REFLECT
Think Like a Commander
By Lou Crist Several years ago, during an interview, I was asked, “What is the most important thing an S2 does?” The question took me aback. After some thought, I answered that the S2 should impart their understanding of the enemy to the commander....
Burned Brakes and Broken Habits: Bringing a JMPI Mindset to the 2d Cavalry Regiment
By Sam Balch The Paratroopers stand quietly in the PAX shed, helmets on, heavy rucks pulling on their shoulders, face paint applied, and parachutes strapped tight. A Jumpmaster moves deliberately down the line, inspecting every strap, snap, stitch,...
Education Without Execution: When the Best Year of Your Life Doesn’t Prepare You for the Fight.
by Sungkuyn “Eddie” Chang After completing the Advanced Operations Course (AOC) at the United States Army Command and General Staff College (CGSC), all students completed an online after-action report survey for the Quality Assurance team at CGSC....
The Power of Panta Rei
By Joe Byerly When I was a kid, there were a handful of professional athletes I used to idolize. They were at the top of their game. They had money, fame, and even got to ride around in limousines. I don’t know why, but that was a big deal back...
You Belong at the Table, but Bring your Own Chair: Overcoming Imposter Syndrome in a Culture of Meritocracy
By Lindsey Umlauf Have you ever felt that you were one misstep away from being found out as a fraud? Despite your objective success and merit, does the phrase ‘fake it ‘til you make it’ resonate? If so, you may be experiencing Imposter...
The Battle of the Three Selves
By Joe Byerly Here’s what happened this weekend: Friday: One more drink. One more hour around the fire pit. Then I’ll head home. I’ll deal with the consequences tomorrow. Saturday morning: What the hell was I thinking? I’m exhausted. The...
Two Salaries
By Joe Byerly When we compare jobs or career fields, sometimes we tend to default to one number: salary. How much does it pay? What will our financial quality of life look like? What are the monetary perks of the job? I hear this a lot from...
The Best Education
By Joe Byerly High school. Trade school. The Executive MBA. These are all education programs that teach us. The missed opportunity. The presentation we bombed last Thursday. The friendship that quietly faded away. We can learn from these too....
Compliance vs Commitment: Our Appearance as a Promise of Trust
Photo Credit: Donte Shelton, 49th Public Affairs Detachment By Sam Balch There are two common schools of thought about uniforms and personal appearance. Some see them as walking résumés, proof of what we have accomplished. Others treat them like...
Boromir and Faramir: A Cautionary Tale for the Ambitious Officer
by Major Colin A. Sexton In J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, the brothers Boromir and Faramir of Gondor embody contrasting responses to power, purpose, and personal ambition. Their story is not just a subplot in a fantastical epic; it is a...
Representing the Uniform, Even When It’s Not On
By Noah Jager When we wake up in the morning and put on the uniform, sometimes freshly pressed or other times rumpled and grabbed from a rucksack, we are expected to uphold the standards that come with our service. With the American flag strapped...
Why ‘In the Meantime’ Is the Only Time
By Joe Byerly I’ve been thinking a lot about how we treat the present versus how we imagine the future We’re often too harsh on the present and too idealistic about the future. In the present, we don’t have enough time. We’re too busy. Too many...
![The [Re-iterated] Case for an Apolitical Military](https://fromthegreennotebook.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/what_does_the_army_do_trooper_ed2e097d-fe4d-45f3-a043-218f4b64bde1-1080x675.webp)
The [Re-iterated] Case for an Apolitical Military
by Brett Tinder We are not political pundits. Our service does not strip us of our rights to vote, but faithful adherence to American civil-military relations requires an ambivalence to political change. An apolitical military benefits the...
The Picture of Captain Dorian Gray
By Micah Ables There’s a portrait hidden in the closet of every company commander – one that bears every unspeakable thing they have to see, hear, and carry. To every young commander or first sergeant who’s seen more than any one person...
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...
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...
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...
Beware of Time Pollution!
By Joe Byerly As a younger Army officer, I used to see a week or two of empty space on the calendar before a major exercise and think: “Perfect! I’ll schedule some training or professional development for the team.” But as...
Why Senior Leaders Should Compete for an Expert Badge
Photo By Edward Muniz | Col. Michael Stewart reading Coordinates. by Joseph F. Adams I am an expert and I am a professional. – The Soldier’s Creed Cold mud and rain dripped down my forearms as I lay in the prone position and aimed my M80 Claymore....
What is Your Relationship with Time?
By Joe Byerly “I’ll try to find some time.” “I need more time.” “There’s not enough time in the day.” These phrases used to roll off my tongue without a second thought. My relationship with time was…contentious. My calendar dictated my life. ...
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...
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 Best Job I Never Thought I Wanted
by Ned Marsh From 2022 through 2024, I served as one-third of the command team for the U.S. Army Garrison Fort Detrick, Maryland. Garrison command became the highlight of my career—the best job I never thought I wanted. First, it was a job that was...
More Than a War Story: The Power of Reflection
By Joe Byerly Better than Reality TV One of the greatest benefits of military service is the number of life experiences we pack into a year; sometimes even into a single week or day. We bring together people from different backgrounds, cultures,...
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...
Leveraging Public Affairs for Information Advantage in Modern Warfare
By Jennifer Bocanegra In today’s complex battlespace, the power of information can be as decisive as any weapon system. As a Public Affairs Officer (PAO) with over 15 years of experience in both Army and joint operations, I’ve witnessed...
Maintaining Morale in Afghanistan’s Final Days
Paratroopers assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division prepare to board a U.S. Air Force C-17 on August 30th, 2021 at the Hamid Karzai International Airport. (U.S. Army photo by Master Sgt. Alexander Burnett, 82nd Airborne Public Affairs). By Grant...
Overcoming Barriers to Innovation: Taking Lessons Learned from Ukraine
by Andrew DeMoss and Luke VanAntwerp Over a century ago, on the European battlefields of World War I, new technologies in the form of machine guns and massed artillery forced armies into trenches. Leaders turned to other new technologies such as...
Leaders Shoot First – the Value of Leader Live Fires
by Reed Markham Have you ever felt that the more you teach your Soldiers with words the less they get it? Or even listen? I have witnessed brilliant and experienced leaders struggle to train their teams over the years, and...
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...
Because the Plot Demands It: On Roles, Responsibility, and Character
By Joe Byerly I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the various roles we play in life—and the responsibilities, behaviors, and costumes that come with them. Every role, from parent to spouse to commander to CEO, comes with a contract. Sometimes...
The Case for Sharing Your Personality Test Results at Work
U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Ian Thompson By Jared Massie All service members should take a personality test. This helps you see yourself as others do and generates positive cycles of self-reflection. Additionally, personality tests cultivate an...
From the Red Notebook: Leadership Lessons in What Not to Do
By Ray Ramos History is filled with cautionary tales. Not just of tyrants and generals who fell from grace, but of leaders undone by smaller, quieter failures—ones that rarely make headlines but still erode trust, corrode teams, and cripple...
“They Don’t Get It” is a Leadership Red Flag
By Sara Roger “Soldiers these days just don’t get it.” I’ve heard that sentence at least ten—maybe even twenty—times since arriving in Germany. And when it came up again this past Thursday, I felt a sudden urge to respond: “Maybe you don’t get...
Life Lessons from Jimmy Kimmel’s Head Writer (That Apply to the Rest of Us Too)
By Joe Byerly Danny Ricker writes jokes for a living. As one of Jimmy Kimmel’s head writers, he leads a team that churns out pages of material every day—most of which never makes it on air. But behind the punchlines is a mindset that applies far...
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...
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...
Rev Up Readiness: How Auto Skills Centers Drive Military Excellence
by Mike Murray Being a service member in the United States military comes with a lot of little-known benefits. Most people are familiar with the big benefits, like healthcare, dental, access to commissaries and exchanges, and legal or financial...
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