Don't get small units caught in between the forces of history.
– John W. Vessey, Jr.
More has been screwed up on the battlefield and misunderstood in the Pentagon because of a lack of understanding of the English language than any other single factor.
– John W. Vessey, Jr.
My job is to give the president and secretary of defense military advice before they know they need it.
– John W. Vessey, Jr.
Our strategy is one of preventing war by making it self-evident to our enemies that they're going to get their clocks cleaned if they start one.
– John W. Vessey, Jr.
Resource-constrained environment are fancy Pentagon words that mean there isn't enough money to go around.
– John W. Vessey, Jr.
You have to set your shove-it tolerance someplace. But you also have to recognize that you, too, may be wrong, and that in two weeks' time you'll be old what's-his-name and won't be able to influence the situation at all.