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" How we present ourselves matters a lot, and that's every American, not just at the senior levels. "

Stanley A. McChrystal

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" Military leaders, many of whom were students of counterinsurgency, recognized the dangers of an incremental escalation and the historical lesson that 'trailing' an insurgency typically condemned counterinsurgents to failure. "

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" We are alarmed that a known or suspected terrorist can go to a federally licensed firearms dealer where background checks are conducted, pass that background check, legally purchase a firearm, and walk out the door. "

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" I was raised with traditional stories of leadership: Robert E. Lee, John Buford at Gettysburg. And I also was raised with personal examples of leadership. This was my father in Vietnam. And I was raised to believe that soldiers were strong and wise and brave and faithful; they didn't lie, cheat, steal, or abandon their comrades. "

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" I can't sculpt. But if I were a sculptor, as you start to get something that actually looks like what you want, then it starts to be fun. That's the way I find writing. "

Stanley A. McChrystal

" When I was a lieutenant in Special Forces many many years ago, I thought I was getting fat. And I started running, and I started running distance, which I enjoyed. "

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" Our bureaucracy had excelled at compartmentalizing intelligence - we had a 'need to know' system - but by 2004, it was impossible to foresee what elements of our organization would and would not need to know a given piece of information. "

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" Industrial technologies that allowed for increased mechanization in 19th-century armed forces also spurred Frederick Winslow Taylor to develop his 'Scientific Management' doctrine in Philadelphia steel mills. "

Stanley A. McChrystal

" Anyone in a position of power is either corrupt or assumed to be corrupt, and the assumption of corruption is as bad as the reality of it. "

Stanley A. McChrystal

" I resolved to try to steer clear of politics. That wasn't easy. "

Stanley A. McChrystal

" The military likes to figure out how to do something, put it in a manual or an operating procedure, and perfect doing it, and have everyone do it the same way. I don't like that. "

Stanley A. McChrystal

" You're going to find out who your friends are. Anything that happens in your life is one of those challenges. It may not be at the level of celebrity, but everybody's going to travel that road. "

Stanley A. McChrystal

" America needs a restart. It has long devoted its energies to solving its many big problems - unequal opportunity, crumbling infrastructure, lagging education, inadequate training in a changing economy, and threats to peace around the world. "

Stanley A. McChrystal

" In combat operations in places like Afghanistan, we often confronted the specter of dangerous people with powerful weapons who were a threat to their community and to our soldiers. Our aim was to quickly determine who in that community was a legitimate actor who could be trusted with a firearm and who was not. "

Stanley A. McChrystal

" 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 'Rolling Stone' magazine depicting me, and people I admired, in a manner that felt as unfamiliar as it was unfair, ignited a firestorm. "

Stanley A. McChrystal

" There is only one Army in which you serve. When that identity is gone, it is gone forever. "

Stanley A. McChrystal

" If we want to be members of the world community, we need to think that way. "

Stanley A. McChrystal

" My very identity as a soldier came to an abrupt end. I'd been soldiering as long as I'd been shaving. Suddenly I'd been told I could no longer soldier, and it felt as though no one really cared if I ever shaved again. "

Stanley A. McChrystal

" If who you were was entirely based upon the position you were in or the headlines you got in the newspaper, or you had essentially subcontracted out your self-worth to the judgments of others, then you're going to be like tumbleweed. You're going to be blown. "

Stanley A. McChrystal

" I find that if the day is terrible but I worked out, at the end of the day I can go, 'Well, I had a good workout'. Almost no matter what happens. "

Stanley A. McChrystal

" Tensions and violence in cities across America are reminders of how quickly communities can erupt with an absence of social trust. "

Stanley A. McChrystal

" As combat infantrymen and special operators, we received thousands of hours of firearms training. "

Stanley A. McChrystal

" We are a nation of innovators and problem-solvers who sparked revolutions in democratic government, civil rights, communications, flight, rural electrification and technology. We are a country defined by ideals now in need of rescue. "

Stanley A. McChrystal

" 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 that. "

Stanley A. McChrystal

" Trust is an amazing commodity. The Afghan people often talk to me about having to develop trust in America, because they believe that we deserted them in 1990 and 1991. "

Stanley A. McChrystal

" Any war or conflict you enter where you are likely to lose more Americans and expend more treasure is something worthy of very detailed debate. There ought to be a lot of skepticism. There ought to be a lot of discussion. "

Stanley A. McChrystal

" Many leaders are tempted to lead like a chess master, striving to control every move, when they should be leading like gardeners, creating and maintaining a viable ecosystem in which the organization operates. "

Stanley A. McChrystal

" What I'm trying to do is teach people how to actually get individuals in organizations to do the kinds of things to make a difference. It starts with not just studying the mechanics but really understanding how people operate. "

Stanley A. McChrystal

Make A Difference

" 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 consequence of the individual strengths of its members and the masterful planning of a visionary commander. "

Stanley A. McChrystal

" The military does very well taking average people and making them very good leaders. "

Stanley A. McChrystal

" The challenge that we faced with the arrival of the Obama administration is, they didn't really have time to build trust before they had to make big, difficult decisions. "

Stanley A. McChrystal