Introduction: Leadership in the Fire Leadership isn’t about rank, a title, or the weight of a badge.It’s about what you choose to carry when the Continue Reading
Military
The Four Burner Theory and the Military Profession: When Duty Consumes All Else
The “Four Burner Theory” is a deceptively simple metaphor for modern life. Popularized by author David Sedaris and often repeated in leadership and Continue Reading
The Pentagon Can Feed a War but Not the Family Fighting It
The United States military is obsessed with readiness. Aircraft readiness. Medical readiness. Cyber readiness. Dental readiness. Physical Continue Reading
Wrinkled and Proud
Only six hours of sleep?You have got to be kidding.I hung up the phone, sighing deep;get moving, time for planes to take wing. My boots could use a Continue Reading
Before Man Was, War Existed
The modern world often speaks about war as though it were an aberration—a failure of diplomacy, a breakdown of civilization, or a temporary deviation Continue Reading
The Assignment I Didn’t Choose
By Joseph William Rucker Jr., MD I did not want to go into the Army, and I sure didn't choose Walter Reed. In the fall of 1968, with the war in Continue Reading
You Can Scream Underwater
2014 12 16 Tuesday Like most mornings aboard the CGC Active, I was sitting on the mess deck, hunched over my coffee, inhaling the vapors to drive Continue Reading
The Pentagon Is Taking Operator Syndrome Seriously
By Jennifer Byrne, OTD, and Kelli Cabrera, OTD, 5by5 Performance Therapy; Chris Frueh, PhD, University of Hawaii at Hilo; and Lyndsey Tuft, PhD, and Continue Reading
Tin Burdens
It is hard for me to admit the truth. That the weight became too much. The obligation of trying to focus on so many names every day. How so many Continue Reading
The Helmsman Was on Acid
By Scott Staron Nighttime at sea. The ship’s bridge is dark, with red light coming from a few isolated pieces of equipment, but my eyes are Continue Reading
Extortion 17 and the Truth
Editor's Note: On August 6, 2011, 30 American military servicemen and a U.S. military dog were killed when a CH-47 Chinook helicopter – call sign Continue Reading
Living With a Time Bomb
I live with a time bomb. He looks like a regular guy. Maybe a little tightly wound: high and tight haircut, rigid posture, authoritative tone. He Continue Reading