Explore the wonderful quotes under this tag
It is a major world power, and today it is an economic and military leader - no doubt about it. That is why America has a strong influence on the situation in the world in general.
Sep 10, 2025
The repeal of don't ask, don't tell didn't change things for transgender people in the military. What it has done, though, I think, is it has taught our military leaders that they don't need to be afraid of these issues.
A military leader often faces a situation he has to deal with, but because it is his duty, no court can try him.
A good solution applied with vigor now is better than a perfect solution applied ten minutes later.
My advice is: 1. Be judicious in the use of military force. 2. When military force is required, use overwhelming force. 3. Do not micromanage military leaders. 4. Ensure your battle plans will win the conflict and win the peace.
There is a reason why George Washington is always one of the top three presidents, and it's not because of his prowess as a military leader; it's not because of the incredible innovations in policy that he introduced. It's because he knew when it was time to go.
General James Mattis is a storied and much-respected military leader.
Wars may be fought with weapons, but they are won by men. It is the spirit of men who follow and of the man who leads that gains the victory.
Set your course by the stars, not by the lights of every passing ship.
Optimistic people play a disproportionate role in shaping our lives. Their decisions make a difference; they are inventors, entrepreneurs, political and military leaders - not average people. They got to where they are by seeking challenges and taking risks.
I've traveled with Jack Murtha to Iraq three times to learn more about the region, talk with our diplomats and military leaders, and meet with our troops. Those visits are the main reason that I opposed the War in Iraq since its inception.
The pictures that were coming from Vietnam were showing us what was really happening on the ground level. It was in contradiction to what our political and military leaders were telling us. They were straight forward documentary images. A powerful indictment of the war, of how cruel and unjust it was. When I finally decided what to do with my life, it was to follow in that tradition.
Great military leaders have to sacrifice soldiers; great captains of industry have to sacrifice people. You can't only look after the poor, and the weak, and the disabled. You've got to do what's best for the community, and that often means sacrificing innocent people.
Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.
Neither a wise man nor a brave man lies down on the tracks of history to wait for the train of the future to run over him.
Often times the best military leaders were soldiers.
Leadership is a potent combination of strategy and character. But if you must be without one, be without the strategy.
A good general not only sees the way to victory; he also knows when victory is impossible.
The final test of a leader is that he leaves behind him in other men the conviction and the will to carry on.
The very essence of leadership is that you have to have vision. You can't blow an uncertain trumpet.
A true leader has the confidence to stand alone, the courage to make tough decisions, and the compassion to listen to the needs of others. He does not set out to be a leader, but becomes one by the equality of his actions and the integrity of his intent.
Lead me, follow me, or get out of my way.
Never forget that no military leader has ever become great without audacity.
If the leader is filled with high ambition and if he pursues his aims with audacity and strength of will, he will reach them in spite of all obstacles.
You don't lead by hitting people over the head - that's assault, not leadership.
A kingdom that has once been destroyed can never come again into being; nor can the dead ever be brought back to life.
No ruler should put troops into the field merely to gratify his own spleen; no general should fight a battle simply out of pique.
At one point, for example, [Donald Trump] argued that he knew much more than military leaders about the pursuit and defeat of ISIS. His assuredness of his own correctness seems also rooted in arrogance reflecting his fundamental insecurity. This insecurity and his belief in his own rightness, when combined with his success at making money, leads him to be self-reliant in his decision-making, which could result in his taking risks with threatening or using nuclear weapons.
Always do everything you ask of those you command.
The day soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you have stopped leading them.
The equipment and weaponry will continually change and improve, and the size of the military will expand as needed, decreasing during times of peace. But the unyielding will of the soldier and the dedication of professional military leaders will not change. Our soldiers can do a great deal more under pressure than people think. You'd have to see them perform in combat to believe it.
Live for something rather than die for nothing. —George Patton
Live for something rather than die for nothing.
The American people rightly look to their military leaders to be not only skilled in the technical aspects of the profession of arms, but to be men of integrity
There were other Anti-Christs among the Nephites, but they were more military leaders than religious innovators... they are all of one breed and brand; so nearly alike that one mind is the author of them, and that a young and underdeveloped, but piously inclined mind. The evidence I sorrowfully submit, points to Joseph Smith as their creator. It is difficult to believe that they are a product of history, that they came upon the scene separated by long periods of time, and among a race which was the ancestral race of the red man of America.
Two things are to blame for our predicament, one a corollary of the other. The first reason is that we did not have enough troops in Samarra. The skill and courage of 150 American soldiers prevented chaos, but was never enough to fully secure a city of 120,000 people or maintain the rule of law [...] Second, because of a lack of troops, American military leaders are forced to make a choice between mission objectives and self-preservation.
Get the hell out of my way!
People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.
There is only one tactical principle which is not subject to change. It is to use the means at hand to inflict the maximum amount of wound, death, and destruction on the enemy in the minimum amount of time.
Courage is fear holding on a minute longer.
A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both.
I am sorry to be so blunt, but I do not see much ambiguity here. [Barack] Obama was late to affirm the Egyptian revolution as a democratic movement, and even then he was eager to have installed those military leaders who were known for their practices of torture. And now he is quick to make allies with the Muslim Brotherhood for tactical reasons as well (though earlier that same administration stoked Islamophobic fear about that very political party).
Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity.
Do not follow where the path may lead.
In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, I watched helplessly as the Bush administration led America into a strategic blunder of historic proportions. It became painfully obvious that the executive branch of our government did not trust its military. It relied instead on a neoconservative ideology developed by men and women with little, if any, military experience. Some senior military leaders did not challenge civilian decision makers at the appropriate times, and the courageous few who did take a stand were subsequently forced out of the service.
There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.
We know that words cannot move mountains, but they can move the multitude; and men are more ready to fight and die for a word than for anything else. Words shape thought, stir feeling, and beget action; they kill and revive, corrupt and cure. The "men-of-words"- priests, prophets, intellectuals- have played a more decisive role in history than military leaders, statesmen, and businessmen.
Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power.
Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.
Only our individual faith in freedom can keep us free.