Political Theater

Jack Oakie and Charlie Chaplin in The Great Dictator (Source)

Every four years the American people are treated to the grand spectacle known as the "Presidential Election." As time goes by, this spectacle, at least to me, seems to devolve more and more into a popularity contest in which all qualified candidates are out of the running by the time November rolls around.

During that time, the voters who actually understand history, who actually understand the "great" issues of the day are so disgusted by the entire circus that they decide to "sit this one out." They don't go to the polls, they don't vote, and it seems, quite honestly, that they no longer care.

Those people who actually are excited about the election usually have no understanding of the candidates, how government works, nor even what they are voting for. It's all about the "trendy" candidate, the most popular, and which candidate is the most like them in some cases.

This cycle we have two "Democrats" (only one of whom actually is a member of that party), one of whom wants your vote because it's "her turn." She was passed over eight years ago for a candidate who was more trendy. After all, though we'd never had a female President, we'd also never had a "black" President. As the female candidate was "white," she wasn't as trendy as the "black" candidate, so she lost. But now it's her turn. So she thinks.

A person whose sole qualification to being in high office is based on who she was married to. A former governor who is now a former President. That's her qualification, Hell, she probably still has her set of keys to the White House. So she's got that going for her.

Oh yeah, she was a Senator. From New York. She is originally from Chicago, then she moved to Arkansas. Eventually she established a residence in New York so she could run for office there. Apparently because people in New York will vote for anyone who isn't a Republican. And California was too far away from the East Coast Establishment. I guess. I don't really understand these political things.

Oh, that's right. She was also the Secretary of State under the current unqualified leftist loon from Chicago. I won't even begin to talk about what happened on her watch.

Now another former Secretary of State (who served under the former governor of Arkansas while he was President) has indicated that all those who share the same reproductive system should vote for this candidate. Otherwise their immortal souls are, apparently, in danger.

The candidate who is not female is a loon. A total loon. He wandered north to Vermont because even New Yorkers wouldn't elect him to any office. There he found Burlington, the largest (ahem) city in the Green Mountain State.

Burlington has roughly 42,000 inhabitants, 112 of whom are not college students. Roughly 15 of these inhabitants is actually from Vermont, as in born there and know how to make maple syrup. The others are all left-leaning liberal arts majors who heard that the skiing in Vermont, while not as good as Vale, was pretty darn good. And as Vermont is close to Quebec (right next door as a matter of fact) it's almost like being in Europe.

Or something.

Now this loon "from" Vermont (actually he's from Brooklyn, in New York, not the one in Iowa, or Wisconsin, or one of the other Brooklyns) originally ran for office as a "socialist" when he became the mayor of Burlington. The (ahem) largest city in Vermont. My county in Little Rhody has more people than Burlington, roughly 49,000 to Burlington's 42 K and change. I think we do have fewer socialists as our loons are content to be "Democrats."

So the dishonorable "gentleman" "from" Vermont has been accused of being Communist (by me for one, but what do I know), he claims to be "independent" or "socialist" depending on where you tap into his personal history, but now he wants your vote as the Democrat Party candidate for President of the United States.

So vote for one because of her plumbing and it's "her turn." Vote for the other one, because, because, er, I have no idea why you would vote for him. Unless you believe all of his "eat the rich," "we need more taxes and free stuff" and "hey, socialism really does work, all the others just did it wrong" shtick.

Now about the Republicans...

Trump.

Uh, uh. I don't know what to say. He's a demagogue. He understands the military because he went to a private military academy and reads a lot.

Well, Hell. I am retired military (okay, okay, it was the Air Force) and I read way more than Trump. I'm qualified to not only be the Commander-In-Chief I think I'm ready to be the Emperor of North America, the Caribbean and the Hawaiian Islands. Heck, I'm probably over-qualified.

But I'm not running for President. At least not this year.

Now Marco Rubio (another Republican) is a fellow I don't know much about. I need to rectify that as my buddy Joe (Cranky) has assured me that the fellow I was sort of leaning towards tossing my support behind, one Ted Cruz, is, as Joe put it, a "dick."

Now I'm pretty sure that Joe was not complimenting Mr. Cruz. But as a military veteran, I have worked for a lot of "dicks" in my time, most of whom were pretty good at their jobs.

What's that? Joe doesn't mean guys named Richard?

Oh!!!

Now I get it.

Besides, I also see in the media (I mean we can trust them, right) that Ted Cruz is actually a Canadian. As in from Canada, as in "not born here."

Well, neither is the guy currently holding the office, right? Oh, he is an American, he just doesn't act like one. So if Cruz is Canadian but acts like an American (I mean come on, the man cooks bacon on the barrel of an "assault" rifle, who does that but we Americans?) that doesn't make him eligible?

I did see a very non-insightful article on line in which a non-Constitutional non-scholar reporter type explained what the Constitution means. He surmised that Mr. Cruz is actually Canadian. Because his dad was Cuban and his mom was American but they were all living in Calgary. Canada says he has Canadian citizenship. Ted says he has American citizenship, in my experience it's possible he has both. I mean the trick would be proving that Mr. Cruz was a naturalized American. As in got his citizenship later in life, not at birth. Personally, I think the article on line completely missed the point.

Can you say "dual citizenship"?

I knew you could.

I think the whole Canadian thing is a smoke screen. I mean, if Ted's a "dick" he couldn't be Canadian, right? I mean Canadians are pretty polite and all and tend not to be "dicks," well, except maybe Andre who is French-Canadian. I served with him in NATO and he could be an awful "dick," even if it was just in fun.

If Ted is Canadian then I have to rethink this whole thing.

It's confusing.

Wait, if the female candidate should be voted for based on plumbing, then...

Nope, I'm not going there.

Then there's (language warning) this. What the heck, why not, last I checked they have oil. 

Somewhere under all that ice.

Eh?

“Above all the grace and the gifts that Christ gives to his beloved is that of overcoming self.”*

This post is the seventh installment in a series of posts on Medal of Honor Recipients from the US Air Force and its predecessor organizations.  Today’s post piqued my interest as it was one in which there were two MOH’s awarded for the same action.  I have previously posted on another situation that this happened but I believe this is a rare occurrence.  Another similarity with a previous post is that this mission was our recipients' second mission, as was the case in my previous post discussing Lt Col Vance. 

The Air Force has long postulated that the first 10 missions are the hardest to survive and that if one does survive them, their chances of long term survival are much better, although there is a down turn in survival probability in the last few missions.  Red Flag and similar exercises were developed to help improve those odds.

I can hear Sarge firing up his email machine telling me to get ON with it, juvat! So, I shall.

Lt Walter Truemper and SSgt Archibald Mathies received the Medal of Honor for actions that occurred on February 20th 1944 on an 8th Air Force attack on enemy installations in Leipzig Germany. 

2Lt Walter Truemper
Source

SSgt Archie Mathies
Source

 February 20th -25th was known as “Big Week” and was an attempt by the Allies to engage the Luftwaffe in a decisive battle by concentrating attacks on the German Aircraft industry.  The P-51 had been introduced to the theater and was now present in sufficient numbers and with sufficient range to provide protection to the bomber forces who, up to this point, had to rely primarily, and to a large part unsuccessfully, on the defensive fire from their own machine guns.  The strategy therefore was to try to force the Luftwaffe to come up and face the fighter protection, or risk the destruction of their Air Force on the ground.

US Air Force Photo

But the Luftwaffe did come up and fight.

In the 6 days of “Big Week”, 8th Air Force flew more than 3000 sorties and lost 97 B-17s, 40 B-24s and had another 20 scrapped due to damage.  With 10 men, at a minimum, in each of those bombers, that’s a lot of people.

Lt Truemper is Front Row, second from right.  SSgt Mathies is back row, far left.
Source

Lt Truemper, the navigator, and SSgt Mathies, the ball turret gunner, were on board one of those planes named Ten Horsepower.  Headed in to the target, their formation is attacked by Me-109s and the bombardier notices a Me-109 attacking from 2 o’clock high.  He calls out a warning and begins firing his nose gun.  Feeling rounds impact the aircraft, he unstraps and crawls back to the cockpit.

I thought I had a picture of the crawlspace between the cockpit and the nose, I didn't, but I was standing in it when I took this picture.

 

The co-pilot is obviously dead, a 20mm shell having hit him in the head decapitating him.
  
The Pilot is bathed in blood and his body is leaning forward against the controls and forcing the plane into a spiraling dive.  The bombardier crawls back to his position and attempts to contact any other members of the crew, but no one answers.  

He pulls the bail out alarm, opens the bomb bay and jettisons the bombs, thereby allowing use of the bomb bay for bailout if needed.  He then bails out.

No one else has bailed out yet.  

The intercom is out, and the aircraft’s dive is increasing as are the g forces.  The top turret gunner, manages to move into the cockpit and straddling the passageway to the nose, levers the two pilot’s bodies off of the yoke.  He then manages to get the aircraft out of the dive and headed back to England.  

Bombardier's position from the Navigators

He has no idea if anyone else is alive or on the aircraft. 

 Meanwhile with the g’s back to normal, SSgt Mathies is able to extricate himself from the ball turret and makes his way to the cockpit, as does Lt Truemper from the nose section.

SSgt Mathies Battle Station

They manage to get the Co-Pilot’s body out of his seat and Lt Truemper climbs in.

This is February in Europe.  They’re at 5000’ headed towards the North Sea.  The cockpit has been shattered and there’s a 150mph breeze blowing in.  

It is cold. 

 Lt Truemper, SSgt Mathies and Sgt Moore, the top turret gunner, rotate flying the aircraft.  There is considerable damage to the flight controls, so simply flying the aircraft requires quite a bit of strength which the cold and wind quickly sap.

Still feet dry over Europe, they encounter a pair of FW-190s.  The fighters attack and further damage the bomber.  

Lt Truemper elects to descend into the cloud deck below him to defend themselves. 

Let’s discuss this.  He is not a pilot.  He has not flown an aircraft before, much less on instruments.  The aircraft has been damaged and there is no way to determine if the instruments are reliable. 

Gutsy call.  On one hand,  possible loss of control with bailout difficult if not impossible. On the other hand, probable destruction from enemy aircraft.

He descends into the overcast, and safely continues his descent until he breaks out below at about 1500’.  

As they cross the channel, other members of the crew check in and the radioman reports that the pilot, although seriously injured, is still alive.  However, he will not survive a bailout.  

They call the nearest base, which happens to be RAF, requesting permission to land.  Upon finding out that the pilot and co-pilot are incapacitated, permission is denied.

A tough call, but understandable.  If that base were recovering aircraft from "Big Week" attacks, disruption of that procedure may cause even further casualties.  

Lt Truemper and crew decide to head back to their home base.  SSgt Mathies is flying at this point and sets up for the approach, as he approaches the overrun, he realizes he’s going too fast and won’t get it down or stopped on the runway, so he goes around.

SSgt Mathies is also not a pilot nor has he flown an airplane before.  Going around in a damaged aircraft is not for the faint of heart. However, he is successful.

On the ground, the group commander and squadron commander race to a B-17 and take off, intending to provide assistance as well as check the aircraft for any unknown conditions.  

Source

Unfortunately, the two bombers cannot communicate except by relay through the control tower.  Additionally, formation flying is made more difficult by the flight control damage as well as the increasing fatigue of the rotating shift of crew flying the aircraft.

Lt Truemper and SSgt Mathies decide to climb and fly back over the field and let the rest of the crew bail out.

Now alone, with the pilot still alive, they make an additional attempt to land but again fail to control their approach speed.  

They go around again.  

At this point, the Group Commander advises them to point toward the sea and bail out.

And here’s where it gets dusty.

The two men say they will do that only if ordered to.

They attempt one more approach, but miss the approach and as they attempt to go around, they lose control and hit the ground.  One person survived the crash, the pilot. However, he died from his injuries later in the hospital.

Source

Lt. Truemper’s Citation

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at risk of life above and beyond the call of duty in action against the enemy in connection with a bombing mission over enemy-occupied Europe on 20 February 1944. The aircraft on which 2d Lt. Truemper was serving as navigator was attacked by a squadron of enemy fighters with the result that the copilot was killed outright, the pilot wounded and rendered unconscious, the radio operator wounded and the plane severely damaged Nevertheless, 2d Lt. Truemper and other members of the crew managed to right the plane and fly it back to their home station, where they contacted the control tower and reported the situation. 2d Lt. Truemper and the engineer volunteered to attempt to land the plane. Other members of the crew were ordered to jump, leaving 2d Lt. Truemper and the engineer aboard. After observing the distressed aircraft from another plane, 2d Lt. Truemper's commanding officer decided the damaged plane could not be landed by the inexperienced crew and ordered them to abandon it and parachute to safety. Demonstrating unsurpassed courage and heroism, 2d Lt. Truemper and the engineer replied that the pilot was still alive but could not be moved and that they would not desert him. They were then told to attempt a landing. After 2 unsuccessful efforts their plane crashed into an open field in a third attempt to land. 2d Lt. Truemper, the engineer, and the wounded pilot were killed.

SSgt Mathies’ Citation.

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at risk of life above and beyond the call of duty in action against the enemy in connection with a bombing mission over enemy-occupied Europe on 20 February 1944. The aircraft on which Sgt. Mathies was serving as engineer and ball turret gunner was attacked by a squadron of enemy fighters with the result that the copilot was killed outright, the pilot wounded and rendered unconscious, the radio operator wounded and the plane severely damaged. Nevertheless, Sgt. Mathies and other members of the crew managed to right the plane and fly it back to their home station, where they contacted the control tower and reported the situation. Sgt. Mathies and the navigator volunteered to attempt to land the plane. Other members of the crew were ordered to jump, leaving Sgt. Mathies and the navigator aboard. After observing the distressed aircraft from another plane, Sgt. Mathies' commanding officer decided the damaged plane could not be landed by the inexperienced crew and ordered them to abandon it and parachute to safety. Demonstrating unsurpassed courage and heroism, Sgt. Mathies and the navigator replied that the pilot was still alive but could not be moved and they would not desert him. They were then told to attempt a landing. After two unsuccessful efforts, the plane crashed into an open field in a third attempt to land. Sgt. Mathies, the navigator, and the wounded pilot were killed.

Warriors!

*Francis of Assisi.  I try to find a quotation that I think is appropriate for these stories.  Came up with two for this one.  My back up was:

" In the military, you learn the essence of people. You see so many examples of self-sacrifice and moral courage. In the rest of life, you don't get that many opportunities to be sure of your friends."

Adam Driver

I confess, I had no clue who Adam Driver is.  On googling him, found out he's an actor (ptui!).  However, he was also a Marine, so I'll give him credit.  I've found that statement to be profoundly accurate.

Still Relaxing...

North Island at Dusk

The Nuke has returned to her home, leaving The Missus Herself and Your Humble Scribe to get back to our normal routine. It was a great visit, we didn't do much except watch movies and relax.

She needed the break, her job has her on the road nearly constantly. So it was a good time to catch up on sleep and just relax. Which I needed as well.

This rhinovirus thing is finally starting to abate. Lots of coughing and hacking as the logjam in my chest breaks up, but the four days off from work helped a lot.

February just keeps rolling along, only a week (or so) left and we'll be in to March. The weather lately has been pleasant during the day, still pretty cold at night. As The Missus Herself and I discussed on our way home from the airport, we think the worst of the winter is behind us.

Hopefully we haven't jinxed ourselves with that bold prediction.

I'm still coasting here with light content, you, the readers, have given me some ideas for future posts, but I need to research all those ideas.

Ah well, another nice weekend comes to a close. Back to work tomorrow.

Yay...

Hopefully we've seen the last of this for a while...
(Though it is pretty.)

Still Chillin'

In the skies over Afghanistan (March 19, 2002) -- A U.S. Navy F/A-18 “Hornet” assigned to the "Knighthawks" of Strike Fighter Squadron One Three Six (VFA-136) conducts a patrol mission over Afghanistan. Kennedy and her embarked Carrier Air Wing Seven (CVW-7) are conducting combat missions over Afghanistan is support of Operation Enduring Freedom. U.S. Navy photo by Lieutenant Commander Christopher W. Chope. (Source)

I'm still goofing off.

Sleeping way too much after staying up far too late.

It's good to have The Nuke home, even if it is for just a couple of days.

That opening photo? Son-in-law Big Time has "been there, done that" a few years after that photo was taken. Same squadron, different air wing, different boat. Same kind of Americans. Out there, doing the job we pay them for, putting it on the line for freedom.

He did two combat cruises on the Big E, USS Enterprise, CVN-65. The Missus Herself, The WSO, Big Time (who had flown off the day before with the air wing), Little Bit, and Your Humble Scribe met Enterprise at the pier at the end of her penultimate cruise. Big Time's Dad and kid brother were still aboard for the Tiger Cruise.

USS Enterprise returns home from deployment for the last time, US Navy Photo

I've seen pictures of the Big E at Newport News where she's being de-fueled. I won't share those here. Too sad to contemplate, she was a fine ship, she deserves a better end.

Sigh...

The Nuke spent six weeks onboard Enterprise in the Med as a midshipman. So this ship is family, after a fashion.

Ah well...

All things must pass.

Taking the Day Off

The Nuke is in town on business, she decided to pay us a visit, we are most happy.

We also have nothing to post, if I thought about it, I could put something up but...

Not today, family comes first ya know. 

Go read those folks on the sidebar, they're worth your time.

Be back soon...

HMS Warspite and Malaya, seen from HMS Valiant at around 14:00 hrs. 31 May 1916 (Source)

I feel a post about naval warfare coming on, any suggestions?

Leadership

George S. Patton, Jr.

What comes to mind when you hear the words "leader" or "leadership"? The image of General Patton is one of the people who spring to my mind almost immediately when I hear the words "leader" or "leadership." There are others to be sure, some of whom you'll see below. With all the political hoopla filling the air waves (I include the Web of World-Wideness in "air waves" as some folks do get their online content via satellite) I felt the need to address leadership and what it means (and has meant) to me in my military and civilian careers.

General Patton was noted for his leadership in combat, both in the First World War and the Second. He was loved, feared, and hated. One of his most famous nicknames was "Old Blood and Guts." The troops would say, "Yeah, our blood, his guts." Nevertheless he was widely admired by the men of Seventh Army in Sicily and then later in Third Army. Audacity, speed, and overwhelming fire power were his watchwords. The Emperor Napoléon would have recognized his type.

All good leaders should, if they know nothing else, remember these two Patton quotes -

A good plan violently executed right now is far better than a perfect plan executed next week. 

A pint of sweat will save a gallon of blood.

That last quote would have been recognized by Erwin Rommel and Alexander Suvorov. Outstanding combat leaders themselves.

George B. McClellan

General McClellan (or "Little Mac" as his troops called him, not to his face though) was perhaps the exact opposite of a combat general. He assiduously avoided coming to grips with Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. He believed every single wild estimate of Confederate strength laid before him by his "intelligence" service.

However, what cannot be forgotten is that McClellan turned a conglomeration of uniformed civilians, state militias, and what few regulars the country possessed into the powerful Army of the Potomac. A force which would chase the Rebs to their eventual surrender at Appomattox. His troops adored him, though had he had any fighting spirit the war may have ended sooner. Who knows?

One of his other nicknames was "The Young Napoléon."

McClellan was a fine manager.

George A. Custer

George Armstrong Custer was the "Goat*" of the West Point class of 1861. After graduation he was assigned to the 2nd United States Cavalry serving with the Union Army in the East. He knew the right people and he also knew how to lead cavalry.

He became a brigadier general at the age of 23. He was an aggressive cavalry commander who led from the front. Much like an earlier beau sabreur, Joachim Murat - Napoléon's favored and talented leader of horsemen, Custer liked to affect a very showy uniform style which, at first, his troopers didn't care for. Once they saw that "The Boy General" led from the front, they began copying certain elements of Custer's dress, particularly his affectation of wearing a red neckerchief. (The issue item was in cavalry yellow.)

Murat leads a charge at the Battle of Jena, 14 October 1806, by Henri Chartier (Source)

On the Great Plains he was known as "Iron Butt" and "Hard Ass" from his ability to remain in the saddle for long periods of time. (No mention of how his horse felt about that.)

Custer is best remembered though for the destruction of the units of the Seventh Cavalry under his personal command at the Little Big Horn. (He was also the regimental commander of the Seventh, parts of which survived the battle.)

His attack on that big village was perhaps foolhardy. Bear in mind though, to a cavalryman audacity is everything, he who dares wins. Murat and LaSalle would have probably done the same.

Lasalle's last charge at Wagram (1809), by Édouard Detaille (Source)

Sometimes you get the bear, sometimes the bear gets you.

George E. Pickett

General George Pickett was the Goat of the West Point class of 1846. His wife wrote two books about her husband which painted him as the ideal Southern gentleman and soldier. He is best remembered as the man for whom the last, fatal, charge at Gettysburg is named.

Pickett longed to lead men in battle, he was a flamboyant leader who desperately wanted to lead men in glorious battle (a trait he shared with Patton). His chance came at Gettysburg

"Toward the Angle" by Don Troiani (Source)

McClellan thought Pickett to be one of the best infantry officers of the war. Some historians say he was a very good brigade commander but that division command was beyond his grasp. He was bitter about that day in July 1863 for the rest of his life.

He blamed Robert E. Lee for the destruction of his division.

George G. Meade

Growing up I always thought that Ulysses S. Grant had commanded the Army of the Potomac during it's fight to overcome and beat down the Army of Northern Virginia.

Nope.

That post was given to George Meade shortly before Gettysburg. President Lincoln was tired of the string of generals he had appointed up to that point. No one seemed able to take the Army of the Potomac and lead it to victory.

Meade managed to pull that feat off in his first battle in command of the Army of the Potomac. Of course, there are those who would argue that he managed to "not lose." Which is not the same as winning. But that's unfair. He managed the battle well, nothing glorious or fancy, he made sure the right people were in the right place at the right time and kept them supported.

When Grant did come East after Vicksburg to command all of the Union armies, he made his headquarters with Meade's Army of the Potomac. George Meade led that force to the end at Appomattox. While Grant's presence tended to overshadow Meade's command, it was still Meade's army which defeated Lee.

Who knows how he would have fared had Grant stayed in Washington? Hard to be lackadaisical and slow when the boss is right there all the time. Nevertheless, he did a more than competent job of leading his army. Far better than his predecessors!

George C. Marshall

George C. Marshall was a graduate of the Virginia Military Institute. A planner and organizer, Marshall never saw combat. One of the reasons that the United States doesn't have the rank of Field Marshal is because George Marshall did not wish to be known as Field Marshal Marshall. At least that's the story I heard.

While his organizational talents helped to build the largest army the United States has ever fielded and kept that army supplied and trained, he did have his critics. The replacement system he and General Leslie McNair devised (under pressure from government and business leaders, of course**) was ill advised. Rather than men going to war as members of cohesive units, replacements went overseas as individuals and were first assigned to replacement depots (the "repple-depples" of my father's memory) then were sent piecemeal to units in the field.

It took time for the new guys to get up to speed in their new units. Many were killed or wounded before their fellow soldiers even knew their names. While Marshall had wanted to have a system of complete unit rotation, he got stuck with what his bosses wanted.

In true Army fashion, they kept that system up through Vietnam. A system roundly hated and despised by all those who went through it.

Marshall is also famous for the plan which rebuilt Europe after the war. This was one veteran who made a very effective Secretary of State. He also won the Nobel Peace Prize, the only career soldier to have done so. Again, he got his prize the old fashioned way, he earned it!

George Washington, 1776 - Painted by Charles Willson Peale

First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen. So Washington was eulogized by Henry "Light Horse Harry" Lee, a fine soldier in his own right and the father of Robert E. Lee.

General Washington was quite a man. He worked the wilderness as a surveyor in his youth. He was on the disastrous Braddock Expedition during the French and Indian War, legend has it the after the wounding of General Edward Braddock, Washington took command and saved Braddock's army from total destruction.

He wove the disparate colonial elements besieging Boston into a real army. Through many trials, tribulations, and defeats, Washington held this army together. A victory here and there (such as the Battle of Trenton, think "Washington crossing the Delaware") kept the men in the ranks and gave patriots everywhere renewed faith in the glorious cause of American independence.

After his victory at Yorktown a new nation was born. General Washington could probably have had a crown for the asking, some offered him that very possibility. He turned it down of course and became our first President. He persevered, he kept the goal in mind.

Leadership takes many forms. Leaders come in all shapes and sizes. In this post I talked about famous military leaders. I've known and served under some pretty damned fine military leaders in my day. Nobody really famous, no generals. Mostly captains and majors, some commanding squadrons, some were branch chiefs. They knew their jobs, they took care of their people.

That's what it boils down to for me really, three things -

1. Know your job
2. Keep your eye on the goal (the mission if you will)
3. Take care of your people.

A good leader is also a good manager, the converse doesn't necessarily hold true. It's my experience that most "leaders" these days are not good leaders, can't manage worth a damn (well, except maybe to manage their own careers, they're usually damn good at that), and don't really care about the people in their charge, except so far as how they can be used to benefit themselves.

Well, those are my thoughts on leaders and leadership and a look at some of my favorite examples of types of leaders. What are your thoughts?

Editor's Note: Please note the words in red in the next to last sentence. I added those this morning. This was not intended to be a list of my favorite leaders, far from it. Leaving words out altered the drift and meaning here. My bad, I shouldn't blog while medicated...



*The Goat is the individual who graduates dead last in academic standing. Hey, they did actually graduate. No mean achievement!
**In all fairness to those government and business leaders, they were also concerned with keeping enough able bodied men at home to do necessary industrial and agricultural work.

Five Miles of Bad Road...

Bundesarchiv, Bild 101I-289-1091-26  (Source)

Color me "rode hard and put away wet." As in "I feel like five miles of bad road." (Hence today's post title.) Both conditions match what's depicted in that opening photo from the Eastern Front back in the US...

Back in the US...

Back in the USSR!

Sorry. Couldn't help myself, big Beatles fan that I am.

Anyhoo...

I'm the horse in the right foreground.

Work is interesting, so interesting that I exhaust myself at the paying job (due to my current, unfortunate affliction) and am all shagged out when I get home.

The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.

I would like to draw the crowd's attention once again to Bring the HEAT*, my buddy XBradTC's blog. He's one of the few bloggers I've actually met in person. Well, I've met two of his co-bloggers (Spill and Padre Harvey) as well.

He's a good chap with lots of tales to tell. Think current events, all things military, with a bit of history from time to time. Oh, yeah, politics, they talk politics over there as well.

So give him a read, put him on your daily "to do" list (he's on mine). He's linked over on the side bar under "Newbies," though he's not. He's been blogging for a long time, seems he ran afoul of some rules and regulations over at his old place on WordPress, so I guess they're all on "double secret probation."

Sigh. I understand copyright law and all but geez, kill a fellow's blog?

Och weel, them's the breaks. 'Tis bitter to be sure, but they're pressing on. (No pun intended.)

I hope to be back in fighting trim in a day or two. Until then...

Blehh...



*HEAT = High Explosive Anti-Tank. A form of main gun round for an armored fighting vehicle. DAMHIK

No, you don't want to be on the receiving end. Of either round...