REFLECT
Insecurity, Power, and Tyrants
By Joe Byerly Why do people chase power? Many of us fool ourselves into thinking our pursuit of power is noble. We want to make a difference. We want to bring about change. We want to make things better. But lurking just beneath those reasons is...
Judgment Comes Full Circle: I’m the Major Now
By Sara Roger Chaos, uncertainty, deadlines, endless meetings, new guy syndrome. You might call these facts of life, but for me, they were the ingredients in this week’s signature dish: “Fill the Gap for the Brigade Operations Officer.” For the...
Why FightCamp Is the Perfect Garage Gym Setup for Veterans Getting Back in Shape
By Joe Byerly After 20 years in the military, staying physically fit is hardwired into who I am. But I’ll be honest, my body doesn’t bounce back the way it used to. My knees aren’t fans of long runs or high-impact workouts like CrossFit anymore,...
What George Marshall Would Tell Today’s Leaders
by Aaron Childers The military places a large amount of responsibility on young leaders from the moment they assume their positions. This can be overwhelming at times, but it isn’t a modern problem. In fact, some of the struggles that...
Why Every Leader Needs to Create a “Me Manual”
By Joe Byerly One of the first pieces of advice I received when I joined the Army was to create an “I love me book.” This binder became a repository for all my awards, evaluation reports, orders, and even handwritten notes from senior leaders. I...
Silent Sacrifices, Powerful Impact: The Truth About Military Spouses
Albert D. Keever Jr. In the military, the term “dependent” usually refers to someone who relies on a service member for financial and medical support, such as a spouse or a child. It’s a label that, on the surface, appears...
Power is the Great Auditor
By Joe Byerly Do you believe you have a strong character? Do you think you’re a highly competent leader? Do you think you understand the full extent of your faults? Do you think you can do a better job than the guy or gal currently in the role you...
Learning to Live a Halfway Interesting Life
By Joe Byerly It’s been three years since I deployed to Europe on short notice with the 82nd Airborne Division in preparation for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Nine months since I gave up command of a cavalry squadron in Europe. And six months...
Chasing the Inner Circle
By Joe Byerly Most of us, whether we admit it or not, feel the pull toward the ‘inner circle’ in our professional lives. For some, it’s a passing thought. For others, it’s an obsession that can cost friendships, even family, in the pursuit of being...
Power and the Inner Circle
By Joe Byerly We often think of power as something that belongs to the person in charge. The corporate executive, political leader, or military commander is the one with all the power, right? However, power rarely exists in isolation, it...
The Beowulf Problem
by Cherian Zachariah Beowulf spoke and made a formal boast for the last time: “I risked my life often when I was young; now I am old. As king of the people, I shall pursue this fight for the glory of winning, if the evil one will abandon his fort...
How Aristotle Challenged Me to ‘Embrace the Suck’
by Scotty Fargo Aristotle was all for the embodiment of excellence, characterized well by his quote, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” This article serves as a reflection of what I have learned as a cadet...
The Timeless Relevance of Classical War Theories in Modern Warfare
Montage of Sun Tzu, by the Chinese School, 19th century, via FineArtAmerica; with The Battle of Yešil-köl-nör by Charles Nicolas Cochin II, via The Met; and Carl von Clausewitz by Franz Michelis Wilhelm, 1830, Preussischer Kulturbesitz, Berlin by...
Affinity Over Alikeness: How to Mentor Soldiers Different Than You
by Emma Abusch “The delicate balance of mentoring someone is not creating them in your own image, but giving them the opportunity to create themselves.” -Steven Spielberg It’s 0200 and I’m flying to my first no-notice deployment. I look up...
Avoid These Mistakes
by Jacob Loftice I recently had a conversation with an NCO regarding his frustrations with the plan for a certain event. His points had merit, but were diminished by how he conveyed them. Offering a critique coupled with a diatribe about a staff...
Thinking of Yourself as Phil Jackson: Team Building Reflections from Command
by Oren Rosen Building your team is important work. And managing that team once assembled is what determines if the team will perform at championship caliber. As a commander, you inherit most of your team—but that does not mean the roster is...
Thinking in Pixels: Developing Leadership Skills from Video Games
by Jakob Hutter Since the early days of ‘Pong’ and ‘Space Invaders’, the realm of pixels has more than just provided entertainment. Where every action has consequences and challenges lurk at every corner, a journey to explore and conquer provides...
Mentorship: Finding Meaning Beneath The Surface
by James Duncan It’s Monday, and the scene is an all-too familiar one. After battalion formation, the Soldiers shuffle over to the truck line. After a few minutes recapping Sunday night football and griping about the cold from the morning’s run,...
Communicate Your Staff Estimates in the Language of Risk
by Tom Gaines and Micah Stedman “Gentlemen, we have run out of money; now we have got to think.” – Winston Churchill Somewhere out there is the perfect unit. The commander’s intent is perfectly understood by every member of this...
Building Mutual Trust: Candor, Clarity, and Curiosity
by Ryan Cornell-d’Echert In our organizations, how comfortable are people admitting they do not know? How often do we respond with, “Sir, I don’t have that information. I’ll take it as a due-out,” or “Ma’am, we should have thought of that. We’ll...
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Lessons from Large Scale Combat Operations, Part III
by Larry Kay, Josh Cosmos, Dan DeNeve, Nicole Courtney, Jeremy Mounticure Editor’s Note: In this final article of our three-part series, the authors will describe the staff’s attempt to create “decision space” for the commanding general, while also...
Lessons from Large Scale Combat Operations, Part II
by Larry Kay, Josh Cosmos, Dan DeNeve, Nicole Courtney, Jeremy Mounticure Editor’s Note: This is the second of a three-part article, stay tuned for the final part tomorrow. In the previous article, the authors discussed the importance of aligning...
Lessons from Large Scale Combat Operations Part I
by Larry Kay, Josh Cosmos, Dan DeNeve, Nicole Courtney, Jeremy Mounticure Editor’s Note: This is the first of a three-part article, stay tuned for the next two parts over the coming days. The division is the Army’s principal tactical...
Lessons From the Dark Side: Leadership by Vader
by Eric Shockley The presentation with the Emperor had not gone well. Progress on the completion of the Death Star had been slow. Delays, complications with contractors, hiring challenges, and the ongoing war with the Rebel Alliance had all...
Expertise: How Interwar Periods Inform our Army Officer Development
by Ben Elliott Imagine this scenario: A mainland force for years has been steadily infringing on the domestic issues of its regional neighbors and most recently began to advance toward its strategic direction to control its near abroad. At...
Greener Pastures: Can the Implementation of Self-determination Theory Improve the Army Talent Management System?
by Catherine Cline Joining any military requires some intrinsic motivation to commit to selfless service. However, the Army has a growing disparity in the retention of mid-grade officers and for various reasons, loses almost half its officers by...
Operationalizing Multi-Domain Operations at the Tactical Level: SOSRA and Seven Steps of Engagement Area Development
by Michael Soyka The United States Army made a significant leap forward in modernizing its doctrine to align to current and future threats with the publication of FM 3-0 Operations in 2022. While the new FM 3-0 builds on the changes...
A Lesson from History: Never Present the “Throwaway” COA
by Rick Chersicla From 431 BC to 404 BC, the two preeminent Greek city-states of the time engaged in what would be a generational struggle. This war (really a period of intermittent conflict with the occasional stretches of peace) commonly known as...
Yours, Mine, Ours: Identifying Responsibilities Amongst Leaders
by Andrew Wilhelm and Michael Hellman In the winter of 2021, my new Platoon Sergeant and I sat down over coffee and began building our new partnership. I had seven months of Platoon Leader time under my belt and a relationship with my first PSG...
Transparency and Stability: The Twin Beacons of Leading Highly Effective Organizations
by Ben Showman The Leader’s Responsibility The Army has a clear definition of leadership. It is carefully and intentionally crafted for Army leaders to flexibly accomplish missions while simultaneously improving their organizations. However,...
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