Generals aren't in the business of commenting on the correctness or incorrectness of the President's decisions. Anybody who thinks he should be able to do that ought to be fired on the spot.
Interpretation
Generals must support the President's decisions without publicly critiquing them.
This quote from Norman Schwarzkopf emphasizes the principle of military loyalty and discipline, indicating that generals are expected to follow the orders of the President without questioning them publicly. It reflects the importance of unity and respect for the chain of command within the military, as well as the responsibilities that come with leadership positions.
In practice
This quote can be used in a military briefing to remind officers of the importance of chain of command.
As far as Saddam Hussein being a great military strategist, he is neither a strategist, nor is he schooled in the operational arts, nor is he a tactician, nor is he a general, nor is he a soldier. Other than that, he's a great military man, I want you to know that.
All you have to do is hold your first soldier who is dying in your arms, and have that terribly futile feeling that I can't do anything about it... Then you understand the horror of war.
I am living proof that if you catch prostate cancer early, it can be reduced to a temporary inconvenience, and you can go back to a normal life.
Good generalship is a realization that... you've got to try and figure out how to accomplish your mission with a minimum loss of human life.
I'm not proud of killing, of being responsible for the death of a single person. I never will be.
The more you sweat in peace, the less you bleed in war.
The best leaders are readers of people. They have the intuitive ability to understand others by discerning how they feel and recognizing what they sense.
What I learned at LucasArts was, you don't make your bets on ideas: ideas are cheap. You make your bets on people.
Whether individuals or organisations, we follow those who lead not because we have to, but because we want to. We follow those who lead not for them, but for ourselves.
Authority is not a quality one person 'has,' in the sense that he has property or physical qualities. Authority refers to an interpersonal relation in which one person looks upon another as somebody superior to him.
The skills you need to fight the colonial power and the skills you need to gain independence are not necessarily the same you need to run a country.
So long as all is ordered for attack, and that alone, leaders will instinctively increase the number of enemies that they may give their followers something to do.
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