Click here to see an article on Army.mil that features the Army's need for unmanned vehicles. Dull, dirty, dangerous mission? Send in the robot

I am currently in Ohio spending time with my Dad.  He is now 88 years old.  My Mom passed away in 2009 and he has been by himself ever since.  He lives in the home that I was born in, and refuses to leave.  We would love to have him come to Texas and live with us, and be surrounded by Family, but he refuses.  Every three months I return to Ohio to spend time with him and check on his condition.   Many of us are dealing with aging parents and other elderly folks.  Sometimes we get frustrated and overly concerned.  Over the past 7 years of dealing with my Dad I have learned a  couple of  things.   The first is that he wants control.  He does not want to be dependent on anyone.  He wants to set his own schedule and do what he wants to do.  He continually refers

I tell folks in my public presentations that if they slept well last night, they are not paying attention.  We are a Nation at risk.  We are at risk from external threats (ISIS, Russia, Iran…) and internal threats (domestic terrorism, lack of respect for law enforcement, divisive elements).  We must acknowledge this, and then take actions to protect ourselves, our Families, and our Nation.   I believe that the Bible is the Word of God.  In 2 Chronicles 7:14 it reads: If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.   As this scripture says, the first thing we must do as a Nation is to humble ourselves and pray to God for His strength, courage and wisdom to do the right things.  

I love being an American.  I love our Nation and all it stands for.  I spent 35 years of my life protecting our freedoms and our way of life.   I am concerned about many things, however.  One is that we as a Nation have a short term memory.  Last week was the 14th anniversary of 9/11, and day when we as a Nation were attacked on our very own soil and over 3000 Americans lost their lives.  In many cases, the day passed as just another day.   Many Americans have forgotten that dreadful day.  They seem unaware of the fact that the folks who attacked us on 9/11 are still out there, and they still hate us.  They hate our democracy and our ideals, and they have dedicated their lives to destroy us as a Nation.  The only way we keep that from happening is to continue to take the fight

I believe that there is strength in diversity.  We as a society should embrace diversity, and not shrink away from it.  Celebrating diversity provides for an environment where many different thoughts and ideas come into play.  When I visit with corporate and community leaders across the Nation, I am always looking closely at their “inner circle”, the folks closest to them.  If those folks look just like the leader it is an indication of a potential problem.  There is a lack of diversity.   On a larger scale, I continue to find myself worried about the future of our Nation. Unfortunately, there are elements in our society who want to emphasize divisiveness over diversity.  They want to drive a wedge between us.  I saw this in Iraq during my service there.  Folks there committed specific acts of terror to inflame tension between the Iraqi Shias and Sunnis.   We can’t allow that

It has been said that the hardest thing about getting a new idea in, is getting the old idea out.   That is what is going on now in the US Army.  Two female Soldiers have successfully completed the most challenging course the Army has to offer – US Army Ranger School.  They are to be commended for their efforts.  They knew how difficult the course was going to be, but they volunteered to attend anyway and accepted the challenge.  They worked thru very difficult tasks and situations, and then successfully completed the course.  I am very proud of them.   I am disappointed, however,  that folks can’t (or won’t) accept the fact that they competed the course successfully.  There is way too much negative traffic on social media today.  Some folks allege that the US Army lowered their standards at Ranger School so that the female Soldiers could graduate.  I don’t buy

Individuals and organizations that want to excel must always do their very best.  Everyone within the team must perform to his or her maximum potential everyday.  This includes all aspects of our society: Family, churches, corporations, government, etc.   To get folks to work up to their maximum potential, leaders must be demanding.   They must set high standards for both themselves and their partners / employees, and then demand that folks work to achieve those standards.  And…once those standards are achieved they should “raise the high bar” and demand that folks attain those results as well.  That is the essence of high performing organizations, always doing better.  As Robert Browning once said “ A man’s reach should exceed his grasp”.   To do that, leaders must carefully communicate what the standards are, and what the expectations are for employees to achieve those standards.  To be an effective leader, constant communication is critical.  There