On October 22, 2013 America lost a hero, General Robinson Risner, Word War II combatant, Korean War ace and Vietnam prisoner of war senior leader. The history books will note Risner’s two Air Force Crosses, his courage under torture, his outstanding aviation in three wars, and his long commitment to the military. I will rememberRead more
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When it comes to accepting direction, star performers, especially those in the major leagues of their industries, show caution and restraint. They offer raw talent, expertise, discipline, and excellence, so they want to see the same qualities in those who lead and teach them. Members of the St. Louis Cardinals see these traits in theirRead more
Annoying the gods or adoring narcissists has never paid off. But people don’t readily learn these lessons, and we continue to do both, as the myths teach us. Take Echo, a mountain nymph who loved her own voice. Echo blatantly disregarded this sage advice, as evidenced by her consorting with Zeus, husband to the powerfulRead more
At the end of the Vietnam War a considerable strain of skepticism, aimed at national and Air Force leadership, ran through the fighter force. Some pilots concluded that the leadership did not care about them. Less than five years after the war ended, disgruntled pilots voted with their feet as they walked into commercial airlineRead more
Today marks the fiftieth anniversary of the Cuban Missile Crisis–the central crisis of Kennedy’s presidency–and perhaps of the entire cold war. In an attempt to establish a Soviet nuclear presence just ninety miles off the coast of Florida, Khrushchev sent Russian ships carrying nuclear warheads to Cuba. Emboldened by Kennedy’s failure at the Bay ofRead more
