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This act is engraved in my mind deeper than any other experience in my two tours in Vietnam. A huge black enlisted man, clad only in shorts and boots, hands bigger than dinner plates, reached into my helicopter to pick up one of the dead white soldiers. He had tears streaming down his face and he tenderly cradled that dead soldier to his chest as he walked slowly from the aircraft to the medical station.
Hal Moore -
If a subordinate performs a task and the outcome is not what you expected, don’t attack their intelligence or their character. Politely explain the deficiencies and offer an idea for a solution. Subordinates quickly lose respect for any leader who is “all problem and no solution.
Hal Moore
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WITHOUT EQUAL. Think about it. These words are even more powerful than the “Will to Win” or “#1”…ponder the feeling one gets from these words. I suggest you, embrace these words forever within your institution. And as you enlarge your circles around the world, make these two words your everyday life breath.
Hal Moore -
Their style emphasized four bedrock principles: Surprise Aggressiveness Deception The leader’s personal presence in the battle.
Hal Moore -
At an official reception, or dinner party, the real purpose of the event is to socialize, to talk with the other guests and participants—eating and drinking is secondary.
Hal Moore -
War is absolutely the last card any national leader should play, and only when every other alternative has been exhausted. If the hand was being played by an old soldier, a war veteran, I can assure you he would guard that war card to the bitter end and play it reluctantly and with the fear and trepidation of experience.
Hal Moore -
I told Sergeant Major Plumley that he had unrestricted access to me at any time, on any subject he wished to raise.
Hal Moore -
Look at what the words start with W and E—meaning “WE.” If the Army approved and supplied the pins, and you were my battalion and we were going to war, I would have every soldier wear a pin with the letters “WE,” denoting “WE” as a family and “WE” as without equal. This is a war-winning theme that would not let us go down in any battle…ever!
Hal Moore
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There’s never been a noble war except in the history books and propaganda movies. It’s a bloody, dirty, cruel, costly mistake in almost every case, as it was in this war that would end so badly. But the young soldiers can be and often are noble, selfless, and honorable. They don’t fight for a flag or a president or mom and apple pie. When it comes down to it they fight and die for each other, and that is reason enough for them, and for me.
Hal Moore -
There are two things a leader can do: he can either contaminate his environment and his people with his attitude and actions, or he can inspire confidence. A leader must be visible to the people he leads. He must be self-confident and always maintain a positive attitude. If a leader thinks he might lose in whatever crisis or situation; then he has already lost. He must exhibit a determination to prevail no matter what the odds or how difficult the situation. He must have and display the will to prevail by his actions, his words, his tone of voice, his appearance, his demeanor, his countenance, and the look in his eyes. He must never give off any hint or evidence that he is uncertain about a positive outcome
Hal Moore -
Ignore their heathen prayers and help us blow those little bastards straight to Hell. Amen.
Hal Moore -
It was the final act of a North Vietnamese soldier who was killed. Before he died he took a hand grenade and held it against the stock of his weapon. Then he had gotten on his knees and bent over double. If anybody tried to get his weapon they were going to activate that hand grenade. When I saw the dedication of those two Vietnamese with their hand grenades, I said to myself: We are up against an enemy who is going to make this a very long year.
Hal Moore -
Conduct fun, family-oriented events to enhance unit cohesion.
Hal Moore -
Tell the Truth, and speak from your pay-grade. Don't try to answer questions that would better be directed to the battalion commander or Gen. William Westmoreland or President Lyndon Johnson. If you are a squad leader, answer questions about what you know and do.
Hal Moore
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He must have smart, well-trained people to run day-to-day activities. He must check up on them and make sure the job is getting done while he stacks the deck for future success.
Hal Moore -
May God bless and keep all soldiers, young and old, and may that same God open the eyes of all political leaders to the truth that most wars are a confession of failure—the failure of diplomacy and negotiation and common sense and, in most cases, of leadership.
Hal Moore -
Place emphasis on the importance physical exercise plays in improving mental acuity.
Hal Moore -
It’s a key responsibility of the leader, in any field of endeavor (athletic team, military, or business) to assure the successful continuity or ability of his organization to carry on should he die or become incapacitated. It’s his duty to plan for such a contingency out of loyalty to his people and, if in a business endeavor, loyalty to his customers and, clients.
Hal Moore -
Their orders were to draw the newly arrived Americans into battle and search for the flaws in their thinking that would allow a Third World army of peasant soldiers who traveled by foot and fought at the distant end of a two-month-long supply line of porters not only to survive and persevere, but ultimately to prevail in the war—which was, for them, entering a new phase.
Hal Moore -
These times, indeed all times, demand national political leaders who know not only our history but the history of the world and its nations and peoples. We need leaders of principle, courage, character, wisdom, and discipline; and yet we seem trapped by a system of choosing our presidents that pushes those who possess those traits aside in favor of others who look good on television, are skilled at slandering and demonizing their opponents in a campaign, and are able to raise the hundreds of millions of dollars required to ensure election at any cost.
Hal Moore
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Driver had his own rules of war, and he tried to teach them to me. You know, when you clean a weapon the first rule is always clear the chamber. Not Driver. His first rule was always check to make sure it’s your weapon, so you don’t end up cleaning somebody else’s weapon.
Hal Moore -
Never say no to yourself. Make the other guy say no.
Hal Moore -
A leader should surround himself with persons who fit his requirements and standards—and then turn them loose to do their jobs. When you identify a toxic subordinate leader within your ranks, remove them. If you cannot remove them, reassign them to a role where their toxicity can be minimized. Their duty at their level was just as important as my duty at my level. Leaders lead from the front; managers lead from the rear. When the battle is over, there must be plans made in advance for follow-on actions. A leader must have clearly defined objectives. He must ensure these objectives are clearly understood by his subordinate leaders.
Hal Moore -
Army intelligence said the French owners paid the Viet Cong a million piasters a year in protection money and paid the Saigon government three million piasters a year in taxes. The plantation billed the U.S. government $50 for each tea bush and $250 for each rubber tree damaged by combat operations. Just one more incongruity.
Hal Moore