REFLECT
Once an Expert, Forever an Expert? A Case for Army Expert Badge Holder Recertification
by Andrew J. Papathanasiou No one who has earned one of the Army’s coveted expert badges (EIB, ESB, & EFMB) wants to ever have to relive that week of mental stress again. But should they have to? Our immediate response, mine included,...
An Introduction to (Bullet) Journaling
by Jakob Hutter Note taking may seem like a simple task of processing information and writing down ideas, thoughts, and other important information any time. However, it earnestly takes skill, time, and effort to be able to later retrieve this...
A Unifying Foundation: Military Community and the Oath of Office
by Tom Dull The military community stands apart from others due to its emphasis on inclusion and acceptance. While small in population, the military community is highly efficient and effective in operation; its ability to find common ground to...
Post-Traumatic Growth: Reflections on PTSD and Thriving in the Military
by Ron Sprang Eleven years ago I wrote an article in the middle of one of the greatest trials of my life, A Silent Warrior’s Struggle: PTSD and Leader Resiliency. I wanted to follow up on that experience, address the positive change in Army culture...
Who Cares if Soldiers Look Fat? Reimagining the Army’s Body Composition Program
by Brennan Deveraux & Katie Haapala For the past few years, the Army has prioritized a holistic approach to health and fitness, epitomized by the service’s overhaul of its physical fitness test. However, the Army’s establishment of its new...
Getting the Word Out: 10 Ways to Bolster Your Unit’s PAO and Make Your Unit Better
by Kevin Sandell Editor’s Note: This is the first of a two-part series focused on improving your unit’s communication efforts through your Public Affairs Office. The second part of this series will be published later this spring....
Leader Development in the National Guard: Overcoming Obstacles and Intentionally Developing Others
by Jakob Hutter Our world is diverse and ever changing. As such, organizational leaders must be able to effectively deal with changes that can influence the organization’s current systems and processes. For the Army, developing leaders involves a...
The Oldest Wargame: How Rediscovering Chess can Develop the Military Leader
by Jay Carmody The game of chess has experienced a resurgence in the United States, due in large part to popular tv series and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic driving people to board games. As the civilian world rediscovers chess, it is time...
Heading to a Joint Assignment? Complete Phase II of Joint Professional Military Education (JPME)
by Thang Q. Tran It is an exciting time of the year as Assignment Officers and Detailers notify individuals of their upcoming assignments. A select group of field grade officers from across the Department of Defense will get assigned to a position...
War on a Budget: What Can the S-8 Do for Your Team?
by Henoch Gassner A relatively late addition to the Brigade Combat Team (BCT), the Resource Management (RM) staff, or S-8, enables the brigade commander to make informed decisions on how to maximize lethality by executing their budget. Although the...
Speak the Forbidden Letters: MDMP
By Josh Powers and Joe Byerly In many organizations, the letters “MDMP” will send staff officers running. The process can be painful and daunting, but it doesn’t have to be that way. As field grade officers, we control the planning timeline and we...
Field Grade Tales From a Former OC/T
By Jim King One of the benefits of being an Observer Controller/Trainer (OC/T) is that we get to stand with one leg in doctrine and the other in reality. We learn the theory, but then watch countless units fight it out in the Mojave desert, moving...
In Case You Didn’t Know It, Things Are Very Different Now: Part 2
By: Tony Cucolo Exceptional Personal Appearance: The Baseline for a Great First Impression I have taken a lot of good-natured chiding and grief for this portion of the coaching – one of my Majors called it “The Blazer Brief” — but I cannot...
In Case You Didn’t Know It, Things Are Very Different Now: Part 1
By Major General Tony Cucolo, U.S. Army (Ret.) Over the length of my time in uniform, I often found myself scratching my head and saying to no one in particular, “I wish someone had told me that…” So, I make it a point to wherever and whenever...
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...
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 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...
Generations of Veterans Now Face the Duty to Reshape America
I am pleased to share the following blog post, written by Team Rubicon Clay Hunt Fellow Crista Casas. Content courtesy of Team Rubicon. To learn more about their mission of continued service through disaster response,...
Choosing Action Over Apathy
I am pleased to share the following blog post, written by Team Rubicon Clay Hunt Fellow Brandon Callahan. Content courtesy of Team Rubicon. To learn more about their mission of continued service through disaster response, visit TeamRubiconUSA.org....
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#DAweek: Preparing For Decisive Action
By: Jim Greer For 55 years after World War II the U.S. VII Corps prepared to defend the rolling hills, forests and villages of Germany against attack by the Soviet and Warsaw Pact forces. Then, in early November of 1990 they were ordered to deploy...
#DAweek: How Will We Train to Fight and Win in a Complex World?
By: General David Perkins “Military failures are a result of three things: failure to learn, failure to adapt, and a failure to anticipate.” The strength of the United States military – in fact, our asymmetric advantage – is...
Time To Change Mission Command Doctrine
By Regina Parker The Army let me study abroad in China this year to deepen my understanding of international relations, but I have also learned quite a bit about the Army itself. Last week, for instance, I was riding a train through Tianjin when my...
You Want the Best? Embrace Failure
By Brad Hutchison three The troops were ready: SHARP, OPSEC, SAEDA and CTIP training complete; field sanitation, environmental compliance, and ammunition handling teams trained and identified; all Soldiers who would come within the 385 days of...
Ten Important Lessons I Learned as the S3/XO
By Jason Gallardo 1.Build relationships- your ability to succeed will depend on your aptitude at working with your sister BNs, BDE, DIV, and post agencies. You have been told throughout your career that relationships are everything, but it becomes...
Mentorship: A Strategic Imperative
By Chip Bircher Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others. —Jack Welch In the fall of 1915, a young lieutenant fresh out of West Point reported to Fort...
Victory From the Sidelines
By Christopher Manganaro Coaching a football team and leading a military unit have a lot in common. Both require an understanding of the “game,” practicing multiple plays for different scenarios, and building a quality bench of “players.” Whether...
When Bacteria Beats Bayonets
I originally published this post over at The Zen Pundit as part of The Thucydides Round Table, an eight week deep dive into an exceptional work of history. If you haven’t read Landmark Thucydides yet, I encourage you to pick up a copy,...
How Group Dynamics Brought Athens and Sparta to War
By Joe Byerly I originally published this post over at The Zen Pundit as part of The Thucydides Round Table, an eight week deep dive into an exceptional work of history. If you haven’t read Landmark Thucydides yet, I encourage you to...
Can Intellectuals Wear Muddy Boots?
Talent management is a hot topic today, and we increasingly read articles and blog posts that are very critical of the military’s management of its personnel. However, the tension between talent management and our promotion system is not a new one....
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