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.
As God can send a nation or people no greater blessing than to give them faithful, sincere and upright ministers, so the greatest curse that God can possibly send upon a people in this world is to give them over to blind, unregenerate, carnal, lukewarm and unskilled guides.
Instead of seeming to impose new obligations, they should appear as people who wish to share their joy, who point to a horizon of beauty and who invite others to a delicious banquet. It is not by proselytizing that the Church grows, but by attraction.
My job as a leader is not to put more stress into a system that is already stressed.
I have yet to find the man, however exalted his station, who did not do better work and put forth greater effort under a spirit of approval than under a spirit of criticism.
Learn to lead in a nourishing manner. _x000D_ _x000D_ Learn to lead without being possessive. _x000D_ _x000D_ Learn to be helpful without taking the credit. _x000D_ _x000D_ Learn to lead without coercion.
By blood a king, in heart a clown.
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