Seven things the Navy taught me about leadership

By SDF Capt. Andrew Creed

Public Affairs Officer, Georgia State Defense Force

February 27, 2012

As a former Naval Officer who was Army trained at the Citadel, I understand the unique aspects of  life at sea and how the experience relates back to life both in the field and at home in the daily civilian world. As a current captain in the Georgia State Defense Force and leader in the corporate world, I know some of the Navy’s lessons are still applicable in how other organizations – military and civilian – do business.

Today, we hear a lot about “management” and not enough about leadership. That worries me. One thing of which I am certain, there is a great difference between managers and leaders. Good managers are plentiful — in fact, our nation graduates over 150,000 MBAs every year. But true leaders are rare. And believe me, there is a difference.

Setting leadership priorities for the Georgia Department of Defense

By Maj. Gen. Jim Butterworth
Adjutant General, Georgia National Guard
Feb. 14, 2012

As the Adjutant General of Georgia, I am the personal representative of the 15,000 men, women and families serving in the Ga. DoD. I am responsible for ensuring that we are fully prepared mentally, physically, and logistically, for the fight. Whether we are called to defend the homeland or support the war fight, I commit that I will continue to ensure this organization’s ability to win on every front. That commitment will not fade.

I am also responsible for advising the Governor, our Commander in Chief, on all military matters. Among these issues is defense support to civil authorities and the use of the National Guard in supporting “all hazards” impacting the state of Georgia. I will develop and deliver that advice with the assistance of our senior leaders and the Joint Staff. I will deliver that advice in private as well as in a transparent, public manner whenever requested by Georgia’s Commander-in-Chief.

The intent of this letter is to provide guidance for, and direction to, the Georgia Department of Defense. One of my many goals is to achieve unity of effort. Through this letter, I will begin communicating the organizational and personal priorities for the command. I do not intend to set goals or objectives with this document. The intent is to deliver, in broad terms, my expectations of the organization.

The fall of Atlanta begins at Fort Henry

By 1st Lt. William Carraway

Media Relations Officer, Public Affairs Office

February 10, 2012

Recall from the January article on Mill Springs the strategic situation in Kentucky. Two rivers, the Tennessee and the Cumberland traversed the state north to south and provided high-speed avenues of approach deep into the heart of the Confederacy. Due to Kentucky’s declared neutrality, two forts were located on inferior ground just south of the Kentucky/Tennessee border. Fort Henry, an earthen fort, was constructed on the east bank of the Tennessee River and mounted 17 cannons. 

Approximately 12-miles to the east, Fort Donelson was constructed on the west bank of the Cumberland River. This design allowed the forts to be mutually supporting – an attack against one could be reinforced by forces from the other. While the location of Fort Henry offered unobstructed fields of fire along the river, Fort Henry was located in low, swampy ground that was prone to flooding.

By December 1861, Confederate Brig Gen. Lloyd Tilghman arrived at Fort Henry and assumed command of the 4,000 men present for duty at both forts. Surveying Fort Henry, Tilghman was not pleased. The fort was pentagon shaped with a ten acre footprint. While the earthen walls of the fort were initially 20 feet high, heavy winter rains had swollen the banks of the Tennessee and much of the fort was underwater by late January, including two guns and the powder magazine. Amazingly, this single flooded fort was the only fortification on the river. The entire Confederate line could be turned by puncturing it at its weakest point.

National Intelligence Community Writing Contest

National intelligence community writing contest

 

Air Force leaders publish new strategy document

Secretary of the Air Force Michael Donley and Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz released the 'Air Force Priorities for a New Strategy with Constrained Budgets' white paper Feb 1.

"The Air Force has made the hard choices to closely align with the new strategic guidance in our FY13 budget submission by trading size for quality," the leaders stated. "We will be a smaller but superb force that maintains the agility, flexibility, and readiness to engage a full range of contingencies and threats."

The Air Force strategy document provides an overview of the way forward for the present and future Air Force. The Following areas are outlined in the document: The Air Force new strategy; force structure; readiness; modernization; more disciplined use of Defense dollars; and taking care of people.