“Our success over our enemies will depend upon the degree of development of certain essentials of military personnel: 1. Skillful and resolute leadership. 2. A high morale. 3. Well organized and disciplined troops. If we have the first of these three we are bound to have the last two.” General Alexander M. Patch (1889 to… Read More
“The efficiency of an army depends on many different things, but one is outstanding‐ and that is morale. You can have all the material in the world, but without morale it is largely ineffective. You must have morale, first and foremost, and morale is determined by a great many things. Primarily it depends, of course,… Read More
Of all the potentially dangerous professions in the world, few compare with the extremes faced by military personnel. There are benefits: regular medical checks, exceptional health insurance, generous vacation allowances, educational opportunities, and excellent pay. But soldiers on active service face the possibility of death, serious physical injury, or mental scars. For those in service,… Read More
“Leadership and morale are not synonymous; yet they are … inseparable …” Edward Munson (1868 to 1947), Leadership For American Army Leaders, writing in The Infantry Journal in 1942. Brigadier General Edward Lyman Munson was a senior officer of the US Army Medical Corps; He accepted a commission with the US Navy but turned it down a few months later, to join the Army. He served in several conflicts, was an… Read More
“Major General James Utino once said that morale exists when ‘a soldier thinks that his army is the best in the world, his regiment is the best in the army, his company is the best in the regiment, his squad the best in the company, and that he himself is the best damned soldier in… Read More
“Message: ‘German attack east of St. Eloi. PPCLI relief postponed.’ … That extra sentence seemed a lot to men who had not slept for five days and there was some cursing in the darkness. Colonel Farquhar, following his usual custom of considering the front line as healthy as a village lane, appeared at the back… Read More
“A competent leader can get efficient service from poor troops while … an incapable leader can demoralize the best of troops.” John Pershing (1860 to 1948) John J. Pershing, in full John Joseph Pershing, byname Black Jack, was a US Army general who commanded the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) in Europe during World War I. On… Read More
