REFLECT
Planning to Win the Tactical Level Fights: How Simple Operations Products Enable Synchronized Success
by Sean Leary Battalion and brigade staffs operate somewhere in between the company tactical level and the operational machines that are division headquarters. In this area, it is essential for commanders and their supporting staffs to be...
10 Rules to Live by on Social Media for Those who Serve
by Orlandon Howard “When there are many words, transgression is unavoidable, but he who restrains his lips is wise.” – King Solomon (1010-931 BCE) It’s easy to make mistakes when communicating regularly on social media....
Lessons Learned for an Effective Training Pathway and Development
by J David Thompson “What did we do that made us so effective?” A few weeks after returning from a deployment to the Levant, one of my Team Sergeants asked me this question after he and his Team Leader had a chance to reflect on the past...
Commander’s Focus Areas for Large Scale Combat Operations
by Ronald Sprang Commanders are critical to an organization’s success. Large Scale Combat Operations (LSCO) stress a unit’s leaders, systems and processes, which require unremitting focus and leadership. Commanders must train their organizations to...
An Army and a Nation: Preparations for Large Scale Ground Combat Operations
by Michael Herb The basic function of an army is to fight and win a nation’s wars; thus, war is the endeavor of a nation. Winning in large-scale combat operations matters and has returned as the priority for the United States military with leaders...
The One Thing Series: Seeing the Best in People
by Brad Ruttman It was very difficult to choose the one thing I wish I knew before taking command. After 8 years of operational and strategic level command, there are so many. However, there is one in particular that I never thought that I would...
The One Thing Series: Burnout
by Bob Shelton I failed … my family, my unit, and my leaders. As a teenager, I had a t-shirt that said “Eat, sleep, and go like hell.” I put a lot of stock in the latter part of that slogan…I believed it. Twenty-two years...
The One Thing Series: You Are Not the Point
by Ben Durdle Our education plants the seed of our perceived exceptionalism, our training waters it, and our experiences prune and bathe it in sunlight. We have signed up to do something extraordinary and believing we are capable and, in many ways,...
The One Thing Series: Mentoring Through the Gauntlet
by Don Gomez The one thing I wish I had known before I started my last job is that, in mentoring relationships, the mentee is almost always looking for practical advice – not cosmic wisdom. That may seem simple, but is truthfully...
One Thing: Systems and Processes for Command
by Jared Massie Within the first few weeks of Battery command I knew I needed to get organized. I began to develop practical products that, looking back, are my greatest lessons learned. They focus on an organized weekly calendar, a ready-made unit...
From Hal Moore’s Bookshelf: What He Underlined
By David Moore My father, LTG Hal Moore, passed away two years ago on this day -10 February, three days shy of his 95th birthday. The purpose of this article is to not seek empathy but to use the occasion to reinforce a few beliefs that...
General Donn Starry on Leadership
By Joe Byerly As military leaders we should want nothing more than to give our enemies an unfair fight—with the advantage in our favor. And one way in which we do this is through training our forces. I can’t think of anyone who has written as...
UK Commanders Everyone Should Study
By: The Editors at the Wavell Room We’ve teamed up with From the Green Notebook for a leadership exercise: A General Exchange. The idea is simple. Just put forward 5 British generals that are worthy of study by our American cousins. In return we...
10 Things You Should Know About Supporting Breastfeeding Soldiers
By Lauren Holl The number of women entering the military has steadily increased during the last 30 years. Despite this trend, there continues to be a knowledge gap regarding best practices in supporting Soldiers who return to work after giving...
The Do’s and Don’ts of Letters of Introduction
By Scott Shaw and Chad Foster Writing letters of introduction to your future battalion or brigade commanders has been a staple of the basic and career course since we were lieutenants and captains (and before our time as well). This time-honored...
The 8 Lessons of Leadership I Learned Brewing Coffee – A Tribute to BG Sean P. Mulholland
By Alex Licea I originally wrote this over two years ago. It’s about the leadership lessons I learned brewing the morning coffee while working as the enlisted aid for then BG Sean P. Mulholland, who was the commander of Special Operations...
How to Develop a Mission Mentaility
By: William Treseder This post is a short excerpt from his new book RESET: Building Purpose in the Age of Digital Distraction Hungry For Purpose The Ancient Greeks used the word telos. The best translation is “end-purpose” or “end-goal”. I really...
Looking for Career Advice? Start in the Mirror
As soon as I signed my military contract in 2001, I started receiving career advice. Leaders, from my professor of military science to future commanders, began sharing their wisdom with me on the right branch, the perfect career-enhancing...
3 Signs that a Star Performer is on the Path to Burnout
This post originally appeared on Bridge3.com and was written for a corporate audience, however the topic and the advice offered has equal application for military leaders. By Jonathan Silk How does a star performer turn into a loose cannon, or...
The Three Hardest Words for Leaders: “I Don’t Know”
“Throw out your conceited opinions, for it is impossible for a person to begin to learn what he thinks he already knows.” – Epictetus, Discourses I think three of the hardest words for leaders to say are, “I don’t know.” No matter the...
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An XO’s Guide to Staff Dominance
By Josh Suthoff Like any field grade I have spent a significant amount of time thinking about counseling. How do you effectively communicate to subordinates what you are looking for in them to be successful? I cherish my company grade years, but I...
Future Army Leaders: Expert Specialists or Master Generalists?
By Franklin C. Annis, EdD Many of us know the adage, “A jack of all trades and master of none.” This phrase, in the modern usage, is usually used to describe an individual that is functional in several different skills but lacks the ability to...
Improving Decision-Making Through Games
By: Ilhan Akcay War games are a great way to learn about history and warfare on all levels in a simple, low-cost, easy to setup environment. This article and the attached listing present a few war games, placed into four categories that I‘ve found...
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...
Interacting With Your Battalion Commander
By Scott Shaw So you’re in the Staff College, on the Division Staff, or just about to take that Iron Major position. CONGRATULATIONS! You’re about to assume a very important role. Majors run Brigade Combat Teams and Brigade Combat Teams are what...
Should I Go to SAMS?
By: Jim Greer Someone recently asked me, “Why should an officer attend SAMS (the US Army School of Advanced Military Studies)?” But, in fact I think that is exactly the wrong question. The question ought to be, “Why would any officer not want to...
10 Rules for the Iron Major
By. Chad Foster Lists of “rules” are always problematic because they are never really complete or perfect. There is ALWAYS a better way to phrase something or a key idea that gets left out. However, the list below is one that has stayed with me for...
The Iron Major: War Stories From the Staff
By Steve Leonard, creator of Doctrine Man!! It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. The “Iron Major” phase of your career can seem to drag on forever, drifting in that twilight zone between the nostalgia of company command and the...
The Field Grade Survival Kit
By Aaron Childers You are going into a survival situation and you can only bring ten things… Sometimes being a field grade is like being in a survival scenario. You have a lot to do, build shelter, find water, and search for food. All of these...
The Major’s Guide to Hurting Soldiers
This is the first post in the Field Grade Week Series (#FGWEEK). The intent is to provide company grade officers and new majors advice on making the successful transition from captain to major. This particular article by BG Ross Coffman was one of...
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