Commander Quotes

Of all those in the army close to the commander none is more intimate than the secret agent; of all rewards none more liberal than those given to secret agents; of all matters none is more confidential than those relating to secret operations. (Sun Tzu)
But courage which goes against military expediency is stupidity, or, if it is insisted upon by a commander, irresponsibility. View quote
Erwin Rommel
The commander in the field is always right and the rear echelon is wrong, unless proved otherwise. View quote
Colin Powell
The printing press is the greatest weapon in the armoury of the modern commander... View quote
T. E. Lawrence
The President, and government, will only control the militia when a part of them is in the actual service of the federal government, else, they are independent and not under the command of the president or the government. The states would control the militia, only when called out into the service of the state, and then the governor would be commander in chief where enumerated in the respective state constitution. View quote
Alexander Hamilton
An army to be useful must be a unit, and out of this has grown the saying, attributed to Napoleon, but doubtless spoken before the days of Alexander, that an army with an inefficient commander was better than one with two able heads. View quote
William Tecumseh Sherman
The question is, who ought to make that decision? The Congress or the commanders? And as you know, my position is clear - I'm a commander guy. View quote
George W. Bush
Winning the Nobel Prize does not automatically qualify you to be commander in chief. I think George Bush has proved definitively that to be president, you don't need to care about science, literature or peace. View quote
Stephen Colbert
Orderly discipline and morale within an army was the responsibility of the Division Commander. View quote
Iwane Matsui
Lampis, the sea commander, being asked how he got his wealth, answered, "My greatest estate I gained easily enough, but the smaller slowly and with much labour." View quote
Plutarch
Pompey had fought brilliantly and in the end routed Caesar's whole force... but either he was unable to or else he feared to push on. Caesar [said] to his friends: 'Today the enemy would have won, if they had had a commander who was a winner. (Plutarch)
On a standard space shuttle crew, two of the astronauts have a test pilot background - the commander and the pilot. View quote
Sally Ride
A commander in chief ought to say to himself several times a day: If the enemy should appear on my front, on my right, on my left, what would I do? And if the question finds him uncertain, he is not well placed, he is not as he should be, and he should remedy it. View quote
Napoleon Bonaparte
The partisan situation in the Italian theater, particularly central Italy, has deteriorated to such an extent that it constitutes a serious danger to troops, supply lines, war industry and economic potential. The fight against the partisans must be carried out with all means at our disposal and with utmost severity. I will protect any commander who exceeds our usual restraint in the choice of methods in executing one's orders is better than failure or neglect to act. View quote
Albert Kesselring
The will for victory which gives a commander the strength to see a grave crisis through is something very different from Hitler's will, which in the last analysis stemmed from a belief in his own 'mission'. Such a belief makes a man impervious to reason and leads him to think that his own will can operate even beyond the limits of hard reality - whether these consist in the presence of far superior enemy forces, in the conditions of space and time, or merely in the fact that the enemy also happens to have a will of his own. View quote
Erich von Manstein
I tried at that time to relieve the Sixth Army, of which I was supreme commander, above Paulus, by counterattacks - but it was not possible. I gave the order finally for the Sixth Army to break out, but then Paulus said it was too late and not possible. Hitler did not want the Sixth Army to break out at any time, but to fight to the last man. I believe that Hitler said if the Sixth Army tried to break out, it would be their death. View quote
Erich von Manstein
Azerbaijan unleashed the war, and was defeated in that war; Azerbaijan asked for truce (including from the Commander of Karabakh's forces) and later started to sob about the dire repercussions of that war. As if wars ever bring pleasant repercussions. And on top of that, Azerbaijan adopted conceited stance and started to make demands as if anywhere in the world defeated aggressors are ever allowed to make demands. View quote
Serzh Sargsyan
When the commander in chief of a nation finds it necessary to order employees of the government or agencies of the government to do things that would technically break the law, he has to be able to declare it legal in order for them to do that. View quote
Ronald Reagan
The future for Commander Tool Belt was not looking so hot. View quote
Rick Riordan
You would make a great teacher. (Grace) Commander to teacher. Why not call me Cato the Elder, and really insult me while you're at it? (Julian) View quote
Sherrilyn Kenyon
Jesus Christ is our supreme commander, but He operates only through His word, which is unquestionably a training manual. However, He has many interpreters, and few people see the Bible as a true training manual. (Gary North)
Captain Fisher, the commander, with a party of young ladies from the city and gentlemen belonging to his ship, came one day to pay me a visit in the midst of a deluge of rain. View quote
Joshua Slocum
I am the lord of Redmont Fief. He is my tenant. I am his commander. End of story. Ipso facto. Case-o closed-o. View quote
John Flanagan
As the senior commander in Vietnam, I was aware of the potency of public opinion - and I worried about it. View quote
William Westmoreland
Obviously, if the commander makes certain decisions that the reporter thinks is inhibiting his right to report a legitimate story, he has to appeal to the commander's boss to get that changed. View quote
Bob Schieffer