Of history, warfare, leadership, and alcohol
As you progress in the Army as an officer - and sometimes as an NCO – you’re bound to end up on staff at some point or another. Like death or taxes, it is inevitable – and sometimes as equally dreaded. One of the perks of staff – besides the feeling of constant dread and …
Continue reading "The Different Types of Army Staff Officers by Branch"
Look, we’ve all been there. It’s staff call. Your mind wanders. You start imagining the staff primaries wearing silly hats. Now you imagine the XO as an animal - possibly a frog, sitting on a lilypad. Right around the time that the S-4 is briefing how they can’t possibly move a shipping container from one …
Continue reading "Galactic Staff Officers: Battle Staff as Star Wars Characters"
We’ve all been there. It’s 1700 on a Friday and you’re still stuck in a meeting that began at 1300, and the S-3 still has twenty more slides to brief. What you could really use right now is a good stiff drink. Your mind wanders off to consider your options, as the monotonous drone of …
Continue reading "Army Staff Meetings and their Corresponding Cocktails"
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"
Today's guest post comes from Eamon Hamilton (@eamonhamilton), who, like a modern day Bruce Wayne, has two lives. By day, he does Public Affairs with the Royal Australian Air Force. By night, he stands with those who over-analyse the Star Wars films. He can be found writing here. Mom, I suppose it's too early to hope …
Continue reading "A Day in the Life of a Rebel Alliance Logistician"
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"
Way back in the hazy days of Army history (1905), there existed a mythical bird: the Oozlefinch. First sighted by inebriated denizens of the Coast Artillery Corps Officer’s Club at Fort Monroe, Virginia, the Oozlefinch was quickly adopted by that corps as their mascot. Allegedly featherless but with large eyes with which to see the …
Continue reading "A Socratic Dialogue with a Staff Officer"
