Category Archives: Guest Post

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The Making of a Grunt

The Nightingale Series

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This is an image of a Grunt at both his finest and his worst. It is Grunts doing what Grunts always do, picking up pieces, moving forward, and gaining the ground that no one else can. It could be Caeser’s 10th Legion with short swords, slings, and shields. Or, it could be today’s finest equipped force in the world clearing some mud-bricked village in the depths of Nowhere, Sandbox. Here, in this image and on this ground, it is all the same. It is the essence of how we arrived at where we are today and where we may be.

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The Rock at Lookout Mountain

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On November 24, 155 years ago, a force of Union Soldiers gained redemption they never felt they needed. The Army of the Cumberland (AOC) was an outfit comprised mostly of Ohio and Kentucky units with a smattering of other mid-westerners. It’s fellow western army, the Army of the Tennessee, was composed mostly of Soldiers from Illinois and Iowa. Both were tough outfits with capable subordinate leaders. While neither gets the same acclaim of the Army of the Potomac, they are prideful units. Never was this better demonstrated than at Lookout Mountain where the Rock of Chickamauga, just two months after devastating defeat, kicked the Confederacy in the teeth and planted Old Glory at the summit.

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Remembrance Day

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“We are the Dead. Short days ago, we lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow. Loved and we loved, and now we lie in Flanders Fields.” Remembrance Day is observed in the Commonwealth of Nations member states to remember and give thanks to those in uniform who paid the ultimate sacrifice. Similar to our U.S. Memorial Day, but observed on our Veterans Day – known globally as Armistice Day. This, like many other traditions of our cousins across the pond, holds a special place in my heart because of my time serving at the British Army Gunnery School. It was an experience that taught me to appreciate the importance of tradition and ceremony.

‘On November 11th each year, Canadians gather at the National War Memorial in Ottawa, standing in collective Remembrance of all who have fallen in the military service of their country. 

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Coming to a Company Near You

A TDG for Administering the ACFT

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Much has been said about the Army’s new fitness test. The Army Combat Fitness Test (ACFT) is the replacement for the Army Physical Fitness Test, and there are no shortage of opinions on it. Just take a look here, here, or here. Even Business Insider is getting in on the fun. But, barring slight changes from the ongoing field testing, it looks like the ACFT will be coming to a company near you in the near future. So let’s prepare for it. You’ve read the ACFT handbook (TRADOC 18-37); consulted the dietician, physical therapist, and strength & conditioning (S&C) coach assigned to your battalion; and integrated exercises and recommendations into your unit’s health and fitness program. With all that preparation complete, how would you plan a company-level execution of the new ACFT? What does that day look like?

A Soldier with the Washington National Guard positions a 10-pound medicine ball as part of the standing power throw test event during a pilot Army Combat Readiness Test Aug. 4, 2017, at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington. (Stephanie Slater/Army). Retrieved from Army Times.

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Letter To Me (On Day 1 as XO)

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Five years. Five years is the average amount of time you spend from the moment you arrive on campus, enrolled in ROTC or at USMA, to the time you become a Platoon Leader (PL). You invested five years of work, effort, and striving toward that one goal. You’ve heard it is “the best job you’ll ever have.” And when the old timers say, “I would go back in a heartbeat if I could,” you return a half-embarrassed chuckle and a rueful smile. Then it is gone. Suddenly, you wake up and your platoon is no longer “yours.” You’re no longer a “PL” or “The Sir/Ma’am.” Now they call you “XO.” What now?

XO can be a lonely job – but it doesn’t have to be. Knowing where you fit in, how you can best impact and serve the Soldiers by serving the command, and feeling comfortable in your spot at the back of the formation will make all the difference.

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A Few Moments After

The Nightingale Series

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When I joined the 101st as a replacement Captain, I was sent to the Screaming Eagle Replacement Training Center (SERTS) for a programmed week of prep before being assigned to a specific unit.  On the first day, the Brigade S1 raced up in a Jeep and told me to load my duffle bag and get in the truck.  I was replacing part of a company command group that had been killed on the edge of the A Shau. Training was over.

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CSM Don Purdy’s Rules to Live By

Repost from Open Source

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A few weeks back, a mentor of mine shared a post from Colonel (Retired) Keith Nightingale. The post was titled “Don Purdy’s Rules to Live By (Don’t Forget Nuthin’)”. Col. Nightingale served with CSM Purdy in the original 1st Ranger Battalion (now 1/75th RGR). I asked Col. Nightingale for permission to repost and he shared that it is open source and has been posted multiple places before. This advice should be reposted as many times as possible and read by every warfighter.

CSM Don Purdy served in Ranger Companies in Vietnam and in the first activated Ranger Battalion, 1/75 RGR. He also served in the 101st ABN DIV (AASLT), 4th RTB, and other units.

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Live the Fundamentals

A Brigade Commander’s Reflections on Company Command 15 Years Later

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As a Brigade Commander, I shared a document with my crop of company commanders here in the Ghost Brigade (1-2 SBCT) at Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM). I discovered the old document, while searching for lessons learned from a previous CTC rotation, and thought it was worth sharing. The document contained my continuity notes for the next company commander of the “Deathmasters”, B Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry (SBCT) at JBLM from late 2002 and early 2003. The notes are included in the post below (with a few edits for language; I was less mature in the way I wrote).

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Why I (Can) Serve

Why We Serve Series

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I joined the Army National Guard in 2002. My recruiter met me in the student union of my college, and by the end of spring break I had enlisted as a supply clerk with a ship date that winter. The long wait time to get into basic training aside, the decision to serve came quickly and the decision was all mine. Now, mostly through my work as a historian, I understand that the decision to join was mine, but the pathway to that decision was very far outside of my creation. My ability to walk into recruiting station and join any branch of service I liked was an effect, not a cause. I saw the top layer of sediment on a riverbed that had been meandering since 1636.

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Leaving It Better

Why We Serve Series

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As a child, I loved the back corner of the library where the World War II books were kept. I have long forgotten the exact Dewey decimal for that area, but I devoured every book there. In fourth grade, I was able to put my knowledge to use, giving a report on Admiral Chester A. Nimitz. My interest waned in high school, and like most of my close friends, I chose to go to college at the University of Colorado at Boulder.