Lessons from the Battle of Midway

Col Joseph Lenertz Need to bring back the spirit of the fighter pilot. That spirit encompassed the entire service, not just the pilots. The Force had a swagger when fighter pilots were cocky as hell. Now we feel like a giant corporation where people who specialize in a particular area are given direction to do something they aren't specialized in - pilots don't fly any more, etc.
With the swagger of a fighter pilot of yore, the whole service gets cocky, pushing itself to be a little better. Bring back the attitude of Boyd & Olds. Let us brag because we earn the damn right!

Col Joseph Lenertz - We really need to focus heavily on bringing back that attitude in all of our branches. People are upset about the combat patches for the Army, and as a slick-sleeve CPT (hoping to remedy that), I think it is infuriating to think that we should all "dumb-down" to the lowest common denominator. I would never ask a Purple Heart recipient to remove their ribbon because I didn't have one, but rather be proud to have served alongside such individuals with stories and lessons to teach the next generation of our military fighting men and women.

We are raising lemmings in an arena that requires wolves. The generation of widespread media and global technology has led to micromanagement at the highest echelons. It is possible to direct ROEs from the Pentagon, not acknowledging the experience that the fire team leader has on the ground, or accepting the gut instincts of the CAS pilots that support every day. The inaction for fear of causing even a single civilian casualty is creating a paralyzing fear that will cripple us in the event of a near-peer conflict against a Communist nation and is killing quality SMs.

I want ego and bravado among my troops. When things hit the wire and everything seems hopeless, I want my Soldiers to say "We can do this because we are the BEST that there are." THAT is the mentality that moves mountains, not "I really wish ____ was here." In order to do that, the first step is bringing back tradition. Seemingly stupid things like the Silver Dollar Salute, addressing people by rank and not first name, and recognition of "just doing your job" when it is being done well. I never realized how much my Silver Dollar Salute meant to the MSG that saluted me until he told me 4 years later that in 27 years of the military, he's never heard of another officer doing it. He prized that Morgan dollar more than every challenge coin in his collection, and it was simply me buying my first "respects" so that I could demonstrate that I was worthy and committed to earning all future salutes given.
v/r,
Jon