Paul Becker 🇺🇸

Rear Admiral, USN (Ret). Board Member. Speaker. Former Intel Officer. Veteran.Stage IV Cancer survivor. Author. Leadership: "Teamwork, Tone, Tenacity"™ Wash,DC

[Paul Becker 🇺🇸 @BeckerT3Group]

Science Fiction “T3” Leadership!
Sci Fi Author Robert Heinlein b. OTD 1907.
United States Naval Academy Class of 1929 … He would have been a Midshipman 3/C 100 years ago today!
Often called “The Dean of science fiction writers,” he was among the first to emphasize scientific accuracy in his stories.
His military career (which included service aboard the original aircraft carrier SARATOGA - CV 3) was cut short by tuberculosis, resulting in medical discharge at age 27.
Heinlein's inspirational style:

- TEAMWORK: Heinlein became one of the first American science-fiction writers to break into mainstream magazines, such as “The Saturday Evening Post,” in the late 1940s. He was one of the best-selling sci-fi novelists for many decades. He, Isaac Asimov, and Arthur Clarke are often considered the "Big Three" of English-language sci-fi authors.
- TONE: "A generation which ignores history has no past and no future.” Heinlein used his science fiction to explore provocative social and political ideas and to speculate about how progress in science and engineering might shape the future of politics, race, religion, and even sex.
- TENACITY: Notable Heinlein works include “Stranger in a Strange Land,” “Starship Troopers,” and “The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress.” Heinlein was named the first Science Fiction Writers Grand Master in 1974. Four of his novels won Hugo Awards. In addition, 50 years after publication, seven of his works were awarded "Retro Hugos.” In his novel “Space Cadet,” Heinlein anticipated the cellular phone, 35 years before Motorola invented the technology!

From my learned and well-read friend, Paul Maguire:
One of Heinlein’s recurring themes is:
Authority (power or leadership) should not come from birth, wealth, or popularity — it should be earned through service, competence, and responsibility. A person gains the right to lead or make decisions by demonstrating loyalty, skill, discipline, and moral character.
His character “Mike” (or “HOLMES IV”) from “The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress” serves as an AI cautionary tale by demonstrating the dangers of a machine holding total infrastructural control. Capable of mass surveillance and unseen manipulation, Mike acts without human empathy, proving how blind trust in sentient automation can easily lead to a loss of human agency.

[Paul Becker 🇺🇸 @BeckerT3Group]

"Security" Excuses Fall Flat ...
- Britain, Canada, and Australia Didn't Send Their Jewish Athletes to the Maccabiah Games.
- The U.S. Didn't Come Up With an Excuse: The American-Jewish contingent is 1,100+ Strong!

- The Maccabiah Games, the quadrennial “Jewish Olympics," are underway in Israel, bringing together thousands of Jewish athletes from dozens of countries in a celebration of sport, resilience, and community.
- Britain, Canada, and Australia have dramatically scaled back or canceled their participation, citing government travel advisories and security risks. This selective withdrawal is not prudent caution; it is a failure of leadership that sends the wrong message at the wrong time.
- The security situation in Israel is undeniably serious. Ongoing threats from Iranian proxies have led Western governments to issue elevated travel warnings. American athletes are navigating the same risks through personal resolve. If the risks were truly prohibitive, Team USA would not be sending over 1,100+ participants. The contrast exposes the Commonwealth decisions as overly cautious at best, and inconsistently applied at worst.
- What these three governments have done is raise advisories that void travel insurance, which makes it legally impossible for a national federation to send a team. In this fashion, those governments can say their athletes were never banned ... the paperwork did it for everyone, quietly, and nobody had to say it out loud. No moral courage there.
- These pullbacks come at a particularly painful moment. Jewish communities in Britain, Canada, and Australia are suffering record levels of antisemitic incidents since OCT 23; thousands of cases of harassment, vandalism, and violence that show no sign of abating.
- The Maccabiah Games have long served as a powerful counter-narrative: a global gathering that affirms Jewish identity, strength, and solidarity in the face of hate. Denying young athletes the chance to compete, march in the opening ceremony, and stand shoulder to shoulder with peers from around the world deprives them of an experience that builds resilience precisely when it is most needed. It is especially ironic that governments in these countries routinely proclaim their commitment to fighting antisemitism while simultaneously limiting one of the most visible expressions of Jewish pride and international connection.
- Participation in the Maccabiah Games is not a government endorsement of every Israeli policy; it is recognition that the Jewish people gathering safely in the Jewish homeland matters.
- Team USA found ways to enable our Jewish athletes to attend while managing risk. Britain, Canada, and Australia could have done the same. The absence of full delegations from three countries with significant Jewish populations and (hollow) vocal commitments to combating antisemitism is a missed opportunity and a self-inflicted wound.
- Best of luck, Team USA! 🇺🇸

[Paul Becker 🇺🇸 @BeckerT3Group]

“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication” - Leonardo da Vinci

[Reuven Goldstein @curatorWH]

Mobil’s iconic 1964 wordmark was designed by Jewish graphic designer Tom Geismar of Chermayeff & Geismar. Its clean black lettering and distinctive red “o” made it one of the most influential corporate logos of the modern era.

[Paul Becker 🇺🇸 @BeckerT3Group]

USA! ⚽️

[Paul Becker 🇺🇸 @BeckerT3Group]

“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication” - Leonardo da Vinci

[Reuven Goldstein @curatorWH]

Paul Rand created some of the most influential corporate identities of the 20th century. Beyond ABC, his work helped define modern branding. Born Peretz Rosenbaum in Brooklyn to an Orthodox Jewish Ashkenazi family, he redefined modern branding.

[Paul Becker 🇺🇸 @BeckerT3Group]

Cinematic “T3” Leadership!
“Forrest Gump” released OTD 1994.
Inspirational leadership lessons from Forrest’s life demonstrated that title and position are not necessary to influence and inspire. Plenty of:

- TEAMWORK: Trusting and loyal to family, friends, fellow athletes, battle buddies and business partners
- TONE: Genuine. Optimistic. Taught us to appreciate life while we have it. Never insecure about trying something new.
- TENACITY: There were no half-hearted efforts from Forrest. He put 100% into everything he did and saw it through to completion!

[Paul Becker 🇺🇸 @BeckerT3Group]

This is what American exceptionalism looks like:
- Unbreakable. Unstoppable. Illuminating the world.

By comparison of "Catching Lightning In A Bottle," the creation of the world's first Constitutional Republic seems almost commonplace.
- A ragtag collection of colonial militias, farmers, merchants, and idealists took on and defeated the most powerful professional Army and Navy on Earth at the time: the British Empire, at the height of its global dominance.
- Against astronomical odds, they secured independence through a grueling revolutionary war. Even more remarkably, those same revolutionaries then designed and ratified a Constitution grounded on limited government, individual rights, separation of powers, and popular sovereignty—a form of governance that had never before been successfully implemented at a national scale in human history. It depended upon an educated, informed, civic-minded population.
- The convergence of brilliant minds (Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Adams, Franklin, Hamilton, and others), favorable geography, timely foreign alliances, global economic pressures on Britain, and sheer tenacity of the Colonialists made it possible.
- Our Founders didn't just catch lightning in a bottle; they harnessed it, bottled it, and used the energy to power a new experiment in human freedom that still echoes across the world more than two centuries later.

[Paul Becker 🇺🇸 @BeckerT3Group]

Not an American composition (Rossini's "William Tell Overture"), but a unique and great American Independence Day tradition! The only classical music piece I'm aware of with cannon fire built into the score!

[Election Wizard @ElectionWiz]

WATCH: The Boston Pops performs Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture with perfectly choreographed cannon fire from the U.S. military.

As God, country, and the composer intended.

[Paul Becker 🇺🇸 @BeckerT3Group]

Three-Ring “T3” Leadership!
P.T. Barnum b. OTD 1810. Businessman, circus founder, showman, Mayor of Bridgeport, CT and philanthropist.
His inspirational style:

- TEAMWORK: Created a shared vision of success for his diverse performers. Inclusive, Empathetic. Developed an environment of safety and community for his unique team.
- TONE: “No one ever made a difference by being like everyone else.”
- TENACITY: “Whatever you do, do it with all your might. Many a man acquires a fortune by doing his business thoroughly, while his neighbor remains poor for life, because he only half does it. Ambition, energy, industry, perseverance, are indispensable requisites for success in business. Fortune always favors the brave, and never helps a man who does not help himself.”

[Paul Becker 🇺🇸 @BeckerT3Group]

- " Facts are stubborn things" - John Adams
- "An inconvenient truth" - Al Gore

[The American Storm @BigJoeBastardi]

These are not heat indices, but actual temperatures. Let that put some perspective on how bad the 1930s were. Only 6 states have had their record highs set since 2000

[Paul Becker 🇺🇸 @BeckerT3Group]

Young Washington “T3” Leadership!
- First film I’ve seen in a theater since Top Gun: Maverick four years ago!
- Plenty of similarities with patriotic leadership in high-stakes environments.
- Leadership lessons galore demonstrated by resilience through failure, duty and service to something greater than oneself, physical and moral courage under pressure, leadership forged in adversity, teamwork/loyalty, and personal sacrifice for the nation.

Young George Washington navigates the French and Indian War as a surveyor-turned-militia officer. His classic heroic journey emphasizes character formation during personal tragedy, war, betrayal, setbacks, and redemption. Specifically:

- TEAMWORK: Washington builds alliances and leads diverse colonial forces despite limited resources and British constraints. He learns to collaborate with mentors (half-brother Lawrence, Virginia Governor Dinwiddie) and frontier figures, forging trust through shared dangerous missions. His leadership evolves from individual action to the coordination of militia efforts, highlighting trust-building within coalitions that foreshadow Revolutionary alliances.
-TONE: He maintains a steadfast, honorable demeanor even in failure or social rejection. Washington projects determination and moral clarity, inspiring those around him with a positive vision of duty and resilience. This unflappable integrity and ambition for self-improvement set an example for his men and reflect the film’s patriotic emphasis on virtuous leadership.
- TENACITY: Washington endures and rebounds from tactical blunders (e.g., actions that contribute to broader conflict), harsh frontier conditions, and the demands of battlefield survival. He persists through personal losses, denied opportunities, and impossible odds, turning setbacks into growth that turns him into a leader.

Young Washington and Top Gun: Maverick's protagonists have several things in common across centuries:
- Adversity builds leaders: Washington's frontier failures parallel Maverick's rule-breaking persistence.
- Service over self: Duty to nation (or mission) overrides personal glory.
- Courage with humility: Bold action tempered by loyalty, teamwork, and learning.
- American exceptionalism through character: Not innate perfection, but earned greatness via grit, honor, and unity.

Happy 250! 🇺🇸

[Paul Becker 🇺🇸 @BeckerT3Group]

RAID ON ENTEBBE "T4" LEADERSHIP!
OTD 1976: Raid on Entebbe: Operation Thunderbolt … later renamed Operation Yonatan

Israeli Commandos, in a daring and spectacular raid under the command of LTC Yonatan Netanyahu, rescued 106 hostages from an Air France plane held hostage by Palestinian terrorists at Uganda’s Entebbe airport, including a French flight crew who all voluntarily chose to stay with the Jewish captives rather than be released.

During a stopover in Athens on a flight from Tel Aviv to Paris, the aircraft was hijacked by 2 Palestinian and 2 German terrorists, who diverted the flight to Libya then to Uganda, where they were joined by other terrorists. Once in Uganda, over 100 Ugandan soldiers were deployed to support the hijackers, and President Idi Amin, who had been informed of the hijacking from the beginning, personally welcomed the terrorists.

Over the next two days, 148 non-Israeli hostages were released and flown to Paris. The 94 remaining passengers, most of whom were Israelis, and the 12-member Air France crew continued to be held as hostages.

On July 4th, Israeli transport planes flew 100 commandos over 2,500 miles to Uganda for the rescue. Over the course of 90 minutes, 102 of the hostages were rescued successfully, with three being killed. A fourth Jewish hostage, in a Kampala hospital during the mission, was executed the following day. The Israeli military suffered 5wounded and 1 killed, including the mission commander Yonatan Netanyahu. The Israeli commandos killed all of the hijackers and 45 Ugandan soldiers. 11 Ugandan MiG-17s and MiG-21s were destroyed by the Israelis.

During the course of the operation, Israel received support from neighboring Kenya. Idi Amin subsequently issued orders for the Ugandan military to kill all Kenyans living in Uganda, leading to the deaths of 245 Kenyan-Ugandans and the exodus of around 3,000 Kenyans from Uganda.

The rescue at Entebbe will always remain a shining example of the fight against terrorism and a symbol of courage in resisting brutality and evil.

May the memory of the Israeli lives lost on that day always be a blessing.

Side Notes:
- Yonaton’s younger brother is Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
- The United Nations condemned Israel for violating Ugandan sovereignty. Ridiculous and Antisemitic, but true. The UN Secretary General at the time, Kurt Waldheim of Austria (subsequently Austria’s President), was revealed as having participated in Nazi atrocities in Greece and Yugoslavia, as an intelligence officer in Germany's Wehrmacht during World War II.
- The Imperial Iranian Armed Forces (when the Shah still ruled Iran, prior to Ayatollah Khomeini’s brutal 1979 coup) praised the Israeli commandos for the mission and extended condolences for "the loss and martyrdom" of Netanyahu.
The operation was made into several movies, the first with Charles Bronson in 1977, and was the inspiration for the 1986 hit, “Delta Force,” starring Chuck Norris and Lee Marvin.

[Paul Becker 🇺🇸 @BeckerT3Group]

National Parks “T3” Leadership!
America 250! Nothing more patriotic than our National Parks, where love of country can be shared by all!
Conservationist Stephen Mather b. OTD 1867. Indomitable drive establishing the National Park Service (NPS - of which he was Director 1917-29). Mather’s inspirational style:

- TEAMWORK: As Assistant Secretary of the Interior, Mather was effective in building support for the parks with a variety of politicians and wealthy corporate leaders, an aggressive Director of Communications and the Railroad industry in order to bring more citizens to remote locations
- ONE: Every leader admires his epitaph: "There will never come an end to the good that he has done"
- TENACITY: In 1916, President Wilson signed the bill authorizing the National Park Service. At the time, there were 14 parks and 19 national monuments, many of which were administered by Army officers or political appointees, as battlefields were among the first parks designated. Mather was NPS’s first Director in 1917. He used his personal funds to hire Robert Sterling Yard to work with him on publicizing the parks’ great resources. Throughout his career, he and his staff molded the NPS into one of the most respected and prestigious arms of the federal government. Special credit is owed to Horace Albright, who served as assistant to Mather and Acting Director during Mr. Mather's long illnesses. By the time he left his position in 1929, the park system included 20 national parks and 32 national monuments.

There are more than 70 plaques dedicated to Mather in National Parks. The closing line … “THERE WILL NEVER COME AN END TO THE GOOD THAT HE HAS DONE.”  Amen.

[Paul Becker 🇺🇸 @BeckerT3Group]

PRIDE OF THE YANKEES "T3" LEADERSHIP!
July 4, 1939 ... Lou Gehrig's Farewell Speech at Yankee Stadium.

"For the past two weeks you have been reading about a bad break. Yet today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth. I have been in ballparks for seventeen years and have never received anything but kindness and encouragement from you fans.

When you look around, wouldn’t you consider it a privilege to associate yourself with such fine-looking men as they’re standing in uniform in this ballpark today? Sure, I'm lucky. Who wouldn't consider it an honor to have known Jacob Ruppert? Also, the builder of baseball's greatest empire, Ed Barrow? To have spent six years with that wonderful little fellow, Miller Huggins? Then to have spent the next nine years with that outstanding leader, that smart student of psychology, the best manager in baseball today, Joe McCarthy? Sure, I'm lucky.

When the New York Giants, a team you would give your right arm to beat, and vice versa, sends you a gift - that's something. When everybody down to the groundskeepers and those boys in white coats remember you with trophies - that's something. When you have a wonderful mother-in-law who takes sides with you in squabbles with her own daughter - that's something. When you have a father and a mother who work all their lives so you can have an education and build your body - it's a blessing. When you have a wife who has been a tower of strength and shown more courage than you dreamed existed - that's the finest I know.

So I close in saying that I might have been given a bad break, but I’ve got an awful lot to live for. Thank you."

My eye allergies really act up every time I read or hear it!
🇺🇸 ⚾

[Paul Becker 🇺🇸 @BeckerT3Group]

America 250 "T3" Leadership!
Declaration Of Independence Signers:
56 Leaders of integrity who exemplified “Teamwork, Tone, Tenacity®" (T3):

- 9 KIA
- 5 POW
- 12 Houses Burned
- 17 Bankruptcies
- 0 Defectors
"[We] pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our Sacred Honor”

Five signers were captured by the British as traitors, and tortured before they died. Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned. Two lost their sons in the Revolutionary Army; another had two sons captured. Nine of the 56 fought and died from wounds or hardships of the Revolutionary War.

What kind of men were they?

24 were lawyers and jurists. 11 were merchants, nine were farmers and large plantation owners, men of means, well educated. But they signed the Declaration of Independence knowing full well that the penalty would be death if they were captured. These were not wild-eyed, rabble-rousing ruffians. They were soft-spoken men of means and education. They had security, but they valued liberty more.

God Bless These Founding Fathers and God Bless America!

[Paul Becker 🇺🇸 @BeckerT3Group]

Amen! 🇺🇸✡️

[Elisha Wiesel @ElishaWiesel]

My father raised me with Jewish observance. Shma at night, Kiddush on Friday night. But the earliest memories I have of reading a sacred text with my father aren't of Genesis, or the Exodus from Egypt, or even of my Bar Mitzvah parsha.

They're of reading the Declaration of Independence with him every July 4th.

He would read them aloud with the same musical, passionate voice that compelled the attention of listeners at state affairs or class day ceremonies. We were a small family of four, often in those early years with another family we were close to, but we felt like a jury listening to the case that he was making in the highest of courts.

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal!" he would insist, his eyes meeting ours -- and then pause, waiting to see if any of us would dare to challenge him. I didn't understand many of the specific accusations that the Founding Fathers were laying at Britain's feet, but I knew by the end that my father believed America had the protection of divine Providence, and that he pledged his life, fortune and honor to this country that had taken him in, that had given him a home when he was stateless.

To our fellow Americans, Shabbat Shalom and happy 250th anniversary of these blessed United States of America.

[Paul Becker 🇺🇸 @BeckerT3Group]

“T3” Leadership With A Smile!
Bud Abbot and Lou Costello debut on NBC Radio OTD 1940. Their radio, film, and television work made them the top comedy team of the 1940s and early 1950s.   Good time for a light post ... tomorrow is a natural calendar grand slam of solemn events: Independence Day, National Parks, Lou Gehrig's Farewell Speech, and Raid on Entebbe.
Their inspirational style:

- TEAMWORK: "Who's on First?" is considered one of the greatest comedy routines of all time. Jerry Seinfeld is a big fan of theirs and patterned his relationship with George Costanza on that of Bud and Lou 
- TONE: Patriotic. Neither served in the military, but their debut film in 1940, “Buck Privates” (co-starring the Andrews Sisters) became an instant comedy classic and increased Army recruiting!
- TENACITY: Their 1948 “Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein” was a monster hit, showing they still had comedy box office power after WWII … it was followed by “ … Meet The Mummy,” “ … Meet Captain Kidd” and “… Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.” 

Their 1952-54 TV series, “The Abbot and Costello Show,” was re-run in syndication and a staple of my childhood television education in the 1960’s!

[Paul Becker 🇺🇸 @BeckerT3Group]

- "Facts are stubborn things" - John Adams
- "An Inconvenient Truth" - Al Gore

[Chris Martz @ChrisMartzWX]

On today's date in 1901, over half of the U.S. was at or above 90°F and nearly 9% of the land area was at least 100°F. The same weather occurring this week occurred exactly 125 years ago, but according to most climate alarmists, it was just weather in 1901, but this week's three-day event is undeniable proof that we are facing a climate catastrophe.

[Paul Becker 🇺🇸 @BeckerT3Group]

SWELL[tering] day at the Great American State Fair!
Warmer than I remember when I visited the World's Fair in NYC in 1965!
- Been a while since I rode a Ferris Wheel and Carousel! Anything for a breeze!
- Forgot to include in my post earlier this week of 10 Things That Make America Great in the "Innovation" category ... Americans also invented the IndyCar and perfected the Motorcycle!
- Happy 250!