Last month, we examined the argument in a lecture by Admiral James Stockdale titled “Education for Leadership and Survival: The Role of the Pressure Cooker.” For him, the most challenging pressure cooker of his life was nearly eight years as a prisoner of war in the Hanoi Hilton. Part of the reason Admiral Stockdale and…
In 1981, Admiral James Stockdale delivered the Andrew R. Cecil Lecture on Morals in a Free Society. The lecture is titled “Education for Leadership and Survival: The Role of the Pressure Cooker,” and was published in The Ethics of Citizenship by the University of Texas at Dallas (no publication date given). Admiral Stockdale’s purpose is to examine…
For the past twelve months, we have looked at the eleven principles of Marine Corps leadership and the fourteen traits of a leader. Part of the purpose in this endeavor has been to show how the traits of a leader can be developed by anyone, whether military or not, and how leaders so defined…
The Marine Corps recognizes eleven principles of leadership and fourteen traits of leaders. In this and coming editions of “Front and Center,” we will present these principles and traits, discussing them as the Marine Corps understands them, and considering them in a broader perspective as they apply more generally to Americans whether or not they…
Last month, we considered the first principle of leadership recognized by the Marine Corps: Know yourself and seek self-improvement. We considered also the first trait of a leader: Justice. This month, we will examine the second principle, which is to be technically and tactically proficient, and the important trait of judgment. The Marine Corps’ understanding of technical and tactical proficiency holds…
In an essay titled “On Remembering Who We Are,” the late Melvin Bradford observed the following: “Yet as [Michael] Oakeshott insists, moral conduct is an art, insofar as it concerns the relations of men—an art learned by apprenticeship. And society is the necessary context of that learning.” The point that is made here is meant to…
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