of Army life for the exhilarating, cutthroat world of economic development consulting. He maintains his sanity by writing here. To all the badge, tab, etc. lovers …
Continue reading "A Combat Badge Does Not a Soldier Make"
Dear Dad, You mentioned that you would like to know what my days are like now that I have graduated from the Raithal Imperial Academy, and since I'm on staff duty with not a lot to do, I figured I'd tell you. As you know, I did not get my first choice of assignment to …
Continue reading "A Day in the Life of an Imperial Staff Officer"
Everything we do in the Army seems somehow dehumanizing. We remove individual identity at basic training, in order to meld individuals into a cohesive group. Individuals are referred to by their rank or just their last name. Our entire careers can be summed up on one or two sheets of paper (usually incorrectly). While …
Continue reading "Battle Staff Made Human"
The Angry Staff Officer 
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