While serving as an infantry officer in the 75th Ranger Regiment, First Lieutenant Scott Filbert was deployed to Afghanistan to serve as the J1, or personnel officer, for a joint special operations task force. In this episode of The Spear, Scott describes the leadership lessons he learned along his path from West Point cadet to the Ranger Regiment and back to West Point again as an instructor, as well as the dangers of "lying to ourselves" in terms of personnel management and mission readiness.
In 2003, Maj. John Spencer was a platoon leader in Iraq. One night, while waiting in an ambush position, he gave the order for...
This episode features a conversation with Ryan Hendrickson. After almost losing his leg in an IED blast in 2010, he was back in Afghanistan...
In early 2003, Karl Blanke was a Marine platoon commander during the early stages of the US-led invasion of Iraq, when his battalion was...