Articles
On Getting Humbled
By Joe Byerly The words escaped my mouth before my brain could catch up. I saw my commander lean back in his seat, eyes narrowing. His chair creaked like a spring under pressure—until it snapped forward. Then came the ass-chewing. My face...
Ep 157- How Robotics and AI Will Transform Warfare and the Future of Human Conflict with George M. Dougherty
Military strategist and author George M. Dougherty joins Joe to unpack how robotics, AI, and precision weaponry are reshaping the future of warfare—and what history can teach us about navigating this transformation. From his book Beast in the...
What Three Hobbits Teach Us About Friendship, Virtue, and the Company We Keep
by Jay Carmody Since J.R.R. Tolkien first published The Lord of the Rings trilogy nearly 70 years ago, authors and fans have published a wealth of articles exploring Tolkien’s characters and universe. One topic worth revisiting for military leaders...
Why We PT (Together), and Why You Should Too
by Garrett M. Searle In 2014, Admiral William McRaven, then Commander of U.S. Special Operations Command, made a famous speech at a commencement ceremony for his alma mater, the University of Texas. The thesis of his address was the importance of...
Power Without Preparation
By: Joe Byerly Have you ever watched a baking show and thought, I could do that? Or seen a YouTube clip of someone playing a popular song on guitar and thought, How hard can it be? Or listened to a podcast and said, I could make one of those? Then...
Telling the Story: Using Narrative to Synchronize Operations
By Rich Groen In tactical operations, effective communication remains one of the most underappreciated yet crucial competencies for field-grade leaders. At the upper echelons of operational and strategic planning, one of the most enduring...
Timeliness Over Perfection: The Critical Balance in Fast-Moving Operational Environments
By Caleb D. King III Have you ever found yourself delaying reporting something up the chain of command because the information was not perfect or pretty? How much time did you spend perfecting the information before other decision-makers could...
The Value of Introspection: Letting Yourself Teach Yourself
by Michael Moffeit We have all been there, hastily scribbling notes into our notebooks (mostly green and mostly government-issued), trying to capture some notes or to-do lists. We attempt to record pearls of wisdom from our raters, senior raters,...
Ep 156- Who Are You Without the Rank? A Conversation on Leader Identity with LTC (P)Laura Weimer
Army officer and Harvard-trained scholar Laura Weimer joins Joe to unpack leader identity—how it’s formed, why it matters, and what happens when we never stop to question it. From leading Soldiers in the field to earning a PhD in organizational...
Should You Go to SAMS? Yes.
by Garrett Chandler Most of the stories they tell you about being a School of Advanced Military Studies (SAMS) planner are true. You will likely be thrown right into being the lead planner for something immediately, or, as in my case, on the third...
Why Aren’t There More Books About Communication On Military Reading Lists?
By Megan Jantos Leadership is communication, and communication is leadership. Don’t believe me? Try influencing others by providing purpose, direction, and motivation without communication. On the flip side, people naturally follow those who...
Become an Innovation Insurgent!
This post originally appeared on Linkedin here. By: William Treseder We love learning at BMNT. There are always ways to improve, and books are a fantastic source of distilled wisdom that you can apply in real-world situations. Below is a...
Getting the Cannons to Boston: Henry Knox
You’re reading an excerpt from Serial Box and the Associated Press’s new series, 1776: A World Turned Upside down Learn more about this project here. Between chatting up customers, Knox was also reading all he could lay his hands on about...
Bookish, Bold, and Jolly: Henry Knox
You’re reading an excerpt from Serial Box and the Associated Press’s new series, 1776: A World Turned Upside down Learn more about this project here. Paine provided the intellectual and emotional flint to spark colonists’ feelings into flames, Knox...
The Founding Failure: Part 2
You’re reading an excerpt from Serial Box and the Associated Press’s new series, 1776: A World Turned Upside down Learn more about this project here. After his most recent failure of employment, Paine was contemplating forming a “Salt-Peter...
The Founding Failure
You’re reading an excerpt from Serial Box and the Associated Press’s new series, 1776: A World Turned Upside down Learn more about this project here. The Founding Corset-Maker Tom Paine had been a dabbler at many things, a failure...
The Army Field Grade Starter Kit
“The Major runs on coffee and hate…and I think he’s out of coffee.” -Some Poor Staff Captain at NTC Last year I completed S3/XO time and there were a couple of things I wish I would have had in my cargo pocket when I walked...
How to Read More Books in 2018
We all can probably agree that reading is good for the brain. Leaders from George Washington to General Patton leaned on books to fill their knowledge gaps, and their efforts paid off on the battlefield. Defense Secretary James Mattis...
2017 in The Books
At the end of every year, I compile all the books I read in twelve months into a year-end reading list. Here are ones from 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016. This year I didn’t even come close to reaching my reading goal. However, the books I did...
25 Podcasts to Build Your Library
Whether you are traveling on a long car trip, commuting to work, or going for a long run/bike ride, there is no better way to pass the time and grow your brain than to listen to a podcast. After canvassing my network and pulling from my own...
One More Play: Commanding at the Finish Line
By Joe Byerly Today marks one year since I changed command and then signed out on terminal leave from the Army. This morning, I reread my journal entry from that day—and decided to write a few reflections on that decision: to stay in the 20-year...
How to Become the AI-Empowered Iron Major
Partnering with Your AI-Teammate in the Mundane Trenches of Staff Officer Warfare By Jerry Champion It’s after 1800, and you’re knee-deep in your sixth meeting of the day. The chat thread in Microsoft Teams is growing longer by the second, sidebar...
My “Why”: The Army Family
By Mike Everett We’ve all been asked numerous times: Why did you join? The answer early in my career was “to pay off my college debt.” There may have been other reasons—the challenge, love for country, and a meaningful career. But, initially, the...
How to Quit Climbing the Envy Ladder
By Joe Byerly One of the pitfalls of ambition, if we’re not careful, is that we start looking outward too much, always measuring our life against the lives of others. They have a nicer house. A cooler job. A better car. Even their vacations look...
Make the Best Decision for You: Why I Stayed in the Army
by Dave Leydet As I sat in my high school algebra class, the principal’s voice came over the loudspeaker. “A plane just crashed into the World Trade Center,” he announced. I thought to myself, That’s odd; why are they telling us about a random...
Kids, COAs, and Career Crossroads: the Coordinated Chaos of being Dual-Military
By CPT Alex Weisser “Until I get too old or too ugly; Uncle Sam will tell me when to leave.” That’s what I tell people when they ask me how long I plan to stay in the Army. To an extent, my tongue-in-cheek saying is heartfelt. I enjoy Soldiering....
Retiring at 20: Why I Chose Family Over Competing for Battalion Command
Three years ago, with palms sweating, I walked into my senior rater’s office for a counseling session. I told him, “I don’t want battalion command and plan to retire at the first opportunity.” It took months to gather the courage to say those...
Sometimes, They Have to Touch the Stove
By Joe Byerly Now that I’m a parent of kids who are getting older, I find myself wanting to play more “life defense”—to protect them from the bruises and blows of growing up: failure, misfortune, consequences. I think we all do this to...
Letting Go of the Uniform, Not the Lessons
By: Joshua Risner In the Right Place I turned 15 on 9/11. I was raised in a patriotic household in rural America, by a family that valued and demonstrated service to others, to the community, and to the Nation. Like so many others, 9/11 was the...
Three Lessons for the Commissioning Class of 2025
by John Geracitano Sixteen years ago, I was a struggling lieutenant—well-meaning but clueless. Despite caring deeply about my unit’s success, its soldiers, and my leadership role, I couldn’t grasp the “big picture.” Navigating the many demands of...
The 1,000,000 Lessons Milestone
In Ancient Rome, miliariums were stone obelisks that first appeared along the famous Appian Way and became central to the Roman road networks. They helped citizens get from one point to another, marking the distance traveled. Eventually, the...
How to Organize Your Notebook For Success
By: Jeremiah Hurley I grew up in an Army where pen and paper were as important uniform items as your pants. In the right hands, a pen and paper are powerful tools. As great as you think your memory may be, it’s not perfect – you need to take...
Army PAOs and the Often-Overlooked Strategic Seat ‘At the Table’
By Captain Kevin Sandell When U.S. Tomahawk cruise missiles were launched into Syria this past April, it was a Navy Mass Communications Specialist who captured the viral footage shown on national and international news networks. It was an Army...
How Good Leaders Communicate: Conduits vs Reservoirs
By: MAJ Ryan C. Boileau, Sr Over my 25-plus year military career, I have benefitted from mentors who shared their knowledge with me. A common trait in all great leaders is being a conduit of knowledge – disseminating and sharing what they know to...
If You Want To Write, Collaborate!
By Gary Klein At some point in time, all of us have written for school, our jobs, or publication. However, chances are, most of us have done this alone. Admittedly, writing by yourself simplifies the process of prewriting, drafting, revising,...
Iron Major, Meet Your PAO
By Dave Butler and Dave Chace In the Information Age, how your actions are interpreted are as important as the actions themselves. This applies not only to the battlefield but to the local community, the greater military enterprise and your...
Why Every Leader Should Carry a (Green) Notebook
By Joe Byerly There are several great articles (here, here, or here) about the importance of writing for publication, but what about the importance of writing for yourself? From Marcus Aurelius to George Patton and Leonardo da Vinci to Bill Gates,...
#AUSADIGITAL: Social Media and the Future of Leader Development
By Joe Byerly In 1920, as commander of 3rd Squadron, 3d Cavalry, then Colonel George S. Patton Jr. held a series of sixteen lectures in which we he imparted the lessons he had learned from a mixture of self study and his own experiences in...
Commanders As Communicators
From ARMY Magazine, Vol. 66, No. 4, April 2016. Copyright © 2016 by the Association of the U.S. Army and reprinted by permission of ARMY Magazine. By Dave Hodne Among the many rewards of commanding at the brigade level, the opportunity to...
Above and Beyond the Green Notebook
From ARMY Magazine, Vol. 67, No. 3, March 2017. Copyright © 2017 by the Association of the U.S. Army and reprinted by permission of ARMY Magazine. By Joe Byerly Walk into any organization in our Army and there is one thing I...
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