Tag: Military

Quotes July 30, 2021

“If I always appear prepared, it is because before entering an undertaking, I have meditated long and have foreseen what might occur. It is not genius where reveals to me suddenly and secretly what I should do in circumstances unexpected by others; it is thought and preparation.”
Napoléon Bonaparte
 
 
 
 
“Wars begin when you will, but they do not end when you please.”
Niccolò Machiavelli
 
 
 
 
“So we go on and don’t do it, and let the war go on. Over a period of 3 and a half or four years, we did burn down every town in North Korea. And every town in South Korea. And what? Killed off 20% of the Korean population. What I’m trying to say is, if once you make a decision to use military force to solve your problem – then you ought to use it. And use an overwhelming military force. Use too much. And deliberately use too much. So that you don’t make an error on the other side, and not quite have enough. And you roll over everything to start with. And you close it down just like that. You save resources. You save lives. Not only your own but the enemies too. And the recovery is quicker. And everybody is back to peaceful existence – hopefully in a shorter period of time.”
Gen. Curtis Lemay, on the all-out bombing campaign the U.S. didn’t do at the beginning of the Korean War as quoted in Dan Carlin’s “The Destroyer of Worlds”
 
 
 
 
“The belief in the possibility of a short decisive war appears to be one of the most ancient and dangerous of human illusions.”
Robert Lynd
 
 
 
 
“Every man’s life ends the same way. It is only the details of how he lived and how he died that distinguish one man from another.”
Ernest Hemingway
 
 
 
 
“Optimists study English; pessimists study Chinese; and realists learn to use a Kalashnikov.”
Russian Proverb, due to the threat of Chinese influence in Siberia
 
 
 
 
“Sarcasm is my primary weapon system.”
US Ret. Navy Seal Andy Stumpf

Quotes July 23, 2021

Ideas are more powerful than guns. We would not let our enemies have guns, why should we let them have ideas.
Joseph Stalin (perhaps)
 
 
 
 
Communism is not love. Communism is a hammer which we use to crush the enemy.
Mao Zedong
 
 
 
 
The secret of politics? Make a good treaty with Russia.
Otto von Bismarck
 
 
 
 
Russia needs a strong state power and must have it. But I am not calling for totalitarianism.
Vladimir Putin
 
 
 
 
The immortal Lincoln bowed in prayer, and plead Heaven’s almighty aid, vowing the proclamation of freedom through all the land to all the inhabitants thereof; and though the assassin’s deadly arm cut short his high career, his soul went up to God with four million broken manacles in its hand.
American Wesleyan
 
 
 
 
“This is what I learned from those years in the prison camp, where all those constraints just were oppressive. You must never confuse, on the one hand, the need for absolute, unwavering faith that you can prevail despite those constraints with, on the other hand, the need for the discipline to begin by confronting the brutal facts, whatever they are.’”
Admiral Jim Stockdale (source)
 
 
 
 
Only the dead have seen the end of war.
George Santayana
 
 
 
 
Discipline is doing what needs to be done, even if you don’t want to do it.
Unknown

Quotes July 16, 2021

“And they who for their country die shall fill an honored grave, for glory lights the soldier’s tomb, and beauty weeps the brave.”
Joseph Rodman Drake
 
 
 
 
“The soldier is the Army. No army is better than its soldiers. The Soldier is also a citizen. In fact, the highest obligation and privilege of citizenship is that of bearing arms for one’s country”
George S. Patton Jr.
 
 
 
 
“For the first time in a long time, I felt like I had a purpose being in the Navy. It wasn’t about money and rank or prestige. It was about raising the flag. We do what we do because no one else can or will do it. We fight so others can sleep at night. And I had forgotten that.”
Timothy Ciciora
 
 
 
 
“Today we say goodbye to a proud warrior. As we leave, each of us will take our members of [the USS]Midway with us… you guys were the ‘Magic.’ It was a privilege to sail with you.”
John Schork
 
 
 
 
“War is the greatest evil Satan has invented to corrupt our hearts and souls. We should honor our soldiers, but we should never honor war.”
Dean Hughes
 
 
 
 
“Those who do not appreciate the soldiers and instead pompously talk about peace, should try to live a single day without the soldiers.”
Abhijit Naskar
 
 
 
 
“Civilians enjoy their time because soldiers sacrifice their time.”
Amit Kalantri

Quotes June 11, 2021

“No man is entitled to the blessings of freedom unless he be vigilant in its preservation.”
Gen. Douglas MacArthur
 
 
 
 
“This will remain the land of the free so long as it is the home of the brave.”
Elmer Davis
 
 
 
 
“When the will defies fear, when duty throws the gauntlet down to fate, when honor scorns to compromise with death — that is heroism.”
Robert Green Ingersoll
 
 
 
 
“Word to the Nation: Guard zealously your right to serve in the Armed Forces, for without them, there will be no other rights to guard.”
President John F. Kennedy
 
 
 
 
“America is hope. It is compassion. It is excellence. It is valor.”
Paul Tsongas
 
 
 
 
“These fallen heroes represent the character of a nation who has a long history of patriotism and honor — and a nation who has fought many battles to keep our country free from threats of terror.”
Michael N. Castle
 
 
 
 
“There is nothing stronger than the heart of a volunteer.”
Gen. James H. Doolittle
 
 
 
 
“True patriotism isn’t cheap. It’s about taking on a fair share of the burden of keeping America going.”
Robert Reich

Quotes April 30, 2021

But what a cruel thing is war; to separate and destroy families and friends, and mar the purest joys and happiness God has granted us in this world; to fill our hearts with hatred instead of love for our neighbors, and to devastate the fair face of this beautiful world! I pray that on this day, when only peace and good-will are preached to mankind, better thoughts may fill the hearts of our enemies and turn them to peace. Robert E. Lee, letter to wife, Christmas Day, 1862
 
 
 
 
“In 1945, when the male soldiers started coming back home from Europe, she and all the other women pilots that had served as WASPs during the war were unceremoniously told to go home and never received a dime or even thanks from the government.”
Fannie Flagg
 
 
 
 
I’m fed up to the ears with old men dreaming up wars for young men to die in.
George McGovern
 
 
 
 
If it were a fact, it wouldn’t be called intelligence.
Donald Rumsfeld
 
 
 
 
“It’s enough already – we can’t keep sacrificing lives of our siblings, of our children, of our friends at the borders, simply to appease the nationalist insecurities of a handful of brain-less chimps.”
Abhijit Naskar, When Humans Unite: Making A World Without Borders
 
 
 
 
First, freedom is never free; in fact, it has always been bought at great cost, whether on the battlefield, in the legislative assembly, in the law courts, in the schoolroom, or in synagogues, temples or churches. Also, it is never self-perpetuating, but has had to be rewon again and again…
Author unknown, 1960s

Quotes November 20, 2020

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.
The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly.
So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”
Theodore Roosevelt
 
 
 
 
“The bravest are surely those who have the clearest vision of what is before them, glory and danger alike, and yet notwithstanding, go out to meet it.
Thucydides”
Dave Grossman, On Combat: The Psychology and Physiology of Deadly Conflict in War and in Peace
 
 
 
 
As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.
John F. Kennedy
 
 
 
 
Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish.
John Quincy Adams
 
 
 
 
It is the pride of my heart to have been one of the earliest adopted sons of America.
Marquis de Lafayette
 
 
 
 
Liberty has never come from Government. Liberty has always come from the subjects of it. The history of liberty is a history of limitations of governmental power, not the increase of it.
Woodrow Wilson
 
 
 
 
These Marines left their home–all these great Americans left their home–signed up during a time of war and said, ‘I wanna do that.’ And we owe them so much gratitude. I am so, so proud. And they understand that in our profession there can be no second place. There can be no losing. Because the weight of our nation rests on their shoulders.”
Sergeant Major Bradley Kasal

Quotes November 06, 2020

General Colin Powell’s Rules:
1. It ain’t as bad as you think. It will look better in the morning.
2. Get mad, then get over it.
3. Avoid having your ego so close to your position that when your position falls, your ego goes with it.
4. It can be done!
5. Be careful what you choose. You may get it.
6. Don’t let adverse facts stand in the way of a good decision.
7. You can’t make someone else’s choices. You shouldn’t let someone else make yours.
8. Check small things.
9. Share credit.
10. Remain calm. Be kind.
11. Have a vision. Be demanding.
12. Don’t take counsel of your fears or naysayers.
13. Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier.
 
 
 
 
“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.”
John Quincy Adams
 
 
 
 
“When you become a leader you give up the right to think about yourself.”
Gerald Brooks
 
 
 
 
“The discipline which makes the soldiers of a free country reliable in battle is not to be gained by harsh or tyrannical treatment. On the contrary, such treatment is far more likely to destroy than to make an army. It is possible to impart instruction and give commands in such a manner and such a tone of voice as to inspire in the soldier no feeling but an intense desire to obey, while the opposite manner and tone of voice cannot fail to excite strong resentment and a desire to disobey. The one mode or the other in dealing with subordinates springs from a corresponding spirit in the breast of the commander. He who feels the respect which is due to others cannot fail to inspire in them respect for himself; while he who feels, and hence manifests, disrespect toward others, especially his subordinates, cannot fail to inspire hatred against himself.”
LTG John M. Schofield, 1879
 
 
 
 
“A lack of planning on your part does not constitute a crisis on mine…unless of course I failed to lead you.”
Anonymous

Quotes October 16, 2020

”Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it.”
Dwight D. Eisenhower, 34th President of the United States, and former General of the Army
 
 
 
 
“A general is just as good or just as bad as the troops under his command make him.”
General of the Army, Douglas MacArthur
 
 
 
 
“The greatest leader is not necessarily the one who does the greatest things. He is the one that gets the people to do the greatest things.”
Ronald Reagan, 40th President of the United States, and former Captain in the Army Reserves
 
 
 
 
“It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit.”
Harry S Truman, 33rd President of the United States, and former Colonel in the U.S. Army
 
 
 
 
“All of the real heroes are not storybook combat fighters either. Every single man in this Army play a vital role. Don’t ever let up. Don’t ever think that your job is unimportant. Every man has a job to do and he must do it. Every man is a vital link in the great chain.”
General George S. Patton, U.S. Army
 
 
 
 
“The most important single ingredient in the formula of success is knowing how to get along with people.”
Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of the United States, and former U.S. Army Colonel
 
 
 
 
”Leadership is a potent combination of strategy and character. But if you must be without one, be without the strategy.”
General Norman Schwarzkopf, U.S. Army
 
 
 
 
“Those who dare to fail miserably can achieve greatly.”
John F. Kennedy, 35th President of the United States, and former Navy Lieutenant
 
 
 
 
“Mountaintops inspire leaders, but valleys mature them.”
Winston Churchill, Prime Minister of England during World War II, and former commander in the British Army
 
 
 
 
“To err is nature, to rectify error is glory.”
George Washington, 1st President of the United States, and Commanding General of the Continental Army

Quotes October 09, 2020

“It doesn’t take a hero to order men into battle. It takes a hero to be one of those men who goes into battle.”
General Norman Schwarzkopf, U.S. Army
 
 
 
 
“When I am getting ready to reason with a man, I spend one-third of my time thinking about myself and what I am going to say and two-thirds about him and what he is going to say.”
Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States and former Captain in the Illinois state militia during the Black Hawk War.
 
 
 
 
“If there is not the war, you don’t get the great general; if there is not a great occasion, you don’t get a great statesman; if Lincoln had lived in a time of peace, no one would have known his name.”
Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of the United States & former Army Colonel
 
 
 
 
“No man has ever listened himself out of a job.”
Calvin Coolidge, 30th President of the United States
 
 
 
 
“To get the best out of your men, they must feel that you are their real leader and must know that they can depend upon you.”
General of the Armies John J. Pershing, U.S. Army
 
 
 
 
“Because the crew was convinced that I was “on their team” there were never any issues with negative criticism… You as a mentor have to establish that you are sincerely interested in the problems of the person you are mentoring.”
Ret. Capt L. David Marquet, US Navy and author, Turn the Ship Around!
 
 
 
 
“Always do everything you ask of those you command.”
General George S. Patton, U.S. Army
 
 
 
 
“A true leader has the confidence to stand alone, the courage to make tough decisions, and the compassion to listen to the needs of others. He does not set out to be a leader, but becomes one by the equality of his actions and the integrity of his intent.”
General of the Army, Douglas MacArthur
 
 
 
 
“The supreme quality for leadership is unquestionably integrity. Without it, no real success is possible, no matter whether it is on a section gang, a football field, in an army, or in an office.“
Dwight D. Eisenhower, 34th President of the United States, and former General of the Army
 
 
 
 
“The truly great leader overcomes all difficulties, and campaigns and battles are nothing but a long series of difficulties to be overcome. The lack of equipment, the lack of food, the lack of this or that are only excuses; the real leader displays his quality in his triumphs over adversity, however great it may be.”
General of the Army George C Marshall, and former Secretary of State & Secretary of Defense
 
 
 
 
”Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”
Winston Churchill, Prime Minister of England during World War II, and former commander in the British Army
 
 
 
 
“There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.”
Colin Powell, former U.S. General, Secretary of State, and National Security Advisor
 
 
 
 
“It is only those who have neither fired a shot nor heard the shrieks and groans of the wounded who cry aloud for blood, more vengeance, more desolation. War is hell.”
Major General William T. Sherman, U.S. Army

Quotes September 25, 2020

“If a man hasn’t discovered something that he will die for, he isn’t fit to live.”
Martin Luther King, Jr.
 
 
 
 
“The truth is that you always know the right thing to do. The tough part is doing it.”
General Norman Schwarzkopf, U.S. Army
 
 
 
 
“The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.”
G.K. Chesterton
 
 
 
 
“The most important thing I learned is that soldiers watch what their leaders do. You can give them classes and lecture them forever, but it is your personal example they will follow.”
General Colin Powell
 
 
 
 
“I offer neither pay, nor quarters, nor food; I offer only hunger, thirst, forced marches, battles, and death. Let him who loves his country with his heart, and not merely his lips, follow me. Soldier, patriot, and the uniter of modern Italy.”
Giuseppe Garibaldi
 
 
 
 
“Battles are won by slaughter and manoeuvre. The greater the general, the more he contributes in manoeuvre, the less he demands in slaughter.”
Winston S. Churchill
 
 
 
 
“The supreme quality for leadership is unquestionably integrity. Without it, no real success is possible, no matter whether it is on a section gang, a football field, in an army, or in an office.”
Dwight Eisenhower, 34th President of the United States, and former General of the Army
 
 
 
 
“The soldier, above all other people, prays for peace, for he must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war.”
Douglas MacArthur, an American soldier
 
 
 
 
“The brave die never, though they sleep in dust: Their courage nerves a thousand living men.”
Minot Judson Savage, American clergyman and author
 
 
 
 
“The best armour is staying out of gun-shot.”
Italian proverb