April 2009
49 posts
“In time of war the loudest patriots are the greatest profiteers.”
– August Bebel
Leadership to me is understanding who you work for. Not-good leaders think their subordinates work for them. The commander does little of the actual work to accomplish the mission. His are few of the total of decisions that lead to the success of the submarine/ship/infantry company. This is obviously one side of the coin, but it’s the side that is rarely seen in military leadership. The...
http://twitter.com/Roland_Hedley →
Overheard on Mission
Village Elder (via interpreter): I read many great American novels at University.
Me: Yeah? Who is your favorite writer?
Village Elder: Tony Robbins.
I want to rationalize us to eliminate the biggest... →
We, your American service members, do not see the... →
Straight out of a movie. →
A follow-up on the NYT corruption article from a few days ago. A commenter paints a bleak but accurate picture:
Having spent a number of years either working in the business and development sectors with countries that are considered to be incorrigibly corrupt (including Afghanistan) I can confirm that this article is both accurate and deplorably symptomatic of the myopic American view of...
Our training AND our personnel policies are still... →
Mousa: This is Afghanistan... Alexander the Great try to conquer this country... then Genghis Khan, then the British. Now Russia. But Afghan people fight hard, they never be defeated. Ancient enemy make prayer about these people... you wish to hear?
Rambo: Um-hum.
Mousa: Very good. It says, 'May God deliver us from the venom of the Cobra, teeth of the tiger, and the vengeance of the Afghan.' Understand what this means?
Rambo: That you guys don't take any shit?
Mousa: Yes... something like this.
Interpreters are your friends until they're not. →
The Typhoon. It’s like twenty years later seeing your childhood bully pushing a shopping cart full of aluminum cans.
[via Chap]
There is a distinction between understanding the... →
“Never think that war, no matter how necessary, nor how justified, is not a...”
– Ernest Hemingway
Wow. Excellent war photojournalism. →
I wish I could offer a solution, but I can’t. I... →
“In the ‘City of God,’ St. Augustine tells the story of a pirate...”
– Noam Chomsky
An article on humanitarian aid in Africa.
With the aid money pouring in here, I have been feeling the same thing in Afghanistan. So many decisions are necessarily made under vast assumptions, but it’s really hard for decision-makers to challenge their assumptions after they’re made. Good discussion in the comments.
Overheard on Mission
SPC 1: You named your rifle Oprah?
SPC 2: Why not? She's black, powerful, and loaded.
Teach this at the Submarine Command Course. →
Speaking Truth to Power →
Read the full article if you want to know why I’m getting out (don’t freak, it’s not that long).
[via Chap]
“The academic notion of an economically rational man must be refuted when...”
– Tommy, a commenter on Danger Room
“And we think that it is very important for us to be sensitive to local culture, but we also think that there are certain basic principles that all nations should uphold, and respect for women and respect for their freedom and integrity is an important principle.”
I hear you, Mr. President. I just don’t see that happening here.
“Millions long for immortality who don’t know what to do with themselves on...”
– Susan Ertz
My province is messed up. If this goes through,... →
So, I’ve returned relatively unscathed from my first multi-day mission. While I collect my thoughts, here are some links to tide you over.
Corruption in my province!
Somebody has to take responsibility here, might as well be the locals.
Hearts and minds, one village at a time.
Anyone with any Army affiliation in the past five years will relate.
Management is a subset of leadership.
You know, I’m thirty years old and I’ve never really been camping (I’ve slept two nights in a tent at Coachella and in an RV at Sasquatch, but I don’t think those count). My first true camping trip is tomorrow.
I’ll let you know in a few days if I like it.
Opinions are shaped to a large degree on what is... →
My mission was canceled this morning. The battlespace commander said it was because the air lanes would be too crowded for Medevac (impossible—Medevac has priority over everything). The real reason, I presume, was that a VIP is coming and shouldn’t be subjected to the potential realities of warfare.
Another leadership lesson: If you need to lie about it to your troops, perhaps you should...
“Fear of death increases in exact proportion to increase in wealth.”
– Ernest Hemingway
If you’re interested in what I do, this paper has a decent discussion.
[via SWJ]
The Afghanistan Big Picture →
“The quickest way of ending a war is to lose it.”
– George Orwell