I refer of course to the Second World War American General George S Patton. I’m grateful to the Martin and Illie Anderson Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Dr Victor Davis Hanson for providing such illuminating insights into the life and times, worldviews and humanity of Lieutenant-General George S Patton. I have never paid much attention to Patton, having been too busy with work, family and other matters and also because nobody paid very much attention to him. Colleagues and friends would talk about Montgomery, Slim, Eisenhower, Bradley and so forth, but nobody wanted to talk about Patton. It was only recently that I came across the work of Dr Victor Davis Hanson, or rather, videos of him giving talks or in conversation with various others, myself being on the road too much to have much spare time for reading.
“Patton’s Patterns”, as I have titled this post, seem to have been similar to that of Thomas Sowell, Jay Bhattacharya, Stephen Kotkin, Genghis Khan, Frederick the Great and many others, besides the military figures Dr Victor Davis Hanson speaks of as well. There is no big secret to the “Patterns”. They are simply the manifest beliefs of people who dare to “Say what they see” and do what needs to be done for the best outcomes. There is no spurious solemnization of a “Safety Culture” but rather Operational Effectiveness enhancing safety, all the while recognizing that this is a dangerous world inhabited by dangerous men who will not think twice about doing you harm. However, like Genghis Khan, who was not willing that a single Mongol warrior should die in his service, people who “Say what they see” understand that men will be killed in battle or similar great endeavour and they will do what they can and must to reduce that number of own killed to zero. Such people demonstrate their own willingness to do so by sharing in the hardships and dangers of battle. Just like the German Generals of WW2, who visited their troops regularly and took potshots at the enemy, often borrowing rifles from ordinary soldiers to do so, people who “Say what they see” have no hesitation sharing in real, “in-your-face” dangers. The German General von Saucken was, in my view, another one with similar attributes.
Do you need someone like Patton in your outfit, whether you are in military service, the civil service, or in the private sector or even a Christian minister? Immerse yourself in accounts of Patton’s life, beliefs, thoughts and deeds, and have some appreciation for the good that resulted from them. Moreover, ponder on what greater good might have come about had Patton been unleashed to do what was necessary to win wars quickly in order to secure a longer-lasting peace. Think about how things become better if you yourself behaved a little bit more like George S Patton. Keep your own values close, and see how Patton’s Patterns might help you increase your own value to others.
Patton’s Patterns. See any you might like to adopt? Contact me if you would like to explore. You’re welcome!
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