John T. Reed’s blog about military matters

Military overemphasizing physical fitness Copyright John T. Reed The drunk under the lamp post An old story tells of a drunk who was wandering around under a lamp post at night looking at the ground. Passerby: What are you looking for? Drunk: My wallet. Passer by: Did you drop it here? Drunk: No. I dropped way down there in the dark. Passer by: So why are you looking for it here? Drunk: The light’s better here. The military seems to me to be doing the same thing with physical fitness. Never in the history of the U.S. have some, not...

John T. Reed’s review of I love a Man in Uniform One of my West Point classmates told me he read a positive review of Lily Burana’s I Love a Man in Uniform. I immediately bought a copy and read it. My main interest is that I am a critic of the military and the military’s effect on family life in particular. I was never married when I was an Army officer, so I was glad to get the perspective of a woman who was and who is candid about it. Candidness is rare, especially among career military people. Four...

John T. Reed’s review of In a Time of War by Bill Murphy, Jr. Copyright by John T. Reed One of my roommates from West Point recommended I read In a Time of War by Bill Murphy, Jr. I bought it that same day. It is the true story of a group of West Point cadets from the Class of 2002 starting with what led them to West Point. The Class of 2002 were at the beginning of their senior year when 9/11 happened. They were the first class to graduate from West Point after 9/11. The group focused on...

Fortune’s slobbering love affair with young veterans Copyright John T. Reed On March 22, 2010, Fortune did an article saying businesses were recognizing that young vets where great civilian business managers. I wrote a spirited critique of it. Well, they’re baaaack, and so am I. What a bunch of bullshit! Amazon’s employment of vets The latest is in the May 21, 2012 Fortune and is titled “How Amazon Learned to Love Veterans” by Adam Lashinsky with help from Caitlin Keating. Mr. Lashinsky and Ms. Caitlin, and their editors, are not very bright in the logic department, nor very diligent in...

John T. Reed’s comments on Fortune’s 3/22/10 article on military officers Copyright by John T. Reed Fortune magazine had a cover story in its 3/22/10 issue on the subject of big corporations hiring recent young military officers. The subtitle was, “Why companies like Wal-Mart, Pepsico, and GE are recruiting the military’s elite.” In a number of articles about the military like, “Should you go to, or stay at, West Point” and “Is the military as good at producing leaders as it says?” I have generally taken the position that although the raw material entering West Point is very good, the...