Tag: military

Date in History

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Remembering historical events keeps us grounded in the past, knowledgeable in the present, and guided to the future.  

By Mark D. Harris

Date in History

Henry Ford may have believed that “history is bunk”, but most people at most places and most times have disagreed with him. History is a record of people, and peoples – who they were, what they did, and why. History tells stories of courage and cowardice, of selfishness and selflessness, and of victory and vanity. Descendants discover who they are, why they are, and what they should do, from their ancestors. As such, history is the record of the universe.

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ACES Framework of Organizational Development

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A useful organizational developmental framework derived from military sources and adapted to business needs. 

By Mark D. Harris

From being the Commander of a small US Army clinic in Schweinfurt, Germany, to being the Chief Medical Officer for all of military medicine in the National Capital Region at the JTF Cap Med, I have led organizations. To train my colleagues, I have developed the ACES Framework of Organizational Development. It is based on the military model.

I have posted it here because some have found it useful in the past and others find it useful in the future. Happy reading!

ACES Framework of Organizational Development

The War of 1812

~ MD Harris Institute ~ 2 Comments

In many ways a forgotten war, the War of 1812 was America’s first test as a nation. Had it ended differently, we might have been colonies again. 

Reenactors and Living Historians in 2013 reveled in the 150th anniversary of Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, and Vicksburg, some of the most monumental battles of the American Civil War. Thousands of participants, tens of thousands of spectators, and merchants of all kinds have gathered to relive these events that shaped our nation and its people forever.

2013 and 2014 have seen anniversaries of other battles from an earlier war which has also shaped American History, the War of 1812. Though overshadowed by its later, longer and bloodier cousin, the War of 1812 was the first major military test of new United States, the only conflict in our history in which a foreign power invaded our states, and the only one in which our capital, Washington DC, was captured. The War of 1812 is famous for Fort McHenry’s valiant stand against the British fleet, the setting of Francis Scott Key’s Star Spangled Banner, and for Andrew Jackson’s (Old Hickory) decimation of the British forces at the Battle of New Orleans.

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How ordinary people can contribute to extraordinary change

~ MD Harris Institute ~ 2 Comments

Ordinary people often feel powerless to improve our society, or even our lives. We can, and we do, but we can do it better. 

Last night after dinner my family and I were discussing some of the Middle East events of the day, and the picture was not pretty. Fighters from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria were capturing more territory, killing more people, and destroying mosques and other religious sites. Hamas and Hezbollah were launching rocket attacks on Israel, who was retaliating with air strikes, killing many. Syria remained embroiled in its civil war, and the “Arab Spring” of 2011, with all of its hopes of democracy, has turned sour. My daughter, visibly troubled, asked what our government was going to do about all of this mayhem. I answered that no matter how powerful, governments have limited ability to intervene. The American President Barack Obama, who some consider to be the most powerful man in the world, has four main elements of American national power that he can use to accomplish US goals in the world, which in this case is to restore peace and stability and promote democracy.

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The Year in Military History

~ MD Harris Institute ~ 4 Comments

The Year in Military History

1-8 Jan – French forces under the Duke of Guise conquered the fortress at Calais, the last English territory in France (1558).

2 Jan – Delaware and Wyandot Indians surprised and massacred 11 eleven men, one woman and two children in the Big Bottom Massacre in southeastern Ohio (1791).

3 Jan – In the Battle of Princeton, American forces under Washington defeated British troops under Cornwallis, compelling the British to abandon most of New Jersey (1777).

4 Jan – Danish invaders formed a redoubt at Reading, Berkshire, and held off a West Saxon counterattack in the Battle of Reading (871).

5 Jan – British land and naval forces led by American Revolutionary hero and later turncoat Benedict Arnold burned Richmond, Virginia (1781).

6 Jan – British General William Elphinstone withdrew his British soldiers and civilians from their camp in Kabul, Afghanistan, resulting in total destruction of his forces (1842).

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Battle Briefs

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Military history lectures to pique your interest in the past.

By Mark D. Harris

Napoleon Bonaparte and Frederick the Great agreed that to master military science, a student must study the campaigns of the great generals and admirals before him. In that spirit, this section contains slide presentations that have been used effectively in teaching military principles. They describe battles and campaigns in military history.

Trafalgar 1805

WW2 – D-Day – 6 June 1944

WW2 – Guadalcanal Campaign