Stanley A. McChrystal

“Americans enjoy the exciting, cinematic vision of a squad of muscle-bound Goliath boasting Olympian speed, strength, and precision - a group whose collective success is the inevitable conseq...”

“Public, noncommercial broadcasting is also giving kids social-emotional skills like persistence and self-control that are fundamental to success in school, not to mention in the military, th...”

“As our leaders in Washington confront tough decisions about our budget priorities, I urge them to continue federal funding for public broadcasting.”

“Public broadcasting makes our nation smarter, stronger and, yes, safer.”

“The reality is when you make 'America First' a bumper sticker and pump it overseas, what you're telling them is 'America Only'.”

“Throughout history, the organizational evolution of the military has been inextricably linked with that of the business world.”

“I spent a career carrying typically either an M16 or an M4 Carbine. An M4 Carbine fires a .223 caliber round, which is 5.56 mm at about 3000 feet per second.”

“Over my career, I'd watched senior leader visits have unintended negative consequences. Typically, schedules were unrealistically overloaded and were modified during the visit to cancel part...”

“Caution and cynicism are safe, but soldiers don't want to follow cautious cynics.”

“Christmases with Polish and Romanian troops, including religious ceremonies in crude bunkers and huts, were deeply spiritual experiences.”

“Wars often begin with enthusiastic vigor but typically settle into costly, dirty business characterized for soldiers by fear, frustration, and loneliness.”

“We need a strong civil society where the connection between different people and groups is firm and vibrant, not brittle and divided.”

“We need to defend against weaknesses within and enemies without, using the tools of civil society and hard power. We don't have to pick one over the other.”

“A fundamental principle that I learned in my career, and a principle that my consulting company McChrystal Group helps American civilian companies to adopt, is that winning units and organiz...”

“I think my biggest achievement was being part of a team of outstanding, entrepreneurial military leaders and civilians who helped change the way in which America fights by transforming a glo...”

“In June 2010, after more than 38 years in uniform, in the midst of commanding a 46-nation coalition in a complex war in Afghanistan, my world changed suddenly - and profoundly. An article in...”

“I had known Colonel Charlie Flynn since he was a lieutenant 23 years earlier, and I remembered how his first child, Molly, had been born while Charlie was deployed to the first Gulf War.”

“When I became commander of the Joint Special Operations Task Force, I was leading thousands of individuals, from Special Forces to the broader interagency effort. I quickly realized that whi...”

“With my resignation, I... left unfulfilled commitments I made to many comrades in the fight, commitments I hold sacred. My service did not end as I would have wished.”

“I said if you want me to go back to Afghanistan and work, I'm happy to do that. If you think accepting my resignation is best for the cause and for the nation, then I have no complaint with...”