There is nothing new in war. The weapons and fields may change, but since Alexander the Great conquered the known world with its first "fire and maneuver," conflict has been decided by aggression discipline, decisive leadership.
I was given the exceptional privilege to represent the 1st Battalion 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade, as we commemorated the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Corregidor. While it is well established that history is relevant to our operations today, the event -- which gave me unique insight and otherwise inaccessible stories of this incredible undertaking -- marked a highlight of my career. What I experienced walking the island was a combination of some of warfare's worst terrain: dense jungle foliage; steep hills, dug-in defenses, and coastal cliffs which denied any possibility of reinforcement, retrograde, manuever, and -- should the landing zones or beachhead fall -- escape.
Read Full Article »