“It’s not bad. There are a couple grammatical errors I highlighted. You see Fred, ‘to’ in this instance should be ‘too,’ but overall it’s okay.” I took notes as General Karimi provided feedback on a speech I wrote for him recently. The irony, of course, is that English is his third language and he speaks and writes my native tongue better than me. Never failing, he concludes with, “Thank you very much. It’s...read more

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A Command Sergeant Major had the audacity to give me an on-the-spot correction for a uniform violation recently. It was the best thing that has happened to me in a long while. General Karimi and I were accompanying the commander of the warfighting Corps, Lieutenant General Scaparrotti, to Torkum Gate, a beautiful place of historical and strategic significance on the Afghanistan and Pakistan border. We recently experienced an incident where our Soldiers received fire from...read more

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It’s a typical day at the office. LTC Khanullah Shuja, General Karimi’s senior aide, is explaining his military genius to everyone within earshot. In excruciating detail he recounts one of the hundreds of battles he fought during his six years of company command. I’ve heard the story about a dozen times and each successive account his exploits are more superhuman. However, the ending never changes - Shuja ultimately saves the day with a brilliant...read more

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The best leader with whom I have served in my 27 year career in the Army is my wife. I’ve learned more about leadership from Laura than any General I know. And, I know some really good ones. We met when she was commanding her third company at the United States Disciplinary Barracks in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. She led a complex organization that guarded a special population of military criminals that included death row inmates, She took those experiences into civilian life where she...read more

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People ask for my BlackBerry number all the time. They are amazed when I have to dig in my wallet and look at my business card. “Don’t you have it memorized yet?” they ask. Nope, I do not. I have to pull out my Dog Tags to remember my social security number. My wife, Laura, taught me every memorization technique known to man so I don’t forget her birthday. I do have special day committed to memory, but only after severe beatings. Madelyn, our daughter, stopped...read more

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It’s been a rough couple of weeks. I allowed myself to get into a bit of a slump. The Cardinal’s victory in the World Series was a short-lived respite from the inevitable bout of melancholy that is naturally a part of the emotional ebb and flow of a deployment. The raid on my resiliency wasn’t a full blown frontal assault. Rather, it was a sneak attack at weak points in my soul’s defenses. To combat the ennui I reviewed notes I made in a black and...read more

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Last week General Karimi and I were driving back from a meeting. It was late afternoon and we were taking the long way back from the Afghan Logistics Command. We never take the same route to and from a location. Karimi’s son, Zia, is very meticulous in planning our movements. It was around 5 o’clock and we passed by an Army checkpoint. General Karimi ordered the driver to stop. We got out of the Armored Suburban and the Chief went into the guard...read more

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Fall has come to Kabul. And, so has the world. I had to put my long sleeve shirt and gloves on today for my morning run. I walked out the door wearing my summer running gear and the Fall chill pushed me back in the barracks where I immediately changed. I’ve been waiting for this time of year since I arrived in August. The summers here bake the ground, dry it up and form a mist of fine dust that hangs in the air. The powdery particles mix with the pollution produced by the...read more

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Afghanistan would be a germaphope’s idea of hell. On the average I shake the hands of about 50 people before I sit down with General Karimi for our 8 o’clock morning meeting. That’s no exaggeration. I will have placed my hand over my heart as a part of the traditional greeting about as many times. On really good days I will press cheeks with three or four people. My hope is that number will continue to grow because it represents the amount of good...read more

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My favorite high school teacher was Ms. Polly Peterson. She was also my father and mother’s favorite teacher. I asked my dad once if Ms. Peterson was pretty when she taught him and he replied that “Polly was old, even then, but I heard she was a looker in her day.” If I polled my high school class of 1980 and asked, “What is the first book you ever read from start to finish,” I would bet 90% of the graduates would answer Great Expectations...read more

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