Get QuoteDark Inspirational Quotes App

" In my life as a soldier and citizen, I have seen time and time again that inaction has dire consequences. "

Stanley A. McChrystal

Related Quotes:

" I think with the beginning of any political administration, you have to build trust, and it takes time. "

Stanley A. McChrystal

" When I arrived in the summer of 2009 to command the war in Afghanistan, I entered an effort that was failing. Many Afghans, some ISAF coalition members, and much of the American public had lost confidence in both the trajectory of the war and our ability to correct it. "

Stanley A. McChrystal

" Mike Hall was my old friend and, more important, the finest soldier I'd ever known. After over 30 years of service and then 18 months at a good civilian job, a phone call had brought the retired command sergeant major back on active duty to become the senior enlisted adviser of all international forces in Afghanistan. "

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

" 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

" There's this intense media spotlight; there's a need to be transparent, and, 'Oh, by the way, I'm also trying to fight a war at the same time.' It's a challenge, but it goes with the job. "

Stanley A. McChrystal

" If you talk to a British officer or NCO about the strategic objectives of the end state, you'll often get a spirited discussion that's very well informed. "

Stanley A. McChrystal

" I think life is hard at the combat outposts, and anything that distracts us from supporting them, in my mind, is something that we shouldn't do. "

Stanley A. McChrystal

" I go back and think of President Kennedy, who had a military service background, but he comes into the presidency, and he's faced with a decision on the Bay of Pigs, with the C.I.A. and the military giving him data, and it turns out very badly. "

Stanley A. McChrystal

" I don't miss the bureaucracy of being in the Army. But I still love the relationships you can build. And it doesn't have to be in military service - it can be anything you're doing with someone that matters. You develop a bond. "

Stanley A. McChrystal

" President Obama had voiced strong support for the effort in Afghanistan during his campaign, pledging to add two brigades, which he did. But since the inauguration... the administration had signaled that the U.S. commitment needed careful assessment, and we needed to recalibrate the strategy and objectives. "

Stanley A. McChrystal

" I think every war certainly wears on national will and national patience, particularly a counterinsurgency. "

Stanley A. McChrystal

" One of the big takeaways from Iraq was that you have to not lose confidence in what you are doing. We were able to go to the edge of the abyss without losing hope. "

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

" 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. "

Stanley A. McChrystal

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

Stanley A. McChrystal

" We could do good things in Afghanistan for the next 100 years and fail. "

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

" 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

" 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

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

Stanley A. McChrystal

" 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 while we had the most best and most effective operators and small teams in the world, we were unable to scale. "

Stanley A. McChrystal

" Defeat the Taliban. Secure the population. "

Stanley A. McChrystal

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

Stanley A. McChrystal

" Leaders must establish common purpose and build trust within an organization. "

Stanley A. McChrystal

" 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. "

Stanley A. McChrystal

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

Stanley A. McChrystal

" I came to believe that a leader isn't good because they're right; they're good because they're willing to learn and to trust. "

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

" Change is painful, and people are always reticent to accept a lot of pain. "

Stanley A. McChrystal