TV news reported today that General Dempsey said the order to stand down (that is, to do nothing) in the Benghazi affair was not given. Instead, the order was to stay in Tripoli and receive casualties. Well, la-de-da. Since when do our fighting men and women stay in garrison and “receive casualties” when American officials …

I love this…   Until one is committed There is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation) there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things …

Brouhaha. What a great word. It sounds and looks like someone took left-over letters from a worn-out alphabet, threw them into the air, blindly grabbed all in reach, then hurriedly threw them together to make the world’s newest, most fabulous word. All of us have been involved in brouhahas at one time or another. The …

I was asked to define the term autorotation today. It is the procedure that allows a helicopter to land safely when it has lost its engine power. This is how it works. First, what allows an aircraft to fly? The rotor blades act as the wings on an airplane, ie, air passing over the blades …

I have a number of anniversaries, some shared, some not. Some are joyous, some not. Some are made to be celebrated. Others, well, probably not. I spoke to an old friend today, recalling a day that was meaningful to us. It was an exciting day, a day that began a huge adventure that would change …

How is it that we and our allies won World War II, a massive undertaking, in roughly three and one half years and have since spent ten years in Vietnam, almost ten in Iraq and ten in Afghanistan with no clear victory? The US military is not incompetent. It is inhibited—held back by its civilian …