1
One more dance along the razor's edge finished. Almost dead yesterday, maybe dead tomorrow, but alive, gloriously alive, today.Robert Jordan
2
You have a nearly a 0% chance of affecting change in others attitudes, behaviors, and skullduggery. However, you have a 100% chance of affecting your own attitude, behavior, resiliency, and reaction to all things within your direct ability to shape the outcome.Donavan Nelson Butler
3
In all trust there is a possibility of betrayal, but without trust there is no friendship, closeness, or the emotional bonds that give us so much happiness when the time is right for it. Trust is a hardening agent to all relationships as Carbon is to Iron to create Steel combined in the desired amountsDonavan Nelson Butler
4
What is the difference? Tell me what is the difference between you and me. We both kill for what we want, " the man asks." We lived here first.Brittany Noel Bostic
5
Very few people in the USA realize that a nuclear war was waged with nature in the southwest by their own military.Steven Magee
6
In no other type of warfare does the advantage lie so heavily with the aggressor.James Franck
7
I do not think the long-range bullets I fire provide the mark of a man; I am only dimly aware that they are dehumanising me. They are my opium tto see me through my time here. But with each hit they give, they only provide a feeling respite from the past I cannot escape from and thre present I have chosen to mire myself in. And, grounded as I am in the reality of this hill, I do not yet fully appreciate how this addiction is infecting my future with malediction. With this clinical, psychopathically detached behaviour considered as normal, proper and expected on this hall, I cannot yet stop to think - because I cannot allow myself to here - of how hese respites may be blackening my soul in all the time I will have left on my own back Home - should I even live through the remainder of my months here, in some other corner of this Hell of a country.Jake Wood
8
You study the Path of Peace. I practice the Art of War. There are some congruities between these different approaches but there are many more differences, and they are significant. The Art of War is carried out on the battlefield with deadly weaponry and sometimes, more importantly, in other places and in other ways that you would find distasteful. If I speak little about my plans it's because the Art of War teaches that it is the business of a general to ensure secrecy. You might want to mollify or change my tactics or strategies to fit the morals of your peacetime world and I'd be shackled and hampered in seeing the victory won as it should be, as quickly as possible, with as little fighting as possible, and at the lowest cost possible. You cannot bear the consequences of battle and you don't know the resources required. I do.Aleksandra Layland
9
You've evolved when you realize the effect that your positive contributions to others create ripples of humanity in the sea of life.Donavan Nelson Butler
10
I've never been part of an formation where the leader succeeded on their own merits apart from their Soldier's.Donavan Nelson Butler
11
Let's make a deal, if you don't blame me for your failures I won't take credit for your successes.Donavan Nelson Butler
12
Fear is a liar and a good one at that, Fear feeds on self doubt and insecurities both internal and external. Know this, optimism, faith, and resilience are like penicillin to fear if it has been allowed in. But the best course of action is to not feed it in the first place.Donavan Nelson Butler
13
Wisdom from Top Butler: Guard yourself at all times but don't let anyone lead you to live a guarded life that is all.Donavan Nelson Butler
14
As a leader you should look in the mirror and ask yourself would I follow you ensured of a victory.Donavan Nelson Butler
15
Strength isn't measured by how many things or people you manage but more prevalent is how much you can self manage and guide yourself to your next check point.Donavan Nelson Butler
16
My position is for one to be thought of as a CHARACTER is totally different from one having CHARACTER.Donavan Nelson Butler
17
When you look down the length of your chain and see it is made mostly of weak links it is time to pull out the bolt cutters.Donavan Nelson Butler
18
What do I and a diamond have in common? We are tough, brilliant, and carbon based entities which evolved into something better under immense pressure, tribulation, and trials.Donavan Nelson Butler
19
You know that when ex-military personnel start assassinating their own government's agents that something funky is going on.Steven Magee
20
Life is the ultimate gift of experience and if you are not impressed by the blessing the Lord has given you every awaking day to make a difference, I say your stuck in the mud and you need to call AAA which is code for "Say A Prayer" and get pulled out. Love life and create positive SYNERGY with others while you can before this chapter closes.Donavan Nelson Butler
21
If you have the bad MOJO of a situation or a person riding you down you must first remove that saddle.Donavan Nelson Butler
22
Trauma destroys the fabric of time. In normal time you move from one moment to the next, sunrise to sunset, birth to death. After trauma, you may move in circles, find yourself being sucked backwards into an eddy or bouncing like a rubber ball from now to then to back again.. In the traumatic universe the basic laws of matter are suspended: ceiling fans can be helicopters, car exhaust can be mustard gas. .David J. Morris
23
The future you build for yourself is only as limited as your imagination and a undisciplined goal orientated mind.Donavan Nelson Butler
24
No two snowflakes are alike and neither are the Soldier's in your charge. Don't make the mistake of treating your Soldier's like tangible things instead of the valued human assets they are.Donavan Nelson Butler
25
Learning to accept help from others is not a sign of weakness it's a badge of courage reflecting mutual trust between the giver and the receiver.Donavan Nelson Butler
26
In a conflict doesn't win who has more weapons but who knows best use for themUnknown
27
Much, much later. when I am back home and being treated for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). I will be enabled to see what was going on in my mind immediately after 11 August.I am still capable of operating mechanically as a soldier in these following days. But operating mechanically as a soldier is now all I am capable of. Martin says he is worried about me. He says I have the thousand-yard stare'. Of course, I cannot see this stare. But by now we both have more than an idea what it means. So, among all the soldiers here, this is nothing to be ashamed of. But as it really does just go with the territory we find ourselves in. it is just as equally not a badge of h .Jake Wood
28
Mounting tensions in Eastern Europe send shivers down the spine. Barely a quarter of a century after the end of the Cold War we seem to be sliding inexorably towards another.Alex Morritt
29
He who lives by the sword shall die by the sword ... unless he's a general.Brian Spellman
30
Spare the rod and spoil the Memorial Day rotisserie.Brian Spellman
31
Educated idiots are the most fearsome creatures in a leadership structure because even though trained they still refuse to think.Donavan Nelson Butler
32
Our journeys are different but we can share the same well traveled path during parts of our excursion. Small victories win wars not single battles.Donavan Nelson Butler
33
Being a leader doesn't mean you always have to be in charge. Sometimes leaders make certain others have the right information at the right time to lead the charge or pull back to fight another day.Donavan Nelson Butler
34
The saddle is off and the rest of this ride will be bareback. Code for it's gonna be a tough ride to the finish.Donavan Nelson Butler
35
If a leader works hard to break the spirit of their Soldier they'll soon meet the most focused Soldier of a career.Donavan Nelson Butler
36
A leader is skating up hill on a slippery slope when Servant Leadership is not part of a leaders philosophy.Donavan Nelson Butler
37
You can't fake a great steak nor can you convince a raging bull to give you a easy eight second ride.Donavan Nelson Butler
38
There are circumstances which can only be created and remedied in a crucible of fury, fire, and destruction like the serotinous cones of the Jack Pine and Lodgepole Pine trees. Only after exposed to extreme heat and enormous pressures will the cone open to begin anew and flourish amongst the cleansed but desolate landscape. Also, like the unpredictable restrained power of a dormant volcano storing it's potential energy over long periods of time gives way to this planets most enchanting display of scenic beauty to stark nightmarish backdrops. Egos are like wildfires to me because they start small but uncontrolled they will get out-of-hand and devour without prejudice. However, egotistical people are part of life and the best defense is a good offense with fire breaks dug in advance anticipation and left in place for when the right conditions present themselves where you must decide to fight that fire or be consumed by it.Donavan Nelson Butler
39
Its been my experience during my military career that a leader displaying a THIRST for power will ultimately have a APPETITE for destruction to go along with it.Donavan Nelson Butler
40
Leading your Soldiers with the safety on as a condition of your own personal complacency is no different than running into battle with your firearm on safe yelling BANG BANG BANG! ! ! An Army leaders unlimited source of ammo are the Army Values and the Warrior Ethos.Donavan Nelson Butler
41
Self Care is the secret ingredient to Soldier care in a recipe that yields many servings of effective leadership.Donavan Nelson Butler
42
Excuses are most valuable to the person making them but to everyone else its foreign currency with little value or not accepted at all. You are not good with me until your integrity check clears.Donavan Nelson Butler
43
Foolish is the leader whom in the midst of organizational chaos believes since no one is approaching them with issues or concerns then everything must be doing fine. When your Soldiers cease communicating with you are 3ft into a 6ft hole.Donavan Nelson Butler
44
As long as you're actively trying to achieve your goals your successes are rewards and your short comings are lessons learnedDonavan Nelson Butler
45
Leading by example through "Servant Leadership" used to be a badge of honor that distinguished you from the Corps of the Blue Falcon. Present day I see the ranks of the Blue Falcon surging in a flagless flotilla of blurred morals, a low tide of integrity, and selfish ethics adrift with no anchorage. The pulse of the led is directly influenced by the organizational heart rate of the leader.Donavan Nelson Butler
46
Some might argue that a diamond is the earths hardest carbon based substance. However, I'd challenge that with the resolve, resilience, and tenacity of a committed carbon based Noncommissioned Officer.Donavan Nelson Butler
47
Truth is after you've put out all the INFO to your Soldiers in formation they'll soon forget what you said but will never forget what you did behind those words.Donavan Nelson Butler
48
Even the most absent minded Soldier will develope a memory like a elephant when mistreated.Donavan Nelson Butler
49
The fragile ego of a poor leader can not resist the urge to tug at the delicate fabric of good order and disipline thus unraveling their own true nature.Donavan Nelson Butler
50
The greatest risk most of us will take in our lifetime is that of repression or denial of basic rights of another person. The great risk is that you have no idea what will happen if that person you think so small or insignificant of stands up and totally eclipses the Sun in the universe of those lacking in empathy, humility, and humbleness.Donavan Nelson Butler