Working with GMA was an intellectually challenging, yet fulfilling task. She could be demanding, impatient and occasionally intimidating, but she was always willing to listen. If a point raised made sense, she could certainly change her mind.
Category: Military
To Build Rather Than Destroy – A Journey of Trust and Transformation
It is not enough that we know how to wage war. We must never forget that the ultimate purpose of war is to achieve peace. And for that peace to endure, we must also learn how to build and nurture it.
The Guns Are Silent in Buldon
Buldon taught me that peace is not always won by defeating an enemy. Sometimes, peace begins when you give people enough reason to stop being enemies in the first place. Winning the war, I learned, is not always what matters. What matters more is winning the peace.
The Children of Carmen
On our last night in Davao, I asked what they had learned from our trip. After hearing many of the kids offering gratitude for the trip, a young boy – someone who had stayed silent and detached for most of the trip – raised his hand slowly, his eyes wide and innocent, and when acknowledged, spoke candidly in their dialect. His words pierced straight through my heart: “I learned that not all soldiers are killers.” Silence. “And not all Christians are land-grabbers,” he added.
What I Learned From the Hills of Hilongos
Coming home, marching out from those dark woods, I would appreciate more clearly why General Abadia insisted that officers must first prove themselves in the trenches before aspiring for higher commands. Men do not follow rank. They follow credibility. They follow leaders who have carried the same heavy pack, walked the same knee-deep muddy trails, endured the same sleepless, shivering nights, and shared the exact same mortal dangers.
When Comfort Was No Longer Enough
Little by little, the mountains would humble me with lessons that no staff assignment could teach: that leadership begins with shared hardship, that credibility is earned rather than assigned, and that comfort, if left unchecked, has a quiet way of softening even the most experienced of soldiers. I had returned to command a Scout Ranger Company. I didn’t realize it then, but my Rangers were also slowly – and subtly – teaching their commander how to become one again.
