Jeff Schloesser

Hey everybody, please see the U Tube interview with me on the David Johnson Show at https://youtu.be/Q-0wJz9CuHY . Recorded at his studio in Phoenix, it’s a deep dive into my book Marathon War – Leadership in Combat in Afghanistan. He makes it all come alive! David is the real thing – a 10th Special Forces Group Iraq veteran, entrepreneur, and all-around good guy who cares deeply about our country, veterans, and their families. Google him at David Johnson Show and sign up for his shows – they are wide-ranging and really on target.

It’s been a little more than 100 days since the embarrassing withdrawal from Afghanistan. I have to search pretty hard to find current information from Kabul or anywhere else in the country. The Taliban don’t exactly relish journalists of any ilk, much less those that publish articles that stray from the Taliban “party line.” Nevertheless, I was able to participate last week in a BBC World live TV session, with journalists in Kabul, London, and myself in Park City, Utah. It was deeply insightful, even for one (me) who watches the Afghan scene closely. I learned the humanitarian situation in…

Anyone who has read my book Marathon War knows I am a huge believer in the value of allies. During my time as Regional Command – East and CJTF 101 Commanding General, I worked hard to expand the role of our critical team-mates while ensuring we supported their forces and their leaders to the maximum extent we could. I just returned from a business trip to Warsaw, Poland this week, where I was able to meet with and thank the leadership of our most important ally during my time in Afghanistan: Poland. Task Force White Eagle started as a battalion-sized…

This week was the Navy’s 243rd birthday. It may seem odd coming from an old (older!) soldier, but I must wish my Navy comrades and their families “Happy Birthday!” Our Army gets to work walking, driving or riding, flying, and YES, sailing to faraway places. Without our Navy, and the Marine Corps, we would not be the dominant land force we are. My first experience with the US Navy was around 1966, when my mother and I were sailing “space available” on a Navy ship from Oahu, Hawaii where we lived at Schofield Barracks, to see my father in Japan,…

When LTG Guy Swan (US Army retired, and AUSA Vice President) and I were discussing my book Marathon War at the AUSA Thought Leader’s WEBINAR a few weeks ago, he commented about mentorship, and I wanted to share some thoughts with you all on the subject. He noted how many officers who worked under my command have gone on to very senior ranks, including the current Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, the Chief of Staff of the Army, the AFRICOM Combatant Commander, as well as the current Polish Chief of Defense. We talked about the value of mentoring, and I…

We veterans, our active duty comrades, and our families have a serious problem. Suicide. We are killing ourselves at a horrific rate. We owe it to ourselves, those that love us, and America to do more to help those in need before they make an attempt, and for those that survive an attempted suicide, we must help them better than we are now doing. The facts are unsettling, anguishing, terrible. For those who have read my memoir Marathon War, you know I found the suicides in my division and later in my Afghanistan command hard to fathom and even harder…

I remember September 11, 2001: I was a newly minted one star general posted to the US Embassy in Kuwait as the Director of the Office of Military Cooperation. The Ambassador, the station chief and I were huddled in a quiet place in the embassy when an aide burst in to tell us to come to the TV. The first tower was burning. We looked at each other, and the chief said “Al Qaeda.” One of us said “this means war.” And so it was. Two weeks later I was in the Pentagon with orders to stand up a new…

All of us who wear or have worn a military uniform, and all of our family members, mourn for those 13 U.S. servicemen and women killed this week in an ISIS-K suicide attack at Kabul Airport. We know their lives were cut short while serving a greater good, which was to help fellow citizens and Afghans who fought alongside our forces a way out of a Taliban-controlled country. Many of us – I am one – believe to give one’s life that another human being may live is among the most noble things on earth. That attack, with some 180…

If you have read previous posts from me I think you know how I feel about the American withdrawal from Afghanistan and the urgent need to help our Afghan translators and assistants get out of the country, along with their immediate families. Every night I seem to receive another cry for help from inside the country. Last night I learned of a spouse (with a valid US visa) of a US soldier. He is in the U.S. and she was sleeping on the ground outside of Kabul Airport, trying to get inside the gates. The chaos so far has prevented…