"While I had enjoyed other jobs, I loved command. I had been in a command position for ten of the previous twenty-six years. But each new position was initially daunting. As I suspect many leaders feel, I was never sure if I could command at the next level until I actually assumed the job. I remembered how Douglas Southall Freeman, in Lee's Lieutenants, had described Lee's challenges in determining which brigade commanders could actually handle the responsibilities of a division or corps. The most aggressive brigade commanders often lacked the intangible qualities required for more senior leadership. Of course I often wondered about myself. As the demands of the positions differed, I found that I had changed as a leader. I learned to ask myself two questions: First, what must the organization I command do and be? And second, how can I best command to achieve that? Experience taught me that many factors would shape my "command style," and it would be some time before I had settled into it."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Military leaders from the United StatesMemoirists from the United StatesUnited States Military Academy alumniPeople from Kansas
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
p. 95-96
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Stanley_A._McChrystal
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Stanley A. McChrystal
Stanley Allen McChrystal (born August 14, 1954) is a retired United States Army general best known for his command of Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) in the mid-2000s. His last assignment was as Commander, International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and Commander, United States Forces – Afghanistan (USFOR-A). He previously served as Director, Joint Staff from August 2008 to June 2009 and as Commander of JSOC from 2003 to 2008, where he was credited with the death of Abu Musab al-Zarqa
35 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Stanley A. McChrystal →
Related Quotes
"It became clear to me and to many others that to defeat a networked enemy we had to become a network ourselves."
"I spent a career carrying typically either an M16 or an M4 Carbine. An M4 Carbine fires a .223 caliber round which is…"
"Never shall I fail my comrades... I will shoulder more than my share of the task, whatever it may be, one hundred per…"
"As visible symbols, soldiers often receive praise or condemnation, and both reactions feel curiously undeserved."
"Punishment of cadets had been artfully crafted. In the early nineteenth century, West Point officials deemed manual l…"
"When I entered West Point, some Americans still believed the Vietnam War might end honorably. By the time I graduated…"
"On Wednesday, June 2, 1976, I graduated and my father commissioned me as a second lieutenant. Our graduation ceremony…"
"Better pay, better recruiting, and a difficult economy all helped improve the quality of the force. While I'd struggl…"
"At the heart of the story is Afghanistan itself, a complex swirl of ethnic and political rivalries, cultural intransi…"
"Service in this business is tough and often dangerous. It extracts a price for participants, and that price can be hi…"