Aaron MacLean served seven years as a Marine, including a 2009 to 2010 deployment to Afghanistan as an infantry officer, and later taught at the Naval Academy. He hosts the School of War podcast. Mark “Moose” McGrath and I asked him why studying war builds better leaders.
Why study war
Aaron argues that avoiding knowledge of war is dangerous. We ask whether systems give people incentives toward war. Boyd focused on conflict, and conflict is everywhere.
Boyd’s challenge
Boyd asked people whether they wanted to be someone or to do something. Aaron connects that to how people get better. Boyd’s order of priorities still holds: people, ideas, things. Culture matters a great deal, and I bring in my own aviation background. Accountability sits at the heart of real leadership.
Boyd beyond the diagram
Boyd is much more than the OODA loop. Aaron calls Quantico a Boyd school. Reducing Boyd to a single diagram leaves people at a disadvantage.
Studying conflict trains orientation for the moments that matter most.
What part of your field’s history would make your team better at its work today?
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https://youtube.com/@nowayoutpodcast
Written by Ponch Rivera with AI assistance in production. The full conversation is in the player below.