REFLECT
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 Day Lightning Chose Me
By Kyle McCarter Not everyone gets the chance to grow their lore, legend, or earn a cool scar. But I was blessed with such a day in the summer of 2005. It was a regular, hot, humid, and rainy day in Florida. I was stationed at Camp James E. Rudder,...
Friction’s Impact on Warfighting: Time is Readiness
By: James Boyd, Adyton CEO and Co-founder Time is readiness. I’ve seen firsthand how we tend to operate as if time is a free and limitless resource. It is neither. Whether it’s making soldiers stand around waiting to be released or...
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...
Army Junior Officer Counsel – Enabling Junior Officers to Drive Change
by Major Chris Slininger The Problem The Army has been facing recruiting and retention challenges, particularly within the junior officer population: Lieutenants, Captains, Warrant Officers One, and Chief Warrant Officers Two. While recruitment and...
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. ...
Is Your Superpower Actually Kryptonite?
By Mike Shekleton Many of us have seen a brand-new platoon leader, who is in peak physical condition, fall flat on their face during their first time leading platoon PT (physical training). Excited to lead and looking to impress their NCOs...
What Missing a Promotion Taught Me About Success
by Anthony Cannamela In early 2023, I was exactly where I wanted to be. My job was high-stakes, and it pushed my skills every day. When two four-star Admirals proposed an operation using what one described as the “crown jewel” of the U.S. Navy, my...
The Art of Recognition: A Culture of Investing in Human Capital
by MAJ Daniel J. Sprouse Creating a culture where first-line leaders recognize Soldiers for their pursuit of excellence is essential to unit success. While many military leaders focus on awards (such as achievement and commendation medals) as the...
No One Warned Me About This Part of Leaving the Military
By Joe Byerly Before I retired from the military, everyone told me the same few things: “You’ll struggle with purpose.” “You’ll miss the mission.” “You’ll miss the people.” And they weren’t wrong. I’ve felt all of that to some degree. As I’ve...
Power and the Popularity Trap
This is Joe’s latest series on Power. Check out his first post here! By Joe Byerly The need to be liked is something many leaders wrestle with. But when the desire for popularity is mixed with the desire for power, it creates a toxic brew—one...
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 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...
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...
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 Thing That Will Destroy Us
By Joe Byerly Some of the best things in life start small and grow over time—relationships, financial investments, fitness levels. But the same pattern can apply to something far more dangerous: power. Power isn’t inherently bad; we need it to make...
The Most Important Notebook the Chief of Staff of the Army Carries
By Joe Byerly A couple of weeks ago, I had a conversation with the Chief of Staff of the Army General Randy A. George when he showed me a small 5×7 notebook he always carries. Inside are nearly two decades of insights and lessons, ideas that...
8 Lessons I learned during my recent deployment to Afghanistan
By Alex Licea It had been nearly a decade since my last combat/operational deployment as a young 27-year-old staff sergeant and newly promoted sergeant first class working in Southeastern Baghdad as the Public Affairs Noncommissioned Officer in...
Addressing Modern Cavalry Capability Gaps and Risks
By Josh Suthoff As military planning, prioritization, and resources comes back to Large Scale Combat Operations (LSCO) there must be a professional discussion on modern cavalry operations and capability gaps. The US Cavalry needs light weight,...
How to Succeed in a World of Merciless Taskers
By Colonel Glenn A. Henke The Problem Every Army command team faces the same challenge: how to manage the ceaseless onslaught of tasks that come from higher headquarters while conducting your own training and operations. Battery, company, and...
Risky Business: Enabling Commander’s Risk Mitigation in the Information Environment
By Daniel W. Clark The enemies, adversaries, and competitors of the U.S. and her allies continue to grow and improve their use of the information environment (IE). With each uncontested effort, they hone their tactics and techniques and improve...
Finding the Right Vision, Culture, and Climate
By Ryan Kendall Vision, culture, and climate In a previous post, I discussed the importance of developing a shared organizational vision. This idea is not new to our profession. However, when it came time for me to begin the process for my...
The Map on the Wall
By Jack “Farva” Curtis Whenever I write, I try hard to avoid expressing political or partisan opinions. Not only do I doubt you care about my opinions, but it would also be wholly inappropriate for me, in my current position as an active duty...
How to Turn Performance Counseling into a Conversation
By Joe Byerly When it comes to intentionally developing our subordinates, one of the greatest tools in a leader’s kit bag is one-on-one counseling. Unfortunately, counseling is hit or miss across the Army. I would argue that the majority of...
Assessing the Army of the Living’s Targeting in Winterfell
Helen Sloan/HBO By: Justin Beverly Warning: This article contains spoilers for the latest episode of Game of Thrones, “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.” Other authors have made much ado about the Army of the Living’s (AoL) tactical blunders at...
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...
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...
Evaluation is Key. But So Is Training Without It
By Tom Sujack Smoke and I agreed the platoon should practice one more hip shoot before chow. We would start platoon qualifications early the next morning, so this would be our last chance to get this normally chaotic evolution right. When the fire...
Why You Should Reinvent the Wheel
by Todd Schmidt How many times throughout your career has someone told you to not reinvent the wheel? Scientists estimate that the wheel has been around since about 3500 BC. Originally used for manufacturing pottery, milling, irrigation, and...
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...
The Army Profession: Reconnecting with our Sense of Duty
by Daniel Blackmon In early December, I was fortunate enough to sit in on a presentation on the profession of arms, given by General (ret.) David Perkins. He asked: “The Army Profession…do we actually have a profession or do we have a...
Pluralistic Ignorance: A Danger to Organizational Culture and Leader Selection
by Shane Hughes “A toxic leader devastates the esprit de corps, discipline, initiative, drive, and willing service of subordinates and the units they comprise.” (Christopher Doty, 2013) The U.S. military prides itself on developing leaders. We...
Stories of Service: Mentor Your Subordinate to Engage with the Public
By Brian C. Gerardi Each year, our nation observes holidays centered on its service members and veterans. These commemorations—Armed Forces Day, Memorial Day and Veterans Day—often include invitations (“tasked” or “asked”) to senior service members...
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...
Mold in the Barracks? The Hots&Cots App Will Get Leaders’ Attention
(Sgt. 1st Class Jason Hull/U.S. Army photo) By Rob Evans It’s an open secret that military barracks across the Department of Defense (DOD) are inadequate and underfunded. Junior enlisted soldiers often struggle in obscurity, with their leaders...
Leaders Make Meaning: The So-What Beyond Purpose, Direction, and Motivation
by Tom Montano “Wow, so are you guys actually Soldiers?!” The crowds at Mount Vernon asked me this over a dozen times that winter Saturday after our colonial battlefield tactical demonstration. I was wearing my Revolutionary War era blue jacket and...
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...
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