Episodes

SPECIAL THANKS TO MATT MIRANDA AND JEREMY KOFSKY FOR EDITING AND SHOW NOTES SUPPORT In this episode of Moments in Leadership, retired Vice Admiral William (Bill) Merz and host David B. Armstrong discuss how life can take strange turns to making capable leaders, oftentimes through hard times and rough seas. VADM Merz has seen the depths of the ocean and the heights of a superiorly led organization. His insights are valuable to all those who don’t want to be crushed under the everlasting burdens ...

HUGE THANKS TO JEREMY KOFSKY AND MIKE CIFUENTES FOR THEIR HELP PRODUCING THIS EPISODE. War is everchanging, but its nature is everlasting. Sergeant Major Troy Black, in one of his last speaking engagements as the Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps (and right before his selection as the Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman (SEAC), uses this mantra to guide the way he views Marines and the Marine Corps. This episode provides a unique look into how the Marine Corps is and will be in the future. ...

‘The Enemy Doesn’t Care About Your Status’ - Upholding the Standard from the Front to Push Subordinates Forward. This episode is a unique and extremely rare look into what mentorship in the Marine Corps looks like and how Marines address each other and the issues facing the Marine Corps; head on. Lt Gen Bellon and SgtMaj Ruiz are the Command Element for both Marine Forces Reserve and Marine Forces Southern Command. Lt Gen Bellon is an active and violent supporter of engagement via social media ...

This episode is a look towards the past and how the core of a good leader is timeless. Lt Gen Gregory Newbold, the Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) commander of Operation Restore Hope and later on the Director of Operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is a leader with an unwavering desire to be responsible to those he leads. This episode provides a glimpse behind the curtain into a oft misunderstood, or even mysterious, selection process of being selected as a Marine Corps general and the gut...

In this episode of Moments in Leadership, host David B. Armstrong spends time with DUSN Victor Minella, otherwise referred to as “Dozen” where they spend time discussing various topics related to leadership from his enlisted time, his officer time, and finally in civilian leadership inside the Department of the Navy. DUSN Minella covers the importance of leadership in making organizations successful and the differences/similarities in leading civilians and military personnel. DUSN Minella empha...

In this episode of Moments in Leadership, host David B. Armstrong invites LtGen Dave Furness back to the show to discuss various topics related to leadership. LtGen Furness covers the importance of leadership in making organizations successful and the difference in the interaction between the lieutenants and the captains. LtGen Furness emphasizes that leaders should be frequent in praising their subordinates and building goodwill, loyalty, and commitment. He believes that the best Marine organi...

LtCol Michael Perrottet is currently the Commanding Officer of HMLA 267 out of Camp Pendleton, California.

This episode is filled with great "Moments in Leadership" with everything from preparing to go to combat to actual performance in battle. We discuss the influential leaders and the impact of losing senior leadership to combat operations. This episode is e

This is the inaugural launch of The Hotwash. The idea of this is to ask a panel of young leaders to discuss some of the previous episodes of Moments in Leadership and joining me on this panel are six officers who all served together as staff platoon comma

Admiral James A. Winnefeld Jr. is a retired US Navy admiral who serves as the chair of the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board. While on active duty, Winnefeld served as the ninth vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Listen in to hear valiant l

With only a few hours remaining before he packs up his home and heads off to retire, Major General Dale Alford takes an hour to provide a few final thoughts on his career in the Marine Corps and to emphasize a few key things every emerging leader needs to

An insightful and empowering discussion with the Senior Enlisted Leader of the United States Marine Corps, Sergeant Major Troy Black.

This is a great episode with Major Tom Schueman, author of the new book Always Faithful coming out Aug 8th 2022. Major Schueman is one of the last decade's most experienced company-level combat leaders and is also the force behind Patrol Base Abbate, a p

In this episode of Moments in Leadership, I’m joined by Lieutenant General David Furness, who currently serves as the Deputy Commandant for Plans, Policy and Operations for the United States Marine Corps. “Leadership is the most important element in ge

In this episode of Moments in Leadership, I’m joined by Lieutenant General Karsten S. “Hazel” Heckl, who currently serves as the Commanding General, Marine Corps Combat Development Command, and the Deputy Commandant for Combat Development and Integration.

In this episode, we’re taking an in-depth look at MajGen Alford’s moments in leadership through his vignettes and stories which should give listeners some great insight into a leader who has lead in combat at every rank he has ever held and has four comba

Today my guest is Sergeant Major Donald Reynolds, former 0331 Machine Gunner, 0369 Infantry Unit Leader, and 8999 SgtMaj. He's known to many on Instagram as @norseman_9 where he posts some of the best and most encouraging insights on both infantry trainin

As the Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman (SEAC) of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS), General Mark Milley, SEAC Ramón Colón-López discusses his Moments in Leadership over a career that started in 1990 as a Transportation Specialist until 1994 when he

Lieutenant General Bellon was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in 1989. Bellon began service as an Infantry Officer with 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment. He then served as a Judge Advocate with 1st Force Service Support Group. In 1997, he left acti

Andy is a Marine infantry and special operations officer and has commanded in combat at every grade. As the commanding officer of the Marine Corps’ special operations regiment, he was selected to lead a multinational task force given the mission of defeat

Vice Admiral Boxall was commissioned in 1984 and went on to become a surface warfare officer whose time in the navy included the commander of carrier strike Group 3 aboard the USS John C Stennis. He had command of the USS Lake Erie the USS Carney and was

Over his career LtGen Brilakis served in a wide range of assignments including artillery tours in 10th Marines, and several other leadership roles and command such as CG 3rd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, Deputy CG of III MEF and Commanding General 3rd Mar

Retired US Army Brigadier General Craig Nixon discusses the leadership lessons he learned over a 29-year career through combat deployments during Operation Just Cause in December of 1989 where he participated in the airborne invasion of Panama as a Ranger

In Part Two of a two-part interview, Retired Marine Corps Lieutenant General Bob 'Boomer' Milstead discusses concepts such as in baseball, a .400 hitter is considered for Cooperstown, while a 60% loser will be fired everywhere else. He discusses his "HEP