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Former Army Secretary Louis Caldera's STUNNING, SCATHING open letter to West Point graduates. WOW!
Caldera's letter is a lengthy, perfectly written condemnation of Trump, "a lesson in the kind of leader not to be, no matter what rank, office or reward it might lead to."
Found this thanks to a tweet from Pete Buttigieg today:
Link to tweet
"Take better care of our nation’s sons and daughters whose lives will be in your hands, than the President’s example demonstrates."
Powerful words from former Secretary of the Army @louiscaldera to the West Point Class of 2020 on graduation day.
https://medium.com/louiscaldera/an-open-letter-on-leadership-to-graduating-west-point-cadets-60f7c81732f1
Powerful words from former Secretary of the Army @louiscaldera to the West Point Class of 2020 on graduation day.
https://medium.com/louiscaldera/an-open-letter-on-leadership-to-graduating-west-point-cadets-60f7c81732f1
That was an understatement by Buttigieg, calling this open letter powerful.
More from the letter:
https://medium.com/louiscaldera/an-open-letter-on-leadership-to-graduating-west-point-cadets-60f7c81732f1
As you assemble to graduate and receive your commissions as U.S. Army officers, consider this day an opportunity to reflect on what you have learned about leadership at West Point and what it means to be a leader of character. While you must stay above partisan politics, take a moment and use the critical thinking skills you have developed to assess whether the conduct, rhetoric and values of your graduation speaker, President Donald J. Trump, live up to the Academy’s motto of “Duty, Honor, Country” and the Army’s high expectations for leaders of American soldiers.
The Naval Academy and virtually every college and university in America reluctantly decided to cancel their spring in-person commencements in light of the Covid-19 risks. The president short-circuited the Military Academy’s assessment of whether an in-person graduation was advisable. Despite the health risks to you, your families, the West Point community, and the traveling public, the president declared he would indeed be your speaker — so he could see you in a “nice, tight formation” — unwilling to pass up the opportunity to link himself with a military he avoided serving in.
You were taught to “take care of your troops.” Is that what the president does today in taking unnecessary risks with your lives? The president’s disregard of the well-being of those who serve under him is not limited to you on this day. This president has destroyed the reputations and careers of countless public servants, ambassadors, military officers and civilian alike, demoralizing and depleting the ranks of government and reducing its effectiveness. To use and abuse people in this narcissistic and unprincipled manner is the antithesis of leadership that inspires loyalty and devotion among those you are privileged to lead. Doing your “Duty” requires accomplishing the mission with integrity regardless of the cost to you. It means putting the interests of your people before your own. Take better care of our nation’s sons and daughters whose lives will be in your hands, than the President’s example demonstrates. Put their welfare and needs before your own, and you will be better able to accomplish your mission.
You were taught the value of “Honor” and to respond with an unequivocal “No excuse, sir!” when your personal or your team’s performance was substandard. President Trump frequently takes the rhetorical position that everything that came before him was a failure since transformed into “the greatest.” He also is quick to claim that whatever goes wrong on his watch is someone else’s fault for which he accepts “no responsibility,” even when these claims are plainly not true. These are not the values of the Cadet Honor Code. You will not succeed as a leader if you walk into your first unit as a braggart, excuse maker and liar. Accept responsibility and accountability cheerfully. Acknowledge when things go wrong and work to fix them. Develop a reputation for candor and honesty, and it will serve you well the rest of your life.
-snip-
The Naval Academy and virtually every college and university in America reluctantly decided to cancel their spring in-person commencements in light of the Covid-19 risks. The president short-circuited the Military Academy’s assessment of whether an in-person graduation was advisable. Despite the health risks to you, your families, the West Point community, and the traveling public, the president declared he would indeed be your speaker — so he could see you in a “nice, tight formation” — unwilling to pass up the opportunity to link himself with a military he avoided serving in.
You were taught to “take care of your troops.” Is that what the president does today in taking unnecessary risks with your lives? The president’s disregard of the well-being of those who serve under him is not limited to you on this day. This president has destroyed the reputations and careers of countless public servants, ambassadors, military officers and civilian alike, demoralizing and depleting the ranks of government and reducing its effectiveness. To use and abuse people in this narcissistic and unprincipled manner is the antithesis of leadership that inspires loyalty and devotion among those you are privileged to lead. Doing your “Duty” requires accomplishing the mission with integrity regardless of the cost to you. It means putting the interests of your people before your own. Take better care of our nation’s sons and daughters whose lives will be in your hands, than the President’s example demonstrates. Put their welfare and needs before your own, and you will be better able to accomplish your mission.
You were taught the value of “Honor” and to respond with an unequivocal “No excuse, sir!” when your personal or your team’s performance was substandard. President Trump frequently takes the rhetorical position that everything that came before him was a failure since transformed into “the greatest.” He also is quick to claim that whatever goes wrong on his watch is someone else’s fault for which he accepts “no responsibility,” even when these claims are plainly not true. These are not the values of the Cadet Honor Code. You will not succeed as a leader if you walk into your first unit as a braggart, excuse maker and liar. Accept responsibility and accountability cheerfully. Acknowledge when things go wrong and work to fix them. Develop a reputation for candor and honesty, and it will serve you well the rest of your life.
-snip-
Much more at the link.
Wikipedia article on Caldera:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Caldera
59 replies
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Thank you Gen. Caldera you are a true patriot 
they're both always "in the neighborhood." 
